May 11, 2015 - Loading Zone

Loading Zone In a dramatic scene captured by a spacewalking astronaut, the space shuttle Atlantis is seen docked to the International Space Station on the fourth day of the STS-132 mission, which began five years ago this week. During the thirteen-day mission, Atlantis delivered an Integrated Cargo Carrier and the Russian-built Mini Research Module (visible at the back of Atlantis’s cargo bay) to the ISS. During three separate space walks, astronauts conducted repair and maintenance on the orbiting laboratory, including replacing batteries, installing a spare antenna, and retrieving a power data grapple fixture for later repair. The day after this picture was taken, using both shuttle and station robotics, the Mini Research Module was removed from the shuttle’s cargo bay and installed on the Zarya module.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

May 11-17, 2015

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 11

Last Qtr Moon 6:36 AM
Mercury 8° north of Aldebaran

1974: SMS-1 launched, first geostationary weather satellite
2009: STS-125 Atlantis launched, fifth and final Hubble servicing mission

Tuesday 12

Neptune 3° south of Moon

1930: Adler Planetarium opens, first planetarium in Western Hemisphere

Wednesday 13

1964: Apollo A-001 launched (Little Joe II test flight)

Thursday 14

Ascension Day

Moon at perigee

1973: Skylab launched
2009: Herschel and Planck space observatories launched
2010: STS-132 Atlantis launched

Friday 15

Uranus 0.2° north of Moon

1958: Sputnik 3 launched
1963: Faith 7 launched, last Mercury program flight
1997: STS-84 Atlantis launched, sixth Mir docking mission
2012: Soyuz TMA-04M launched carrying ISS Expedition 31/32 crew

Saturday 16

2011: STS-134 Endeavour launched

Sunday 17

1836: Norman Lockyer born