WATCH LIVE @ 8:15 a.m. ET Saturday: Last European Cargo Ship Leaves Space Station
CREDIT: NASA
Europe's fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-5) will leave the International Space Station Saturday morning (Feb. 14), and you can watch the historic departure live in the window below, courtesy of NASA TV. Coverage begins at 8:15 a.m. EST (1315 GMT), and the robotic ATV-5 — named "Georges Lemaitre" after the 20th century Belgian astronomer and physicist — is scheduled to leave the orbiting lab at 8:44 a.m. EST (1344 GMT).
Like the four other ATV vessels, which began visiting the station in 2008, George Lemaitre is designed to burn up upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere. ATV-5 will be deorbited on Sunday (Feb. 15), NASA officials said. NASA, the European Space Agency and researchers around the world will study Georges Lemaitre's fiery final voyage to learn more about how spacecraft break apart when they come back to Earth.
Another unmanned resupply craft, Russia's Progress 58 vehicle, is slated to launch toward the space station on Tuesday (Feb. 17) at 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT).
25 Years of Hubble Images: A Google+ Hangout Thursday (Feb. 12) showcased 25 stunning Hubble Space Telescope images to celebrate the iconic instrument's upcoming 25th anniversary.
Hubble, a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency, launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. The telescope's observations have led to many breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics, including the surprising 1998 discovery that the universe's expansion is accelerating.
The webcast featured Ken Sembach, Hubble Mission Head at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, which operates Hubble; Hubble Outreach Project Scientist Carol Christian, also of STScI; STScI social media manager Tony Darnell; and Space Fan News' Scott Lewis, who tweets for the misison @HubbleTelescope.
SpaceX DSCOVR Satellite Launch: Update for Wednesday, 6:30 pm ET: SpaceX has successfully launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory for NASA and NOAA. See our full wrap story and launch video here: SpaceX Launches DSCOVR Space Weather Satellite, But No Rocket Landing
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
From NASA: "DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. DSCOVR will maintain the nation’s solar wind observations, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA’s space weather alerts, forecasts, and warnings. Space weather events like geomagnetic storms, caused by changes in solar wind, can affect public infrastructure systems such as power grids, telecommunications systems, and aircraft avionics. DSCOVR will succeed NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer in supporting solar observations and provide 15 to 60 minute warning time to improve predictions of geomagnetic storm impact locations."
SpaceX will also host a webcast of the launch. You can watch in the window below or directly from SpaceX here: http://www.spacex.com/webcast/
Europe Completes Test of IXV Space Plane: VIDEO BELOW
Update for 10:45 a.m. EST: The IXV webcast is over, and the space plane is back on Earth. Europe's mini space shuttle, called the IXV seems to have passed its first flight in space. Read the full story here - European Mini-Space Shuttle Aces 1st Test Flight
You can also watch a replay of the launch in the window below:
From ESA:
"This IXV mission will test cutting-edge system and technology aspects to provide Europe with an independent reentry capability, and a building block for reusable space transportation systems. It will validate designs for lifting-bodies, incorporating both the simplicity of capsules and the performance of winged vehicles, with high controllability and maneuverability for precision landing."
The mission will last 100 minutes in all.
- How Europe's IXV Space Plane Works: Infographic
- Photos: Europe's IXV Reusable Space Plane Prototype
- Surviving as a Man-Made Meteor: ESA's IXV Spacecraft
Webcast Replay: ULA CEO Tory Bruno and Reusable Rockets
United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno will discuss the future of reusable rockets during a live talk tonight, Feb. 4, at Stanford University's Student Space Initiative event in California. Stanford's webcast of the event will begin at 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST/0300 GMT) and you can watch it live below. A Twitter Q&A will follow on Tory's Twitter account: @torybruno.
Live NASA TV
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
HD Views from the International Space Station
NASA is now live-streaming views of Earth from space captured by four commercial high-definition video cameras installed on the exterior of the International Space Station. The project, known as the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment, aims to test how cameras perform in the space environment. Full Story: NASA Now Streaming Live HD Camera Views of Earth from Space
Live streaming video by Ustream
- Earth From Space: Amazing Astronaut Photos
- UrtheCast Photos: HD Cameras Watch Earth from Space Station: Gallery
- Photos: Amazing Images of Earth from Space
- Planet Labs Photos of Earth from Space: Gallery
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield's Amazing Photos of Earth From Space
NASA Satellite TV Information:
You can follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
