NASA visitors center looks to donations to display shuttle aircraft

A NASA Shuttle Training Aircraft will go on display at Alabama space center. (NASA)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- An aircraft used to train space shuttle pilots is the subject of a public fundraiser by the U.S. Space and Rocket Center to assist in its installation at the Alabama space museum.

NASA gave a Gulfstream II shuttle training aircraft over to the Marshall Space Flight Center's visitor's center in 2012, and since that time the museum has been preparing a site located near a full scale mock-up of the space shuttle stack and a T-38 jet.

''It's a 'flying flight simulator', the highest fidelity simulated experience you could have for flight training without being in the actual air or space craft itself," John Ramsey, Chairman of the Space Camp Advancement Alumni Board, said of the shuttle training aircraft. "It's pretty unique in that regard."

The space center is over the halfway mark in meeting it's goal of $70,000, however it's deadline is fast approaching.

NASA astronauts, engineers and Space Camp alumni have even stepped in to assist with the fundraiser as the May 3 deadline nears.

"The Land the STA Indiegogo campaign has been an amazing experience," Trevor Daniels, STA project manager, said on Thursday. "We have seen outstanding support from Space Camp and Aviation Challenge alumni, friends of the Center, and space and aviation enthusiasts from around the world."

Daniels mentioned contributions toward the STA project have been received from across five countries.

The NASA 945 Gulfstream II was flown by NASA astronauts at both the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Edwards, AFB in California during the shuttle program.

"A Shuttle Training Aircraft plunges 28,000 feet in a little more than a minute when astronauts use it to practice a space shuttle approach," explained NASA's Steve Siceloff at the Kennedy Space Center. "It’s as close as anyone can get to experiencing a shuttle landing without becoming an astronaut -- and what a ride it is."

The shuttle trainer was also flown by astronauts to perform weather observations for the space shuttle on launch day to ensure winds or rain would not threaten its flight.

Once in place at the space center, visitors and camp attendees will have a chance to go inside the aircraft and view the cockpit's interior, a treat for any aviation or space buff.

The STA project is also handing out dozens of space-related gifts to those who donate.

Three special donations will allow someone and their guest to fly with NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson as he pilots his Beechcraft Bonanza over the Huntsville area.


To donate, the Space and Rocket Center has established a web safe donation site.

The NASA visitor's center is home to hundreds of rare artifacts from the early days of the space program through the shuttle years.


(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace, science and technology. Follow his updates via Twitter @AbsolutSpaceGuy.)

SpaceX resupply craft docked to space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A commercial cargo craft made an Easter Sunday arrival at the International Space Station delivering several tons of fresh supplies for it's crew of six.

Filled with 3,500 pounds of equipment, including over 150 science experiments, the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft was docked to the orbiting laboratory for the next four weeks.

Station commander and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata operated the Canadian-built robotic arm to capture Dragon at 7:14 a.m. EDT, on April 20, as the two spacecraft soared 260 miles above Egypt.

Wakata and NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio then moved over to the Destiny module for the actual docking of the supply craft to the earth facing port of the Harmony node.

Mastracchio then began driving sixteen bolts into place which was completed at 10:06 a.m. to firmly attach Dragon to Harmony.

This Dragon resupply flight is the third of twelve planned flights by SpaceX in a contract deal with NASA worth nearly $1.4 billion. Three more Dragon resupply flights are scheduled for 2014.

Astronauts will open the hatch way into Dragon on Monday morning and begin unloading the craft.

SpaceX Dragon launches on resupply flight to space station

Falcon 9 lifts-off Friday from Cape Canaveral to resupply space station. (SpaceX)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A commercial spacecraft loaded with supplies departed America's Space Coast on Friday en route to the International Space Station and it's six person crew.

The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) Dragon cargo craft is loaded with nearly 5,000 pounds of supplies including water, oxygen, food and equipment for the earth orbiting laboratory.

"Everything looks great with the ascent phase of the mission," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk confirmed from his company's mission control in Hawthorne, California after launch. "Everything is good on the Dragon front."

The Dragon capsule, riding a top the company's Falcon 9 rocket, lifted-off from it's ocean side launch pad and into an overcast Florida sky at 3:25:22 p.m. EDT, the opening of a one second launch window.

The Falcon's 855,000 pounds of thrust created a 300-foot golden flame pushing the rocket higher as it moved out over the Atlantic waters.

The space station's crew watched the SpaceX television feed of the lift-off as it happened 260 miles above.

Monday's launch marked the third of twelve planned flights by SpaceX in a nearly $1.5 billion contract deal with NASA.

The successful SpaceX launch comes four days after the commercial company signed a twenty-year land lease with NASA for use of the historic launch pad 39-A. SpaceX plans to launch manned spacecraft to the space station from the formed Apollo and space shuttle pad as early as 2017.

On Easter Sunday, the Dragon craft will rendezvous and close to within 20 feet of the orbiting outpost before being grappled by the station's 57-foot long Canadian robotic arm at 7:14 a.m.

Station commander and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio will operate the robotic arm from the station's pressurized 360-degree field of view inside the cupola module.

Just over two hours after the capture, the station's crew will dock Dragon to the earth facing port of the station's Harmony module.

Over the next month, astronauts will unload the resupply craft's 2.3 tons of supplies, and later load Dragon with completed science experiments and trash for it's return to earth sometime in late-May.

Falcon's launch occurred after a five week delay caused by a contamination problem with the payloads section aboard Dragon, and the failure of an Cape Canaveral radar designed to track the rocket in flight.

A launch attempt last Monday was also scrubbed due a hydrogen leak on the rocket's first stage.

NASA is preparing for a spacewalk on Wednesday by astronauts Mastracchio and Steve Swanson to replace a failed station back-up computer known as a multiplexer/ demultiplexer with a spare now located in the station's airlock.

The spacewalk is expected to begin at 9:20 a.m. and last nearly three hours.

(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace, science and technology. Follow his updates via Twitter @AbsolutSpaceGuy.)