Independent guide and review of Florida as a holiday destination

LAUNCH UPDATES

September 30, 2008

The long awaited final service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope by the Space Shuttle Atlantis has been put on hold after a malfunction aboard the Hubble Space Telescope means additional replacement parts will be required and they will not be available until January 2009.

June 16, 2008

The delayed GLAST mission was launched by a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket.

June 14, 2008

The Space Shuttle Discovery touched down at the end of another successful mission to the International Space Station. However, damage to the launch pad may delay future shuttle missions.

May 31, 2008

The Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off on mission STS-124 to deliver the Kibo laboratory’s Japanese Pressurized Module to the International Space Station.

April 3, 2008

The launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery has been pushed back to May 31 at 5:01 pm following delays with the delivery of the external fuel tank.

March 26, 2008

The Space Shuttle Endeavour followed up on its night launch with a night time landing at the end of a successful mission. Endeavour touched down at 8:39 pm EST after the first landing attempt was called off because of cloud cover.

March 11, 2008

The Space Shuttle Endeavour made the first night launch in over two years. Lift off was at 2:28 am on mission STS-123 to the International Space Station.

February 20, 2008

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Station after successfully delivering the European Space AgencyÕs (ESA) Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.

February 7, 2008

The Space Shuttle Atlantis finally blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center after months of delays following fuel sensor problems.

January 12, 2008

NASA have further delayed the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis until February 7 which will then push back the launch of Endeavour until mid March.

January 6, 2008

NASA have announced that the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis has been put back until January 24 at the earliest. This will have a knock-on effect on the other 2008 missions.

More launch details

Rocket/Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009

If you ever get the opportunity to watch the launch of a rocket or space shuttle then you do not want to miss it; it is an experience of a lifetime. Words cannot describe the sounds of a space shuttle blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center.

Upcoming Launch Schedule for 2009 and beyond

All launch dates are provisionally and are subject to change, you should always check with the Kennedy Space Center before making a special trip.

Atlantis STS-98 night-time launch Atlantis/STS-98 night-time launch April 2001 [courtesy of NASA]

The current launch schedule for 2008 can be found here.

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January 23, 2009 - United Launch Alliance Delta 2 Rocket, STSS

The Delta 2 mission is a tracking technology demonstrator for the Missile Defense Agency as part of a ballistic missile defense system (Space Tracking and Surveillance System). Launch is scheduled for launch pad 17A.

Delayed from November 25, 2007, April, July 16, November 13 and 20, 2008.

early 2009 - Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-125, Hubble HST-SM4 mission

NASA are planning a fifth and final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, interrupting the missions to the International Space Station, in order to extend its useful working life to 2013.

During the 11 day mission, astronauts will replace the telescope's failing batteries and gyroscopes, install two new instruments; the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (replacing the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement, COSTAR) and Wide Field Camera 3 (replace the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, WFPC2) and attempt to repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS).

They will also install a docking module so that at some point in the future, a propulsion module can be installed to allow the Hubble telescope to make a controlled re-entry when the telescope is decommissioned.

The shuttle does not carry sufficient fuel to reach the International Space Station in the event of a problem whilst servicing the Hubble telescope and there are plans to have a second shuttle on standby as an emergency rescue vehicle. Delayed from August 7, August 28 and October 8, 10 and 14 2008.

February 10, 2009 - United Launch Alliance Delta 4, GOES-O

GOES-O is a joint NASA/NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) mission to launch a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) from launch pad SLC-37B. Delayed from April, June 12, July 20, August 8, November 5 and December 12, 2008.

February 12, 2009 - Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-119 (ISS-15A)

The 27th mission to the International Space Station will deliver the fourth starboard truss segment (ITS S6) and fourth set of solar arrays and batteries. Delayed from November 6 and December 4, 2008.

February 2009 - United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Rocket, WGS SV3

The Atlas 5 (AV-016) mission is to launch the third of five Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft (WGS) for the US military from pad SLC-41.

Early 2009 - United Launch Alliance Delta 2 Rocket, GPS 2F-1

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 will launch the first GPS Block 2F military navigation satellite from launch pad SLC-17.

March 2, 2009 - United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Rocket, LRO/LCROSS

The Atlas 5 mission is to launch the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon's North and South Poles.

Launch time is provisionally set for 3:34 am EDT from launch pad SLC-41. Delayed from October 28, November 24, early December, 2008 and February 27, 2009.

Spring 2009 - United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Rocket, WGS SV2 (AV-016)

The Atlas 5 (AV-016) mission is to launch the second of five Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft (WGS) for the US military from pad SLC-41 at 8:22 pm EDT.

Delayed from August 2, August 4 and October 10, late November and December 4.

Spring 2009 - United Launch Alliance Delta 2 Rocket, GPS 2R-20 (M7)

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 will launch the seventh NAVSTAR GPS Block 2R military navigation satellite from launch pad SLC-17.

Delayed from June 30, July 16, October 16 and November 7, 2008.

May 15, 2009 - Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-127 (ISS-2J/A)

The 29th mission to the International Space Station will deliver the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM EF), Kibo Japanese Experiment Logistics Module - Exposed Section (ELM-ES) and Spacelab Pallet - Deployable 2 (SLP-D2).

July 30, 2009 - United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Rocket, AEHF1

The Atlas 5 mission is to launch the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite to provide highly-secure communications for the U.S. military.

July 30, 2009 - Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-128 (ISS-17A)

The 30th mission to the International Space Station will deliver the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC), Three crew quarters, galley, second treadmill (TVIS2) and Crew Health Care System 2 (CHeCS 2). Originally planned for Discovery.

Summer 2009 - United Launch Alliance Delta 2 Rocket, GPS 2R-21 (M8)

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 will launch the eighth NAVSTAR GPS Block 2R military navigation satellite from launch pad SLC-17.

Delayed from September 11 and December 18, 2008.

April 10, 2009 - Boeing Delta 2 Rocket, Kepler

The Kepler mission is designed to survey our part of the Milky Way galaxy, looking at hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets for possible habitable zones.

Delayed from February 16.

October 15, 2009 - Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-129 (ISS-ULF3)

The 31st mission to the International Space Station will deliver the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC1) and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 2 (ELC2). Originally planned for Endeavour.

December 10, 2009 - Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-130 (ISS-19A)

The 32nd mission to the International Space Station will deliver the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) and Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC). Originally planned for Discovery.

January 26, 2010 - United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Rocket, SDO

The Atlas 5 mission is to launch the NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). This is the first Space Weather Research Network mission in the Living With a Star Program. Launch is scheduled for launch pad 41.

Delayed from December 1, 2008

February 11, 2010 - Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-131 (ISS-ULF4)

The 33rd mission to the International Space Station will deliver the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 (ELC3) and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4). Originally planned for Endeavour. Atlantis's last flight.

April 8, 2010 - Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-132 (ISS-20A)

The 33rd mission to the International Space Station will deliver the Node 3 with Cupola. Discovery's last flight.

May 31, 2010 - Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-133 (ISS-ULF5)

The 34th and final mission to the International Space Station will deliver the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 5 (ELC5) and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC1). Endeavours's last flight and last every shuttle mission.

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