NASA watches for space junk that may threaten shuttle, space station

The space debris is potentially headed toward the space stationAtlantis docks with the International Space StationThe mission is the last of the 30-year space shuttle programNASA official says U.S. won't cede space race

Kennedy Space Center (CNN) -- NASA is tracking a piece of space debris that could come close to the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station this week, the agency said.

Data indicates that the point of closest approach would occur about midday Tuesday, the same day as a scheduled space walk by shuttle crew members, according to Leroy Cain, deputy manager of the shuttle program.

"However, we don't really have a good (probability of collision) on it yet," said Cain, who cautioned that the size of the object is still not known.

The debris, part of satellite COSMOS 375, is one of more than 500,000 pieces of debris tracked in Earth's orbit, according to NASA.

A space-debris incident nearly two weeks ago prompted the crew of the International Space Station to take shelter inside two Soyuz capsules when it came within 1,100 feet of the station.

Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on Sunday for a week-long rendezvous, two days after blasting off on a historic flight marking the final liftoff of the U.S. shuttle program.

The shuttle crew will deliver supplies and spare parts to the space station and pick up a broken pump and transport it back to Earth for inspection, NASA said on its website. The shuttle docked at 11:07 a.m. ET in an "absolutely flawless" operation, according Cain.

Atlantis' docking with the space station was done by executing a "back flip" maneuver that leaves the shuttle's underbelly facing the space station, where crew members can investigate its condition, NASA said.

After checking for leaks, the crew opened the hatches between the two vehicles shortly after 12 p.m. ET.

"It was really moving to see the final docking of the shuttle to the space station," Cain said, adding that it was the 12th such time Atlantis has done so.

The crews of Atlantis and the space station also will research the potential for a space refueling system.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, speaking to CNN's Candy Crowley on Sunday, said the conclusion of the American space shuttle program doesn't mean the United States is ceding the space race to Russia.

"American leadership will persist for the foreseeable future, I can guarantee you that," Bolden said. In addition to taking cargo to orbit next year, NASA is working to partner with commercial interests in developing a crew vehicle, he said.

"We are hopeful in starting to ask for proposals from industry (in the) early part of next year," he said.

A recent call from President Barack Obama re-emphasized aggressive goals for NASA, including exploration beyond lower orbit and into deep space, Bolden said.

"He wants to have humans on or near an asteroid in 2025, and he wants us to be in Martian orbit with the intent of landing in the 2030s. Those are two very well defined destinations that we're really working hard on," Bolden said.

When crew members conclude their mission and exit the space station, it will break an uninterrupted human presence in space that has lasted more than a decade.

The International Space Station's first expedition began in November 2000. The current expedition, the 28th, is manned by Cmdr. Andrey Borisenko, Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov of Russia; Satoshi Furukawa of Japan; and NASA's Ronald Garan and Michael Fossum.

The four astronauts aboard the Atlantis are Cmdr. Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.

President Richard Nixon commissioned the space shuttle program in 1972, three years after the Apollo program put a man on the moon.

The first shuttle, Columbia, blasted off in April 1981. Since then, space shuttle crews have fixed satellites, performed scientific studies, and ferried materials and people to International Space Station Alpha, a football field-sized construction project in orbit.

In 134 missions, the five space shuttles have ferried 355 astronauts half a billion miles in space, turning heroic feats into the routine.

When Atlantis lands, it will leave the United States with no way to lift humans into space for the first time in decades.

NASA will rely on the Russian space agency to ferry U.S. astronauts to orbit.

CNN's Jim Spellman, Rich Brooks, Rich Phillips, Ben Brumfield and journalist Craig Johnson contributed to this report.

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Shuttle Endeavour leaves space station for last time

NASA's final shuttle voyage is scheduled for July 8Endeavour spends more than 11 days docked at the International Space StationThe shuttle is scheduled to land early Wednesday

(CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station for the last time late Sunday, as the craft nears the end of its final mission.

The scheduled 16-day mission began two weeks ago after multiple delays.

When Endeavour pushed away from the space station just before midnight, it had been docked for 11 days, 17 hour, 41 min, according to NASA's website.

The shuttle is scheduled to land at 2:35 a.m. ET Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Space shuttle Atlantis will make NASA's final shuttle voyage July 8 on a mission to deliver supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station, the agency said.

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NASA fuels space shuttle Endeavour for Monday launch

(CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour is set to lift off Monday on its final trip into space.

Forecasts indicate a 70% chance of favorable weather for the scheduled 8:56 a.m. ET launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

An estimated 500,000 people are expected to be on hand, said Michael D. Leinbach, NASA's shuttle launch director.

The mission will be commanded by Mark Kelly. His wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, arrived safely at the space center on Sunday, NASA said, four months after being shot in the head during an apparent assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson, Arizona. After initial treatment in Arizona, Giffords has been undergoing rehabilitation at the TIRR Memorial Hermann center in Houston.

NASA announced her arrival in a tweet, and a similar announcement was posted on her Facebook page.

Giffords, along with President Barack Obama, were in Florida on April 29, when Endeavour was originally slated to launch. But that liftoff was scrubbed because of a problem with a heater aboard the shuttle.

"The system looks good, the weather looks good, and we should be in good shape for launch," Mike Moses, launch integration manager for the NASA's space shuttle program, told reporters. "In our minds, we are good to go."

Farewell, my space shuttle

In a Monday morning tweet, mission specialist Col. Mike Fincke wrote, "Dear God, please bless our crew. Help us in our mission and to return safely home."

Fincke added, "please help me not to mess anything up."

Moses said the heater problem has been fixed. He said that while additional checks will be conducted on the heater and other systems prior to launch, no mechanical problems were anticipated.

With the delay, Endeavour is now scheduled to return to Earth on June 1. That is the same day the space shuttle Atlantis is slated to roll out to the launch pad in anticipation of the final mission in the space shuttle program's 30-year history.

The shuttle program's end --and the uncertainly surrounding the future of NASA and the U.S. space program -- has been a hot topic in recent months. Leinbach acknowledged Saturday that "the mood is a little bit downcast" in the space agency, especially as some NASA employees recently received notices warning that they could lose their jobs.

"The timing is a little unfortunate, but we've all known it's been coming," he said.

Endeavour entered service in 1992 as a replacement for the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger. Leinbach, who was a test director for that inaugural mission, said the orbiter remains in prime condition 19 years later.

"She still looks awfully good out there," said Leinbach. "She's got a lot of life left in her, but that's not meant to be."

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NASA: April 29 for next-to-last shuttle launch

permission for his wife to attend the afternoon launch.

Giffords was critically wounded in Tucson, Ariz., three months ago and has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation at a hospital in Houston, home to Kelly and the rest of the astronaut corps.

Launch director Mike Leinbach said he hopes Giffords comes and stressed it would not be a distraction to his team.

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Cities, space centers, museums fight for retired shuttle

States bid for space shuttle orbiterSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSeveral sites are vying to be the final homes of the retiring space shuttlesThe shuttles Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis carry historic and economic valueNASA administrator Charlie Bolden will announce Tuesday where the shuttles will goApril 12 marks the date of the first human space flight and, 20 years later, the first shuttle flight Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space -- the date was April 12, 1961. Twenty years later on April 12, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen got on board the space shuttle Columbia, a craft that looked more like a plane that a rocket ship. It launched an entirely new era in space flight.

Now, on the anniversary of those two historic events, NASA is scheduled to announce where the retiring orbiters Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis will call home.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden will make the announcement Tuesday during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center commemorating that first flight of Columbia on April 12, 1981. NASA officials say the orbiter Atlantis, being readied for the final shuttle flight this summer, will be the backdrop for the announcement. Hundreds of center workers are expected to attend -- many of them will likely lose their jobs when the shuttle program ends.

Because the announcement is being made at Kennedy, the speculation is that the visitor center here will be awarded one of the shuttles. It is one of more than 20 locations around the country with collective fingers crossed.

The drama mirrors the bidding to host an Olympic games. In Texas, home of the Johnson Space Center, members of that state's delegation publicly lobbied for a shuttle. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, said during a news conference, "No city in the world deserves an orbiter more than Houston, Texas."

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JFK airport shuttle security lapses cited

The lack of security on the AirTrain shuttle system at JFK airport has raised concerns. STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe unmanned, unpoliced AirTrain system is raising concernsThe lack of security was discussed at a New York homeland security hearing"It's a bad situation," Port Authority union officer saysRELATED TOPICSJohn F. Kennedy International AirportPort Authority of New York and New JerseyAir Travel New York (CNN) -- A number of security lapses in an airport shuttle system in New York is raising concerns among some Port Authority officers and state senators.

"Among the cops it's commonly referred to as a possible weapons delivery system," said one Port Authority Police official of the AirTrain shuttle system that ferries thousands of passengers to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The official did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The lack of security on the system -- an eight-mile fully automated, unmanned railroad -- was discussed Friday at a state homeland security hearing to discuss vulnerabilities that still remain 10 years after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

"There's no scanning of bags, there's no scanning of passengers," said state Sen. Greg Ball, who is also the chairman of the New York State Homeland Security Committee. "We should have uniformed personnel on that transportation corridor, we don't."

Police Benevolent Association Vice President Robert Morris described it simply as "a bad situation," pointing out that the airport shuttle trains enter the international arrivals building of the airport directly underneath departures where airlines such as El Al operate.

Cleveland terminal, planes evacuated after screening glitch

"Port Authority's own security study prior to the deployment of that system was for 18 police officers a day to police the system. Three tours of duty a day, 365 days a year," Morris told the panel. "In the last 12 months we've had 40 tours, which is about two weeks' worth of coverage with one officer."

The hearing, requested by Ball, took place following a complaint in March by the New York division of the Police Benevolent Association, a nationwide union representing police officers. The union cited a lack of security on the airport shuttle in their complaint. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is responsible for security at New York City airports, bridges and tunnels.

The Port Authority said in a statement Friday that there is no lapse in security.

"The way the PAPD is deployed, as well as cameras and the entirety of our security apparatus, means the traveling public should feel safe within all of the Port Authority facilities," the statement said.

Bobby Egbert, spokesman for the Port Authority Police Benevolence Association, acknowledged Saturday that the Port Authority is a huge organization with many responsibilities. When it comes to transporting people and developing commerce in the bistate region, he said the agency does a great job.

"The problem is it doesn't take public safety and security concerns seriously," he said.

According to Egbert, the biggest problem with safety on the AirTrain system is a lack of communication, noting specifically the lack of a central radio system in the new JetBlue Terminal Five.

Morris also noted the lack of an operable radio system in the terminal, saying officers instead are issued cell phones -- a slower form of communication when officers need to quickly call for backup or relay information.

While officers in the terminal do carry radios on their belts, they "might as well be carrying a brick," Morris said Friday.

Egbert pointed to the example of Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant that pulled the emergency slide of a plane and ran from the airport.

"That's how he got away," said Egbert. "The two cops on duty had no idea what was going on."

While Slater's stunt didn't injure anyone, Egbert believes his escape exhibits the real safety threat to people in the airport and terminals surrounding AirTrain.

Ball's office said another hearing will be held in Albany next month to follow up on some of the concerns detailed in Friday's meeting.

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U.S. Rep. Giffords planning to attend husband's shuttle launch

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSRep. Gabrielle Giffords has a brain injury from a gunshot to the head in JanuaryHer husband is Capt. Mark Kelly, commander of the April 29 space shuttle missionGiffords won't be making any public remarks while attending the launch (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, recovering from being shot in the head in a January assassination attempt, is planning to attend the April 29 launch of space shuttle Endeavour that will be commanded by her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, her spokeswoman said Friday.

Giffords' physicians will have the final word on whether Giffords will be able to attend the launch three weeks from now, but Giffords' congressional office is already making plans for her attendance, said her communications director, C.J. Karamargin.

Giffords, who is recovering at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, won't meet with the media or make a statement while she is at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the 36th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, Karamargin said in a news release.

After the launch, Giffords' staff is scheduled to discuss publicly her reaction to her husband's latest mission.

Kelly will be commanding a crew of four other Americans and one astronaut from the European Space Agency.

NASA has said the shuttle will be delivering equipment and spare parts for the station, including two communications antennas; a high-pressure gas tank; parts for Dextre, a robot attached to the outside of the space station; and micrometeoroid debris shields.

At a news conference last month, Kelly said his wife was doing "remarkably well."

"She's improving every day," he said, "and in the realm of brain injuries, that is very significant and pretty rare."

At the end of the news conference, Kelly was asked whether training for this mission was more challenging given the obvious distractions of his wife's recovery.

"I think it would have been really challenging if this was my first shuttle flight or if it was even my first flight as a commander of the space shuttle," said Kelly, who has flown three times before -- twice as pilot and once as a commander.

An Arizona Democrat, Giffords is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and she attended Kelly's most recent launch when he commanded the space shuttle Discovery in 2008. His upcoming mission is scheduled to be the last flight for Endeavour and the next-to-last space shuttle flight before the fleet is retired.

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NASA delays next space shuttle launch by 1 1/2 weeks

By Michael R. Brown, AP

NASA is delaying its next space shuttle flight.

EnlargeCloseBy Michael R. Brown, AP

NASA is delaying its next space shuttle flight.

The flight was postponed because the original April 19 date conflicts with Russia's plans to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station.

Endeavour is now scheduled to blast off April 29 with Mark Kelly at the helm. It will be the next-to-last shuttle mission. Shuttle Atlantis will close out the 30-year shuttle program this summer.

NASA announced the postponement Monday, after conferring over the weekend with the Russian Space Agency and other space station partners.

An unmanned Russian cargo ship is set to blast off at the end of April. NASA did not want the craft docking at the space station while Endeavour was still there. Now, the cargo ship will arrive first.

NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said the Russians were reluctant to postpone the supply run because of a time-sensitive biological experiment aboard the craft.

Kelly and five crewmates will deliver a $2 billion physics experiment to the space station, as well as critical spare parts to keep the orbiting outpost running for another decade.

The two-week mission will be the last for Endeavour, the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet. It was built to replace Challenger, which was destroyed during liftoff in 1986.

The postponement puts the launch, scheduled for 3:47 p.m., on the same day as the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Endeavour is checking out fine at the launch pad following last week's severe storms that brought high wind, lightning strikes, hail and even funnel clouds to Kennedy Space Center. Only inconsequential damage was found on the insulating foam of Endeavour's external fuel tank, officials said.

Kelly returned to training in February after taking time off to be at his wife's hospital bedside. Giffords was shot in the head in Tucson, in early January. She is recuperating in Houston, home to Kelly and the rest of NASA's astronaut corps. Kelly said last week that he's awaiting doctors' final approval for his wife to attend his launch.

In Kazakhstan, meanwhile, two Russians and an American were poised to blast off Monday as the newest station crew. They will join three astronauts already in orbit.

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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NASA to check shuttle for hail damage

Shuttle crew arrives for dress rehearsalSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: NASA official says the storm caused minor damage to EndeavourThe storm blew in at about 5:20 p.m. WednesdaySpace shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch on April 19 for its final flightRELATED TOPICSSpace Shuttle EndeavourNASAKennedy Space Center (CNN) -- A powerful storm including a lightning strike in the launch pad area caused minor damage to the space shuttle Endeavour, a NASA official said Thursday.

Continuing bad weather has prevented further inspection of the shuttle scheduled to launch on its final mission on April 19, said Allard Beutel, a spokesman at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The storm Wednesday included a wind gust of 90 miles per hour at launch pad 39A, as well as a lightning strike "inside the pad perimeter," Beutel said.

"We didn't take a direct strike on the pad," Beutel said. "Anytime you get that much electricity inside the perimeter you have to check things."

NASA officials so far know of minor damage to insulation foam at the top of the shuttle's external fuel tank, according to Beutel, who said a full assessment of damage won't be possible until further inspections take place.

NASA says the storm that included high winds, lightning and hail blew in at about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday.

"No one was injured and initially no obvious damage was observed. The storm moved through the area quickly," said a NASA news release Wednesday.

Endeavour is scheduled to blast off to the International Space Station on April 19. The space shuttle's six astronauts are at the Kennedy Space Center for their launch dress rehearsal.

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