A new Progress cargo carrier launched to the International Space Station at 3:50 p.m. EDT Wednesday with almost 2.7 tons of fuel, air, water, propellant and other supplies and equipment aboard.

The Expedition 17 crew members set up video cameras and reviewed rendezvous procedures for Friday's docking of the ISS Progress 30 (P30) cargo ship.

The station's 30th Progress unpiloted spacecraft brings to the orbiting laboratory more than 1,900 pounds of propellant, more than 110 pounds of oxygen, almost 465 pounds of water and 2,865 pounds of dry cargo. Total cargo weight is 5,357 pounds.

Along with their continued science and maintenance work aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition 17 crew members did a routine fire drill, inspected hatch seals and stowed the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) control panel Monday. They also practiced using the station's robot arm to maneuver and grapple the External Stowage Platform-3 in preparation for its relocation on a future increment.

The Jules Verne ATV undocked from the aft port of the Zvezda service module Friday, setting the stage for the upcoming launch of the Progress 30 cargo craft. Progress 30, which is slated to launch Wednesday at 3:50 p.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, will carry more than 2.6 tons of food, fuel and supplies to the Expedition 17 crew. The cargo ship is scheduled to dock with the station Friday.

Sept. 8, 2008
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, workers continue preparing Atlantis for its targeted Oct. 10 launch on the mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Just a few miles away in the Orbiter Processing Facility, work on space shuttle Endeavour is in the final stages before its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Thursday, followed one week later by its rollout to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour set for launch on its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station in November, but will be on standby at Launch Pad 39B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission for Atlantis would be necessary.

Topics in this report 1. Upcoming School Contact 2. Successful Contact with Challenger Learning Center 3. NZZ Article on Swiss Contact 4. ARISS Presentations Posted 1. Upcoming School Contact An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Prairielands Council, Boy Scouts of America at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, IL on Saturday, September 13 at 15:54 UTC. The contact will be facilitated by telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. During the event, Scouts will earn the Space Exploration Merit Badge, which includes the Mars Mission Design and the Moon Base Model construction. NASA DLN will assist with teaching these two topics. Scouts will design and launch water rockets and explore robotic technology. Segway of Chicago will assist in Robotics education. Participants will also complete many of the Radio Merit Badge requirements. The local rocket club will provide rocket launches throughout the event, two during the outdoor viewing of the movie "October Sky." The event will conclude with a hot air balloon launch. Boy Scouts (ages 11-17), Cub Scouts (ages 6 -10), and adult volunteers have been invited to the event. The Space Jamboree has attracted the attention of regional media outlets. Four television stations, radio stations, and local newspapers are planning features on this Space Jamboree.

I am listing to a faint packet or aprs signal coming in right now at 6:32 EST.
These normally only last for several minutes then they are gone. I have been hearing them over the past several weeks?? Anyone have any ideas?? Sounds to me like either ISS or maybe another satalite?? I have no idea....

NASA has adjusted the target launch dates for the two remaining space shuttle missions in 2008. Shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is targeted for Oct. 10, while Endeavour's STS-126 supply mission to the International Space Station has moved to Nov. 12.

Shuttle managers made the decision after Atlantis was rolled to the launch pad and the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna were beyond NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That allowed managers to more accurately assess the impacts of recent tropical systems on the launch schedule.

Atlantis began rolling from Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A Thursday at 9:19 a.m. EDT. The shuttle arrived at the pad at approximately 2 p.m. and was secured at 3:52 p.m. Atlantis now is targeted to launch at approximately 12:33 a.m. EDT, Friday, Oct. 10. NASA Television coverage of launch will begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 9. The 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble telescope. Atlantis is scheduled to land at approximately 10:21 p.m., Oct. 20.