Astronomy Picture of the Day 10-14-04

Explanation: Not a glimpse of this cluster of stars can be seen in the inset visible light image (lower right). Still, the infrared view from the Spitzer Space Telescope reveals a massive globular star cluster of about 300,000 suns in an apparently empty region of sky in the constellation Aquila. When astronomers used infrared cameras to peer through obscuring dust in the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, they were rewarded with the surprise discovery of the star cluster, likely one of the last such star clusters to be found. Globular star clusters normally roam the halo of the Milky Way, ancient relics of our galaxy's formative years. Yet the Spitzer image shows this otherwise hidden cluster crossing through the middle of the galactic plane some 10,000 light-years away. At that distance, the picture spans only about 20 light-years. In the false color infrared image, the red streak is a dust cloud which seems to lie behind the cluster core.

Space station crew soars aboard Soyuz rocket
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 13, 2004

Soyuz launches with Expedition 10. Credit: Energia

Riding a venerable Russian Soyuz rocket off the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, the next residents of the International Space Station safely departed planet Earth tonight for their six-month voyage in orbit.

The Soyuz TMA-5 capsule blasted into space at 0306 GMT (11:06 p.m. EDT), enjoying an apparent flawless ascent atop its three-stage launcher.

Cold, clear skies over Baikonur Cosmodrome offered picture-perfect conditions for spectators watching the rocket rise on the flickering orange flame from the kerosene-fed engines.

Video cameras mounted inside the crew module showed Expedition 10 commander Leroy Chiao, station flight engineer Salizhan Sharipov and visiting cosmonaut Yuri Shargin flipping through checklists and monitoring onboard displays as they rocketed to space.

Nine minutes after liftoff, the capsule separated from the launch vehicle and followed computer commands to deploy the power-generating solar arrays, navigation antennas and docking probe.

The Soyuz launch appeared flawless. Credit: Energia

"An excellent launch here in Baikonur. All of the systems seem to be working and they are in orbit now," Fred Gregory, NASA's deputy administrator and former astronaut, said shortly after liftoff.

It was the fourth time in less than two years that an American astronaut had launched aboard the Soyuz. The Russian spacecraft is the only option to launch humans to the space station while NASA's shuttle fleet is grounded for safety upgrades in the wake of Columbia.

"I continue to be impressed with the safety, reliablity and the dependability in which the Soyuz vehicle gives through its launch. That just gives our astronauts really a good, safe ride up to the International Space Station," Michael Kostelnik, NASA's deputy associate administrator for the shuttle and station programs, said after launch.

"In this time of crisis when we have the shuttle not up primarily supporting the International Space Station, I think the support we have gotten from our Russian friends in crew transfer and so forth shows you the strength of how important partnerships are for these complex enterprises in space."

The Soyuz capsule was lofted into a preliminary orbit, setting the stage for a highly choreographed series of engine firings over the next two days that will maneuver Soyuz toward the International Space Station.

A fully automated docking to the station's Pirs module is scheduled for Saturday morning around 0425 GMT (12:25 a.m. EDT).

This spectacular image shows the Soyuz contrail as the rocket powers to space. Credit: Energia

Chiao and Sharipov will spend the following eight days assuming control of the station from outgoing Expedition 9 commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Mike Fincke.

"We have a pretty busy docked mission. Obviously, the crew is primarily busy with handover. The old crew -- Expedition 9 -- is showing the ropes to the Expedition 10 crew," said Annette Hasbrook, the Expedition 10 lead flight director in Houston's Mission Control.

"As part of that, there will be time spent on SSRMS familiarization -- that is our large robotic arm that is on the space station -- and also time spent in the U.S. airlock working on our (spacewalk) suits."

Shargin plans to conduct a series of science experiments during his station visit before returning to Earth with the Expedition 9 crew on the night of October 23, landing in Kazkahstan before dawn.

Shargin, Sharipov and Chiao are welcomed at the Soyuz launch pad by a large crowd. Credit: Energia

The 193-day voyage of Expedition 10 will see the crew tending to station systems, conducting science experiments, receiving two unmanned resupply ships, performing a pair of Russian-based spacewalks and preparing the complex for the first post-Columbia space shuttle visit expected next May.

"It is the expectation they will leave (the station) prepped and ready for the the space shuttle's arrival," Kostelnik said.

"A lot of the preparations that they will be doing include pre-packing cargoes that will be returned on the shuttle flight (and) reconfiguring stowage on the ISS," said Susan Brand, NASA's Expedition 10 increment manager.

"This will be the program's first opportunity to return items to the ground for either refurb, reuse or failure analysis. So we will be looking forward to getting a lot of hardware home and off the station," Hasbrook added.

Chiao and Sharipov are scheduled to land April 25 -- a few weeks before Discovery blasts off on the shuttle return-to-flight mission -- after handing the station to Expedition 11.

For a detailed look of the Expedition 10 mission, see our preview story published earlier this week.

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