Just three days to go: Atlantis crew arrives for the final countdown as Nasa's shuttle programme ne

Just three days to go: Atlantis crew arrives for the final countdown as Nasa's shuttle programme nears its last launch

www.dailym ail.co.uk

The Obama administration wants Nasa to focus on expeditions to an asteroid and Mars, instead of repeated trips to low-Earth orbit.

There's not enough money to do both, shuttle programme manager John Shannon told reporters last week.
‘We're sacrificing the shuttle to enable us to be able to take that next step,’ Mr Shannon said.
‘If we were going to retire the shuttle, this is the time to do it,’ he said,

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.bbc.co.uk
www.guardian.co.uk
www.physorg.com
www.csmonitor.com

July 5th What are NASA doing? Here are links to keep us thinking and to think on just what is happening this time another space shuttle is launched , " for the last time".
Obama wants to focus on an asteroid , while the fleet is being retired. Private companies had been given contracts to build and maintain orbit vehicles , now they are cancelled .

Meanwhile the ISS undertakes perilous unscheduled manouvres to avoid debris. A very interesting read on the links above, and a surprising photo ; enjoy.

When it comes to this topic, do your own searching , the provided links cover enough to answer most questions , but try to cover your comments with evidence or your own research . We dont know exactly what nasa and obama plan , but we have clues here. ATS users should provide related information : that is why we use this site. Think before you speak (not that I always do!)

www.dailym ail.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I do not fully understand the title of this thread. What did they do, miss place the Shuttle Endevour?
What $2 billion magnet? I am a little lost on this one.

Pictures of magnetic device being fitted : not herereply to post by fixer1967


Read the links . Typically there is little coverage and no pictures of the fitment of the new device they were supposed to have delivered. Its all very strange...because according to this article there will be no replacement for the shuttles either : Obama cancelled Project Constellation : the private built fleet.
Down to earth people know there is an event on the horizon (elenin) ; we hope nasa and obama knows how to deal and may cut short the days that these particles will be flying towards us. Salutations to the astronauts : all bar one military men.www.channel4.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink">Endevour returns home

reply to post by fixer1967


Explanation: Here you go!

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer [wiki]





STS-134# 19 May (Flight Day 4 – AMS-2 installation) [wiki]

Personal Disclosure: What is more interesting is the suicide that occured before the launch of this shuttle mission to the ISS...

Launch pad fatality: At around 07:40 EDT on 14 March 2011, United Space Alliance engineer James Vanover committed suicide by jumping from the STS-134 launchpad, pad 39A, at the Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour was at the pad when the incident occurred. As a result, work on the space shuttle was suspended for the day while grief counseling was offered to the workforce. NASA officials believed this to be the first launch pad fatality since 1981.

noting the date ,was that related to anything nuclear?

i guess the poor fellow wasnt getting any couselling himself before that happened.. they are BIG on health and safety too . 'suicides' like that are always disturbing

thanks for these pictures

reply to post by ZIPMATT


Explanation: And also don't forget this tie in also ...

From links supplied in my original post to this thread...

On 13 January 2011, after the 2011 Tucson shooting in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly's wife, was critically wounded, NASA named Frederick W. Sturckow as backup commander for this mission.

The Space Shuttle had been scheduled to be retired from service after STS-133, but controversy over the cancellation of several International Space Station components, most notably the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, in order to meet deadlines for the retirement of the shuttle, caused the United States Government to consider ordering an additional mission. On 19 June 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2008, giving NASA funding for one additional mission to "deliver science experiments to the station".

The same mandate was included in the U.S. Senate version of the NASA Authorization Act that was unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on 25 June 2008. It was amended and passed by the full Senate on 25 September 2008, passed by the House on 27 September 2008, and signed by President George W. Bush on 15 October 2008. Bush had previously opposed any additional shuttle missions, as they could delay the transition to Project Constellation. In the spring of 2009, the Obama Administration included funds for the STS-134 mission in its proposed 2010 NASA budget.

STS-134 was planned to be the final regularly scheduled mission of the NASA Space Shuttle Program, but with the passing in 2011 of an appropriations bill authorizing the conversion of STS-335 to STS-135, this was no longer the case.

Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly's wife, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, flew to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida to view the first launch attempt, her first trip since moving from Tucson to Houston for rehabilitation after being seriously wounded in the January 2011 Tucson shooting. On 16 May, Giffords was again at KSC for the launch, which was "one of the most anticipated in years," according to The New York Times.

U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled a visit to Kennedy Space Center on 29 April 2011 to view the launch, and despite the canceled launch attempt he toured an Orbiter Processing Facility at Launch Complex 39 and met with Giffords and the six crewmembers.

Mrs Giffords was the only POLITICIAN that was advocating for the Constellation program and was "convieniently" shot in the head by an ATS member [Erad3 aka Jared Loughner].

So although the limited amount of pictures and info are available on this mission... Its quite clear that something else was going on far beyond the launchpad and OL notes that BLOOD sacrifices are COMMON when dealing with TPTB!

Personal Disclosure: This shuttle mission creeps me out completely!

Edit to add specifically why I am creeped out ...

The ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 (ELC3) carried several Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) that were too large or too heavy for other spacecraft to carry to the ISS. These ORUs included a High Pressure Gas Tank (HPGT), an Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA), the S band Antenna Sub-System Assembly #2 & 3 (SASA), a Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM) Arm with Orbital Replacement Unit change-out mechanism, a Space Test Program Houston 3 Department of Defense payload, and a spare ELC pallet controller avionics box.

That Department of Defense payload ... might just be the missing link in all this phooey!!!

Thanks to everyone for clearing that up for me. The title left me confused. As for the suicide odd. I have to wonder about that a bit.

Originally posted by OmegaLogos
That Department of Defense payload ... might just be the missing link in all this phooey!!!

nah, not really.
spacebiosciences.arc.nasa.gov...