Tag Archives: launch

Spacewalk to be featured on WKTV

November 11, 20223-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Kids Activities, Upcoming Events, WKTV Projectslaunch, NASA, spacewalkJoanne

By Kelly Taylor
WKTV Program Manager

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, WKTV will be featuring live coverage of the U.S. Spacewalk to install an IROSA (ISS Rollout Solar Array) modification kit on the starboard truss on the International Space Station.

The Artemis 1 mission will be televised Nov. 15 by NASA. It will air on WKTV 26 Governement Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99. (Courtesy, NASA)

Coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. with the actual spacewalk scheduled to start at 8 a.m.

Following the spacewalk at 4 p.m., there will be live coverage of the cryogenic fueling of the Space Launch System for launch on the Artemis 1 mission.

Artemis 1 is the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, an un-crewed Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida that will pave the way for a crewed test flight and future human lunar exploration.

The live coverage continues at 11 p.m. with the launch of the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis 1 mission. The actual launch is scheduled 1:04 a.m. with the post launch news conference tentatively scheduled for 4 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16.

Stay tuned for the Artemis/Orion outbound trajectory correction burn scheduled at 7:51 a.m., with the first imagery coverage starting at 10 a.m.

For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.

NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.

Valentine special features launch of cargo craft to International Space Station

February 11, 20223-bottomcargo craft, Feb. 14, launch, NASAJoanne

By Kelly Taylor
WKTV Program Manager

The Progress 80 cargo craft will head to the International Space Station on Feb. 14. (NASA)

On Monday, Feb. 14, WKTV will be featuring live coverage of the launch of the Progress 80 cargo craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the International Space Station. Coverage starts at 11 p.m. with the launch scheduled for 11:25 p.m.

NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.

Progress is an unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft which has been used since 1978 to deliver supplies, originally to the Soviet Space stations, and now to the International Space Station.

Live coverage will continue on Thursday, Feb. 19. at 1:30 a.m. for the rendezvous and docking of the cargo craft to the ISS. The docking is scheduled to take place at 2:08 a.m.

For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.

Space launch, Mars helicopter featured on WKTV

April 5, 20213-bottom, Tech Trends, Travel, WKTV Projectslaunch, NASA, Space, Space stationJoanne

NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos’ Oleg Novitskyand Pyotr Dubrov head off to the International Space Station. (NASA)

By Kelly Taylor
WKTV Program Director

On Friday, April 9, WKTV will be featuring live coverage of the launch of the International Space Station Expedition 65 Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft. Coverage starts at 2:45 a.m., with the launch scheduled for 3:42 a.m. The coverage includes video b-roll of the crew’s launch day pre-launch activities.

NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos’ Oleg Novitskyand Pyotr Dubrov head off to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The docking of the Expedition 65 Soyuz MS-18 will take place at 6:15 a.m. and the hatch opening at 8:30 a.m.

At 1 p.m., NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter prepares for takeoff. For it’s first flight, the helicopter will take off a few feet from the ground, hover in the air for about 20-30 seconds and land.

This will be a major milestone as it is the very first powered flight in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars.

For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.

NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will take it first flight on Mars on Friday. (NASA)

Due to the weather, America’s first rocket launch moved to Saturday

May 30, 20203-bottom, Citizen JournalismCommercial Crew Program, Dragon Crew, International Space Station, launch, NASAJoanne

By Kelly Taylor
kelly@wktv.org

The scheduled Wednesday launch from Kennedy Space Center was canceled due to weather with NASA quickly announcing that it was targeting for Saturday at 3:22 p.m. For the first time since 2011, American astronauts will fly in an American spacecraft launched from American soil to the International Space Station on Wednesday.

Dubbed Launch America by NASA, this is the first time since 2011 American astronauts will fly in an American spacecraft launched from American soil to the International Space Station. Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will be aboard for this history making flight which will be lived broadcast on the WKTV Government 26 channel and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99. Coverage starts at 11 a.m. Saturday with live views of the Space X/ Falcon 9 rocket on Launch Pad 39, with the launch scheduled for 3:22 p.m. Saturday. Residents can also watch the live stream by clicking here.

The launch is the first in the NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, where NASA has been working with the American aerospace industry that are developing and operating a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station. Commercial transportation to and from the station will provide expanded utility, additional research time and broader opportunities for discovery on the orbiting laboratory.

Demo-2 will be SpaceX’s final test flight to validate its crew transportation system, including the Crew Dragon, Falcon 9, launch pad and operations capabilities. During the mission, the crew and SpaceX mission controllers will verify the performance of the spacecraft’s environmental control system, displays and control system, maneuvering thrusters, autonomous docking capability, and more.

Live coverage continues on Sunday with the 10 a.m. for the docking of the SpaceX//DM-2 Crew Dragon to the International Space Station.

The hatch opening will at around 12:45 p.m., followed the welcoming ceremony for the Space X/DM-2 Crew Dragon crew at 1:05 p.m. Behnken and Hurley will be welcomed aboard station and will become members of the Expedition 63 crew. They will perform tests on Crew Dragon in addition to conducting research and other tasks with the space station crew.

Although the Crew Dragon being used for this flight test can stay in orbit about 110 days, the specific mission duration will be determined once on station based on the readiness of the next commercial crew launch. The operational Crew Dragon spacecraft will be capable of staying in orbit for at least 210 days as a NASA requirement.

Upon conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the two astronauts on board, depart the space station and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Upon splashdown just off Florida’s Atlantic Coast, the crew will be picked up at sea by SpaceX’s Go Navigator recovery vessel and return to Cape Canaveral.

The Demo-2 mission will be the final major step before NASA’s Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew Dragon for operational, long-duration missions to the space station. This certification and regular operation of Crew Dragon will enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station, which benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program, which will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.

NASA ready to send new crew members to International Space Station

December 14, 2017Citizen JournalismInternational Space Station, ISS Expedition, launch, NASAJoanne

NASA set to feature the launch of a new crew to the International Space Station which will be featured on the WKTV Government Channel 26.

On Sunday, Dec. 17, we will be covering the launch of the ISS Expedition 54-55/Soyuz MS-07. Coverage will begin at 1:15 a.m, with the launch scheduled at 2:21 a.m. Footage of the crew’s launch day pre-launch activities will be shown at 1:25 a.m. The crew of ISS Expedition 54-55 is Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Scott Tingle of NASA

Tuesday, Dec. 19, we will be featuring the Docking of the ISS Expedition 54-55/Soyuz MS-07 to the International Space Station. Coverage begins at approximately 3:15am with the Docking scheduled for 3:42 a.m.

Stay tuned for the Hatching Opening and Welcoming Ceremony. Coverage starts at 5:30 a.m. with the actual opening scheduled for approximately 5:20 a.m.

For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.

NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99

WKTV Government Channel 26 features launch and docking ISS Expedition 52

April 17, 20173-bottom, WKTV Projectsdock, International Space Station, ISS Expedition, launch, NASA, Peggy Whitson, SpaceJoanne

The launch and docking of the Soyuz MS-04 will be aired on WKTV Government Channel 26 on April 20.

This will mark the transition for the International Space Station Expedition 51 to 52.

At 2 a.m., There will be a showing of the crew’s launch day pre-launch activities. The crew heading to the station includes Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and American astronaut Jack Fischer.

At 8 a.m., there will be video of the pre-launch, launch and post-launch interviews.

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and American astronaut Jack Fischer preparing to head for the International Space Station.

At 8:30 a.m., will be coverage of the docking of the ISS Expedition 51-52/Soyuz MS-04 to the International Space Station.

At 10:30 a.m., will be the hatch opening and the welcoming ceremony.

Expedition 51 is the 51st expedition to the International Space Station, which began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-02 on April 10 and is scheduled to conclude upon the departures of Soyuz MS-03 in June. Peggy Whitson is commander of the expedition and is the first woman to command two expeditions to the International Space Station, having previously commanded Expedition 16.

Along with Whitson, Yurchikhin, and Fischer, the crew includes Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and French aerospace engineer Thomas Pesquet.

Whitson will be extending her stay through the 52nd Expedition with Fischer and Yurchikhin, returning home in September rather than June. Novitsky and Pesquet will return in June.

The reason for this is Roscosmos’ temporary decision to reduce its number of cosmonauts to two which left a seat open on the return flight. Whitson’s extension will ensure a full complement of six astronauts — rounding out the crew will be U.S. astronaut Randy Bresnik, cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli — on board the station and increase the amount of valuable astronaut time available for experiments.

“I love being up here,” Whitson said through a NASA press release. “Living and working aboard the space station is where I feel like I make the greatest contribution, so I am constantly trying to squeeze every drop out of my time here. Having three more months to squeeze is just what I would wish for.”

On April 24, Whitson will break the standing record U.S. record of 534 cumulative days in space. She also holds the record for most spacewalks by a female. To follow Whitson’s space station journey, go to http://www.twitter.com/AstroPeggy.

For more on NASA and upcoming missions, visit nasa.gov.