US-Russian team blasts off for space station

A Russian spacecraft taking an American and two Russians blasted off Monday from the snow-covered Kazakh steppes in a faultless launch that eased anxiety about the future of U.S. and Russian space programs.

The Soyuz TMA-22 lifted off as scheduled at 8:14 a.m. (0414 GMT) from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome to carry NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin on a mission to the International Space Station.

The launch had been delayed for two months due to the crash of an unmanned Progress cargo ship in August. The failed launch raised doubts about future missions to the station, because the rocket that crashed used the same upper stage as the booster rockets carrying Soyuz ships to orbit.

NASA had warned that the space outpost would need to be abandoned temporarily for the first time in nearly 11 years if a new crew could not be launched before the last of the station's six residents flew back to Earth in mid-November.

Full Story

NASA gives go-ahead to another shuttle flight

NASA doesn't be on familiar terms with yet where it will get the money, other than on Thursday the space organization officially added one more space shuttle launch to its agenda the final one for the fleet.

The space organization set a target launch date of June 28 for shuttle Atlantis and started arrangements for the 135th and last ferry flight. The four-member team will take up provisions to the International Space Station and come back a defective pump that has bedeviled engineers.

Now three missions stay following before NASA retires its shuttle fleet this year. Shuttle Discovery's last mission is slated for Feb. 24, Endeavour's in April.

Thursday's move allows different parts of the shuttle program to start work on Atlantis' 12-day flight, including astronaut training and mission planning, NASA spokesman Michael Curie said. Originally, Atlantis was planned as an emergency-only rescue mission if needed for the Endeavour crew.

Full Story


useful links: transport rankings