The pick of the science news
Shuttle serenade
The Endeavourcrew had an early wake-up call with the song Give me Your Eyesby Brandon Heath, dedicated to 41-year-old pilot Terry Virts, who is on his first space flight
Last year Nasa asked the public to suggest names for the new node being added to the International Space Station on this mission. Fans of comedian Stephen Colbert said it be named after him, but Nasa opted for Tranquility, the eighth most popular name in the poll.
However, it named a treadmill on the station after Colbert, and it is to be moved to the new node during this mission.
The crew of EndeavourSTS-130 designed the insignia for the project. Shaped like the cupola to be installed during the mission, the patch also features the first image of earth taken from the moon and depicts the shuttle Endeavour.
We have lift-off
Space shuttle Endeavour's mission STS-130 – the 130th space shuttle flight and its 24th trip into space – blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday at 4.14am local time with six crew members on board.
Decribed as a “very complicated” mission, one goal is to add a new node to the International Space Station, which travels in an orbit approximately 330km above the earth’s surface.
The new node, called Tranquility, will provide more room for the space station's life support and environmental systems, including oxygen generation and water recycling.
The mission also aims to install a cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the centre that offers a 360-degree view around the space station.
Claire O’Connell 1000.claire@gmail.com