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Crew ingress in progress. Second time is the charm. The hell with bad news. Onward, forward, skyward and spaceward! Godspeed Bob and Dough! And all ya'alls, take the red pill.

Tests show that dormant herpes viruses reactivate in more than half the astronauts who travel on the Space Shuttle and International Space station, according to new NASA research - a phenomenon the space agency says could pose problems for deep space missions. ..."In keeping with this, we find that astronaut's immune cells - particularly those that normally suppress and eliminate viruses - become less effective during spaceflight and sometimes for up to 60 days after."

"NASA astronauts endure weeks or even months exposed to microgravity and cosmic radiation—not to mention the extreme G forces of take-off and re-entry," says senior author Dr. Satish K. Mehta of KBR Wyle at the Johnson Space Center. "This physical challenge is compounded by more familiar stressors like social separation, confinement and an altered sleep-wake cycle." "During spaceflight there is a rise in secretion of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are known to suppress the immune system. In keeping with this, we find that astronaut's immune cells—particularly those that normally suppress and eliminate viruses—become less effective during spaceflight...

Although Orion hits the atmosphere at over 24,000 mph after returning from deep space, it slows significantly after atmospheric reentry. By the time the first parachutes normally deploy, the crew module has decelerated to some 300 mph. Their job is to slow the craft down to about 20 mph by the time of ocean splashdown mere minutes later. ... On Aug. 26, NASA conducted a 35,000 foot high drop test out of the cargo bay of a C-17 aircraft using an engineering test version of the Orion capsule over the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. “The engineering...

NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden acknowledged Wednesday there is no back-up plan to fly the International Space Station if Russia cuts off U.S. access to space. "We would make an orderly evacuation," Bolden said during a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. Because both countries are dependent upon one another, the $140 billion station would be lost.

We’re returning human spaceflight launches to America. Learn who will take crews to the #ISS. Watch NASA TV at 4pm ET http://youtu.be/ceQycm1uCFI

Elon Musk is revealing the new design of the hopefully soon to be man-rated Dragon capsule. This is an important step forward for the company, and for American space travel. Innovations include: It is fully reusable, much like the grasshopper first stage, and will land on land. A Dragon 2 capsule launched from a grasshopper first stage will be an order of magnitude cheaper than any other current spacecraft. Nice safety features. While it is designed to land under rocket power, it can land via parachute like the Apollo era and current dragon capsules if the engines fail. The Dragon...

It’s one example of how extended stays in flight can alter your health. Despite NASA’s best efforts, bones and muscles weaken and months of rehabilitation are needed after astronauts spend a half-year on the space station. But in recent years, there have been strides in understanding what microgravity does to the human body — and how to fix it.

Lease terms are still being negotiated, but these are some of the things expected to be a part of it: rehabilitating Hangars One, 2 and 3, fixing up a golf course, starting a public use and educational facility, and getting rid of NASA’s operation and maintenance cost of the area, among other things. In a press release, NASA did not give a date as to when these negotiations would conclude.

The passing of Neil Armstrong on Saturday appears to be coinciding with a decline in American manned space exploration, as Asian countries develop plans to expand their footprint on the moon and in outer space. China, Japan, and India have all unveiled aggressive space initiatives in the recent months and years. New Delhi has said it plans to launch the first manned mission by 2016 and a Mars orbiter in the coming years. The Japanese already participate in the International Space Station program and have discussed studying asteroids for potential mineral extraction. But China has emerged as the most likely...

AFP - On Tuesday, the world will be awash with talk of courage and vision as it looks back on 50 years of manned space flight, a trail blazed by Yuri Gagarin's 108-minute trip around the planet. But what if the past half-century has been just a cosmic waste of money? Presidents and space agencies insist manned missions will always be at the heart of their space programmes.

Ray Bradbury is mad at President Obama, but it's not about the economy, the war or the plan to a construct a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. “He should be announcing that we should go back to the moon,” “I think our country is in need of a revolution,” Bradbury said. “There is too much government today. We've got to remember the government should be by the people, of the people and for the people.” The native of Waukegan, Ill., has never been shy about expressing himself -- he described President Clinton with a word that rhymes...

NASA's space shuttle program has gotten a brief reprieve, as the space agency plans to keep shuttle flights going until next year. The space agency made it official Thursday after weeks of hints about the potential for launch delays. Managers agreed to postpone the next-to-last shuttle launch until Nov. 1. Discovery had been scheduled to fly to the International Space Station in September. The very last mission now has a Feb. 26 launch date. Endeavour will close out the shuttle program by delivering a major scientific instrument to the space station. Why the delays? NASA says it needs more time...

Summary Obama is a liar. Pure and simple. I know some of you are offended to hear him called a liar, but he is. He is also a coward for not facing the people whose hopes and dreams for our Human Space Flight Program are being destroyed by this man and his accomplices in Congress and NASA. There is no new Human Space Flight Program. There is just a poorly written Powerpoint, lacking in specifics or even a name, posted on Obama’s teleprompter. No ship, no hardware, no employees, nothing but crap. There is no destination, no idea what NASA...

Image above: STS-114 Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda (left) and Steve Robinson (right) with Commander Eileen Collins at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility Sunday morning after practice in the Shuttle Training AircraftLaunch of Space Shuttle Discovery on NASA's Return to Flight mission is still on track for Tuesday at 10:39 a.m., NASA Test Director Pete Nickolenko announced during a morning briefing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Our teams have worked hard to prepare Space Shuttle Discovery and her crew for launch," Nickolenko said. According to International Space Station Mission Manager Scott Higginbotham, the hardware in Discovery's payload bay is ready for...

<p>Are the Chinese serious about human space flight? Most definitely. And they are interested in doing more than simply going to low Earth orbit. They are headed for the moon.</p> <p>For most of last year, the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry looked at our nation's position relative to our global competition. Clearly, the Europeans are determined to challenge our preeminence in commercial aviation, and the challenge to our leadership in space is coming from the Pacific Rim.</p>

China Launches 4th Unmanned Space Capsule BEIJING - China's fourth unmanned space capsule blasted into orbit early Monday in a test launch that soon could lead to a manned flight, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Shenzhou IV spacecraft blasted off at 12:40 a.m. local time from a launch pad in the Gobi desert and entered a preset orbit, Xinhua said. It did not say when the craft would return. The capsule carries all the equipment for manned flight, and life support and other systems will be tested while it is in orbit, Xinhua said. Beijing has invested prestige...