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This will be the last shuttle launch in 2009. Then we will only have five more launches:

• STS-130 Endeavour: ISS assembly flight 20A: Node 3 and Cupola. February 4, 2010
• STS-131 Discovery: ISS assembly flight Utility and Logistics Flight 4: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. March 18, 2010
• STS-132 Atlantis: ISS assembly flight 19A: Mini-Research Module 1. Final planned flight of Atlantis. May 14, 2010
• STS-134 Endeavour: ISS assembly flight ULF6, ELC 4, ROEU, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Final planned flight of Endeavour. July 29, 2010
• STS-133 Discovery: ISS assembly flight ULF5, MPLM Leonardo, (to be left pemanently attached), ELC 3. Final flight of Discovery. Final Shuttle flight of the program. September 16, 2010.

All good (and bad) things have to end one day. It will be sad to see the last flight of the old space beasts from the Reagan Era. [NASA]

Someone from NASA has sent us this unique video of shuttle Atlantis: A time lapse of the shuttle getting ready to be mounted on its 747 mothership at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, just before returning to Florida. I just can't believe how complex and laborious something that is conceptually so simple could be.

It's just sad that many people take for granted the hard and complex work that the boys and girls at NASA do to keep the much-needed space exploration going on with a meager budget.

This is Atlantis returning home from California after mission STS-125—the riskiest ever—where astronauts played Katamari Damacy, fixed Hubble, and made astronomers and space aficionados everywhere smile again.

It just seems impossible that the 747 can lift that gigantic spacecraft. The trip from Edwards Air Force Base back to Florida will require several stopovers for refueling, taking at least two days of rain-free weather travel to reach its final destination.

Barring its mildly inauspicious start, the mission appears to have gone well so far, netting us stunning photos, fascinating live video of the repairs, and of course, years and years of mind-boggling Hubble imagery to look forward to.

One thing: NASA's aggressive, wide new online strategy has been great, and given regular people previously unimaginable levels of information and engagement with the program, but some things are best left unadvertised. Ahem:

Atlantis' crew woke up this morning at 4:31 a.m. EDT to "Lie in Our Graves" performed by the Dave Matthews Band. It was played for astronaut Megan McArthur.

Not that a frumpy musical choice could put a ding in the astronauts' unassailable coolness, but early morning orbital jam band sessions seem like they should be kept private, away from the wide, judgmental eyes of the next generation of potential astronauts. [NASA]

Shot just after launch, the image shows the faraway scene as viewed through a Takahashi TOA-130 refractor telescope (focal length 2200mm) and a Baader solar prism, which gives the Sun its muted look. Strapped to the back of the telescope, the 5D was set to ISO 100 and a 1/8000 shutter speed, the camera's extreme low and high settings, respectively [Edit: woops, the Mk II actually does ISO 50]. Legault used the free online Celestial Observer tool to calculate the best time to shoot from his location. Meanwhile, that little silhouette is the scene of an incredibly complex and dangerous Hubble rescue mission, which will repair a number of the craft's instruments, install a new camera and ensure that NASA's flagship orbital telescope keeps sending us amazing images for years to come.

Check out the unbelievable uncropped photos at Legault's site. —Note: It should be obvious, but don't try anything like this unless you know exactly what you're doing. Your eyes, they will burn. [Thierry Legault via Daily Mail]

Picture this, if you will...

The main shuttle mission, Atlantis, experiences another foam incident, and the heat shield is damaged beyond repair. Upon acknowledgment of the problem, NASA scrambles a four-person astronaut rescue team, which must prepare for launch in the span of a few days. Normally, as you know, launches are complex affairs that require months of preparation. But no bother. The Endeavour lifts off successfully and the rescue team screams into space In fact, Endeavour is put on a T-Minus seven day liftoff count once the Atlantis launches anyway, so it's technically ready to go from minute one.

Once in orbit, the rescue team shuttle captain must pilot his craft to within a few dozen yards or the ailing shuttle. Once there, the robot arm is sent out to grasp the gimped shuttle, thereby serving as a life line for the crew. On board the rescue craft are extra spacesuits and gear, so that the entire seven-person Atlantis crew can spacewalk to Endeavour over the course of a few days.

Endeavour, now packed to the gills, must then return home. As for Atlantis, she will be given a proper scuttling by a crew back at mission control. Using a remote control system, they will ditch the shuttle in the Pacific, and try to recover its debris later.

The Endeavour crew must then check their ship for damage, and hope beyond hope that there isn't any. There's no other shuttle on the pad, you see, and the ISS is at an orbit that will be unreachable for either shuttle during this mission (Note: Other missions have had the ISS as a backup plan due to shared orbits and other such details).

Again, this is rare. But it's comforting to note our spacemen and women have each other's backs up there. [MSNBC]

And it's completely fitting too, given that this voyage is the last trip NASA will take to service Hubble. But enough sad news on Mother's Day, what's with these "superpowers?"

The first power is "three-in-one vision," provided by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which will allow Hubble to see the light spectrum simultaneously, from ultraviolet to infrared. The gadget also grants Hubble the ability to see "cosmic cobwebs" that stretch out and connect galaxies. These new abilities should double or tripe the rate at which NASA discovers distant supernovae.

The other addition, called the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), costs $70 million and sniffs out ultraviolet light with reckless abandon. What once took 10 Earth orbits to observe will now take just one. Extremely dim objects that took a year to observe properly will be cataloged in weeks.

Unsurprisingly, both gadgets, used in tandem with with existing tech on Hubble, are designed to seek out dark matter and energy. Oh, and alien planets too:

"For example, you might be able to see whether a planet's atmosphere has hydrogen or carbon or oxygen in it," said Ken Sembach, Hubble project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

NASA expects the first data from these new instruments to be delivered by Labor Day. [MSNBC]

Conclusion 1: This Is Atlantis, Dammit!

The enigmatic lines were found under the sea off the north-western coast of Africa. This location is awfully close to one of the spots Plato, Legendary Smart Dude, had pinpointed as a possible resting place of Atlantis. In addition, the site is about the same size as Plato described. And if we accept Google's explanation, why is this the first such grid we've seen, in this very suspicious location?

Conclusion 2: It's Not Atlantis, Dammit!

Google claims that the lines are remnants of the sonar traces left by boats as they surveyed the area. Plus, Plato described Atlantis as being designed as a series of concentric circles, not a grid. Sub-argument: Plato's description of Atlantis was fictional, and the entire internet is really bored.

I think the arguments speak for themselves. ATLANTIS IS OBVIOUSLY REAL! [CNET, Google]

When the ISS is not available for rescue purposes, as it might not be for this mission, a second shuttle is made ready for a quick launch. What is sobering, however, is this image is potentially the last of its kind. The space shuttle program is scheduled for retirement in 2010, leaving little chance for similar shuttle family photos in the future. [NASA, Tom's Astronomy Blog]

[XBMC]

Servicing Mission 4 astronaut Drew Feustel uses the "Pistol Grip Tool," a computer-controlled power tool, to install the Wide Field Camera 3 into a high-fidelity Hubble model. Just another day at the office.

Feustel gets all the fun gadgets, apparently. In this image he's practicing with one of the cameras for the mission. It's certainly no Nikon D90, but—what am I saying. This thing is one of the most advanced pieces of gear in the solar system. It's Labor Day today. I need this thing for a barbecue. [NASA images via The Big Picture]

This GPS can be purchase over at the 'Zon for $450. – Travis Hudson

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