NASA confirms launch time for STS 127

NASA confirmed the official launch time for Space Shuttle Endeavour's lift-off on Saturday, 11 July 2009 for 19:39 EST. The mission designation is STS 127 and will be Endeavour's 23rd flight. All systems are clear for tomorrow's launch, however, weather forecasts call for thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico and heavy wind and rain may delay the launch.

Shuttle Endeavour first flew STS-49, May 1992, following a NASA-sponsored, nation-wide contest to name the shuttle commissioned to replace Challenger. STS-127 will be Endeavour's final mission, as the American space shuttle program is due to be decommissioned in 2010. Upon its return to Earth, Endeavour will be sent to March Field Air Museum in Riverside, CA in honor of astronaut and Riverside resident, Tracy Caldwell.

The Orion spacecraft, powered by the new Ares-class rocket, is due to replace the aging shuttle fleet as the United States' primary space vehicle in 2014. Due to the unavoidable time gap between NASA moth-balling the shuttle fleet and launching the Orion craft, the Russian Federal Space Agency (RSA) will take the lead on most missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

Commander Mark Polansky and the crew of Endeavour are delivering the final components of Japan's Kibo module to the ISS. Upon completion, the Kibo module will be the largest part of the ISS and will be used to conduct science experiments in the vacuum of space.

So tomorrow at 7:40pm, if you stand outside and you live on the East Coast, you will probably be able to hear the launch. - Jack

Stacking Begins on NASA's New Ares I-X Rocket

The Ares I-X rocket being "stacked" in High Bay 4, VAB.

NASA released photos and information about the 5 sections that make up the United States' new Ares I-X rocket. The Ares I-X is the test configuration of the Ares I launch vehicle. The test, scheduled to be carried out before 30 August 2009 with an announced lift-off time of 7:00 EST, is designed to test the Ares control logarithms, stage separation, and parachute systems. The upcoming tests are part of the initial stages of Project Constellation, proposed by former President George W. Bush with the NASA Authorization Act of 2005.

The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 establishes several long-term goals and benchmarks for NASA to work towards; the act contains the United States government's Vision of Space Exploration (VSE). The VSE calls for American astronauts to return to the moon no later than 2020, launch the new Crew Exploration Vehicle by 2010 (postponed by President Obama in January 2009 due to the souring economy).

The Ares I is nothing more than a redesigned space shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB). The liquid-fueled second stage of the Ares I is an updated J-2X engine last used in the Apollo program. The lift provided by the Ares rocket will take payloads into low-earth orbit, where the service module (SM) and the new Orion command module (CM) will separate and transport a crew of 4-6 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), back to the moon, and in the next few decades, on to Mars.

See where it goes..... - Jack
EDIT: CNN.com just posted some new astronomy pictures taken over the years. Clicking here will take you to the article. ***WARNING*** I am NOT responsible for the content of any outgoing links.