[Saturday, December 1, 2007] The astronauts of space shuttle Discovery's STS-120 mission will relive their flight for the public, friends and coworkers in a special post-flight presentation at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10 in the Mazda Theater at Space Center Houston.

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[Saturday, December 1, 2007] FE-1 Malenchenko continued preparations for operating the Russian/German TEKh-20 Plasma Crystal-3 Plus (PK-3+) experiment payload.

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[Sunday, December 2, 2007] All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. Ahead: Week 7 of Increment 16.

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[Monday, December 3, 2007] A prelaunch webcast, live blogs, podcasts, pictures and videos highlight NASA's Web coverage of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station.

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[Tuesday, December 4, 2007] Challenger Center for Space Science Education is pleased to announce that in January 2008 William Readdy will assume the important leadership role, succeeding astronaut and business executive, Dr. Joseph Allen, Ph.D. as chairman of the board.

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[Tuesday, December 4, 2007] In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces an open meeting of the NASA International Space Station Advisory Committee.

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[Tuesday, December 4, 2007] The next time Jules Verne ATV's four solar arrays are fully deployed, giving the vehicle a total span of 22.3 m, will be in early 2008, at 28 000 km/h over the South Pacific Ocean.

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[Tuesday, December 4, 2007] With NASA's announcement of the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on 6 December, ESA astronauts Hans Schlegel, from Germany, and Leopold Eyharts, from France, are set to carry ESA's Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.

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[Wednesday, December 5, 2007] Peggy and Dan spent time in the Joint Airlock to continue EVA preparations, today verifying and configuring tools for the SARJ inspection on 1E EVA-2, then performing the regular checkout and test of the SAFER units.

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[Wednesday, December 5, 2007] The CDR worked in the Airlock (A/L) to replace one of the two smoke detectors (SDs), which had shown erratic behavior in its data readouts, with a spare. The removed unit was temporarily stowed for later troubleshooting by the crew.

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[Wednesday, December 5, 2007] ESA and its ISS partners have just been given the Advancement of International Cooperation Award in recognition of the significant contribution made by the ISS.

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[Wednesday, December 5, 2007] Last week I began to receive mutliple reports from NASA sources that the Constellation program has baselined a water landing for the Orion spacecraft. Alas, some at NASA confirm this publicly while others publicly deny it.

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[Wednesday, December 5, 2007] After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink.

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[Wednesday, December 5, 2007] NASA is preparing for its fourth shuttle launch in 2007. The shuttle is scheduled to lift off at 4:31 p.m. EST on Thursday to begin mission STS-122.

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[Thursday, December 6, 2007] On Wednesday, December 19, 2007, NASA will provide an informational telecon briefing on the International Space Station (ISS) external payload accommodation and integration capabilities.

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[Thursday, December 6, 2007] NASA has delayed today's planned launch of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-122 mission to the International Space Station. The next liftoff opportunity is Friday. Dec. 7 at 1:09 p.m. PST.

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[Thursday, December 6, 2007] NASA will host a news conference Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m. EST to announce the selection of a contractor for the upper stage instrument unit avionics for the Ares I rocket.

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[Thursday, December 6, 2007] "Amidst the regular burden of work, some may appreciate this short description of an emotional ceremony I attended this past Sunday at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland."

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[Thursday, December 6, 2007] Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment’s laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink.

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[Friday, December 7, 2007] The launch of Atlantis will take place no earlier than Saturday, Dec. 8, at 3:43 p.m. EST. Thursday's scheduled liftoff was postponed because of a problem with a fuel cutoff sensor system inside the shuttle's external fuel tank.

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[Friday, December 7, 2007] Funding decisions made by previous administrations that were sustained by previous Congresses have put NASA in a position where it will not have a replacement for the space shuttle when it is retired by the "hard date" of September 30, 2010.

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[Friday, December 7, 2007] Reporters have been inquiring about a report that stated: An 8 inch crack has been observed on one of the LOX Feedline brackets. It is not a crack.

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[Friday, December 7, 2007] The launch of Atlantis will take place no earlier than Sunday, Dec. 9. Thursday's scheduled liftoff was postponed because of a problem with a fuel cutoff sensor system inside the shuttle's external fuel tank.

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[Friday, December 7, 2007] Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink.

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[Saturday, December 8, 2007] When astronauts, cosmonauts and mission specialists from many nations fly on the international space station, they will have amateur, or ham, radio as a constant companion.

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[Saturday, December 8, 2007] Saturday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani except for housekeeping and voluntary work.

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[Saturday, December 8, 2007] "Landing mode - Nominal coastal water landing, contingency-only land landing, cease/desist working nominal land landing, water landing environment definition per Team 0 recommendation, landing accuracy increased from 5 km to 10 km"

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[Sunday, December 9, 2007] The launch of space shuttle Atlantis has been rescheduled for no earlier than Jan. 2, 2008. The postponement will give engineers time to evaluate false readings from the engine cutoff sensor system that measures liquid hydrogen in the external tank.

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[Sunday, December 9, 2007] "NASA shall take all actions necessary in FY 2008 .... in order to ensure the option of operating the Space Shuttle beyond the currently planned Shuttle end-of-operations date in 2010."

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[Sunday, December 9, 2007] The launch of STS-122/Atlantis/Mission ISS-1E has now been targeted for not earlier than 1/2/08 for additional troubleshooting of the four LH2 low level cutoff sensors (after the #3 sensor again failed this morning during another tanking attempt).

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[Sunday, December 9, 2007] Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station now is targeted to launch no earlier than Jan. 2 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The liftoff date depends on the resolution of a problem in a fuel sensor system.

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[Monday, December 10, 2007] All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Underway: Week 8 of Increment 16.

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[Monday, December 10, 2007] Spacehab today announced an initiative to align the corporate structure and personnel toward its strategic direction of winning the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) funded Space Act Agreement.

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[Monday, December 10, 2007] "So I've decided: I'm in it for the long run. I don't intend to leave before the last wheel stop. There is plenty enough excitement and fulfillment to outweigh the biggest bonus or the fanciest office."

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[Monday, December 10, 2007] "This past week has given me confirmation of something that has been a growing dread and suspicion : the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) is being suffocated. It is literally having the life choked out of it."

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[Monday, December 10, 2007] Internal NASA emails from the director of Shuttle Safety at JSC and the Shuttle Program Manager show how they struggled with the potential risk to astronauts' lives in assessing how to proceed with the launch of Atlantis.

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[Tuesday, December 11, 2007] NASA will host a media teleconference with Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST, Tuesday, Dec. 11, to discuss the status of shuttle Atlantis' launch on the upcoming STS-122 mission.

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[Tuesday, December 11, 2007] FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink.

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[Wednesday, December 12, 2007] Technicians and engineers in NASA's space shuttle program plan to test the engine cutoff sensor system onboard space shuttle Atlantis by pumping super-cold liquid hydrogen into the external fuel tank.

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[Wednesday, December 12, 2007] Measures to protect astronauts from health risks caused by space radiation will be important during extended missions to the moon or Mars, say researchers in a paper currently online in Experimental Neurology

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[Wednesday, December 12, 2007] Also in the Lab, Dan Tani continued his work on the MSG facility, terminating the second vacuum draw on the CSLM-2 experiment, initiating the third draw, then terminating it after six hours and kicking off the final (fourth) overnight vacuum draw.

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[Wednesday, December 12, 2007] The Boeing Company has been awarded an initial NASA contract valued at approximately $265 million to produce the Ares I crew launch vehicle's instrument unit avionics (IUA).

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[Wednesday, December 12, 2007] With the launch of space shuttle Atlantis postponed until no earlier than Jan. 2, NASA has updated its media accreditation deadlines.

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[Thursday, December 13, 2007] After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani (whose tenure aboard the station has now been extended) again accessed the SLEEP experiment software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries.

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[Thursday, December 13, 2007] NASA's Space Shuttle Program managers have targeted Jan. 10 for the launch of shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station.

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[Thursday, December 13, 2007] Many people will travel for the holidays, but no one will be farther from home than the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. With that in mind, NASA invites the public to send personal holiday greetings to the orbiting crew.

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[Friday, December 14, 2007] The CDR and FE-2 conducted a one-hour review of an uplinked procedures briefing package for the US EVA-13 next week (12/18), covering topics like egress plan, timeline ordering of tasks, translation/fairleads/tether plan, hazards, and ingress plan

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[Friday, December 14, 2007] At Launch Pad 39A, preparations continue for a Dec. 18 tanking test to troubleshoot the engine cutoff (ECO) sensors. Test wiring has been spliced into an electrical harness in the aft main engine compartment connected with the ECO sensor system.

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[Sunday, December 16, 2007] Station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani will perform the 100th spacewalk in support of International Space Station assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 18.

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[Sunday, December 16, 2007] All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday - off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani except for housekeeping and voluntary work.

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[Sunday, December 16, 2007] In the NASA authorization act of 2005 (P.L. 109-555 Subtitle B-Education, Sec. 614) Congress directed the agency to support a review and evaluation of its precollege education program to be carried out by the National Research Council.

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[Sunday, December 16, 2007] Rep. Weldon is announcing new legislation that would propose additional Space Shuttle flights through the "gap" in which America will not otherwise have access to space.

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[Sunday, December 16, 2007] All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday - EVA preparation day 1 for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. Ahead: Week 9 of Increment 16.

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] In preparation for Progress M-62/27P arrival on 12/26 at the DC1 Docking Compartment, Malenchenko and Whitson supported a ground-controlled functions test of the SM & Progress TORU telemanipulator system without Progress DPO thrusters firing

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] Wellington, New Zealand is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. New Zealand's capital of Wellington is located at the southwestern tip of North Island near the Cook Strait.

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] NASA intends to make Tuesday's test of its hydrogen fuel sensor system as realistic as possible by pumping both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into space shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank just as would be done on launch day.

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] NASA will hold a briefing no earlier than 3:30 p.m. CST, on Tuesday, Dec. 18, to discuss the results from a fueling test of the space shuttle Atlantis.

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] Progress M-62 cargo vehicle was fueled with propellant components and compressed gases was delivered to the Spacecraft Assembly and Testing Facility for final processing operations.

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] The Progress M-62 transport cargo vehicle was docked with the transfer compartment in the Spacecraft Assembly and Testing Facility ay Baikonur Cosmodrome.

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[Monday, December 17, 2007] In December, NASA will begin testing core components of a rocket engine from the Apollo era. Data from the tests will help NASA build the next generation engine that will power the Ares launch vehicles.

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[Tuesday, December 18, 2007] Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has completed the Systems Requirements Review (SRR) for what will be the third Falcon 9 / Dragon demonstration under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

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[Tuesday, December 18, 2007] For the first time in 40 years of space activities, a silent revolution is taking place at the European launch site in Kourou. Jules Vernes, the first human-rated spacecraft to be launched from Europe's Spaceport, is being prepared for launch.

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[Tuesday, December 18, 2007] The designers inspection of the Progress M-62 cargo vehicle was completed at the Baikonur Cosmodrome today.

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[Tuesday, December 18, 2007] Expedition 16 astronauts Dan Tani and Peggy Whitson wrapped up a 6-hour, 56-minute spacewalk focused on International Space Station solar array issues at 11:46 a.m. EST Tuesday.

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[Tuesday, December 18, 2007] During the spacewalk, Tani & Whitson supported by Malenchenko as intravehicular crewmember, inspected the Stbd 1A BGA and BMRMM, followed by a detailed investigation and photo documentation of the Stbd SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint).

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[Wednesday, December 19, 2007] After Tuesday's test of Atlantis' external fuel tank, NASA's Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said he was pleased with the data captured from the special equipment wired into the tank's sensor system.

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[Wednesday, December 19, 2007] The orbital module of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle, containing Progress M-62 spacecraft was transported from the spacecraft processing facility for general integration with its launch vehicle at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

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[Wednesday, December 19, 2007] At ~8:25am EST, the three crewmembers wrapped up post-EVA activities by discussing the spacewalk in the usual post-EVA debriefing conference with the ground via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application.

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[Wednesday, December 19, 2007] Spacehab today announced the success of a mid air retrieval demonstration test performed with applications to its Advanced Research and Conventional Technology Utilization Spacecraft (ARCTUS) Program.

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[Thursday, December 20, 2007] Early this morning it was announced at the MMT meeting that Flight Engineer Dan Tani’s mother Rose died late yesterday during a car crash. Dan was informed in a private phone call. This is the first time an orbiting NASA Astronaut loses a close kin.

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[Thursday, December 20, 2007] The Progress M-62 orbital module has been integrated with Soyuz-U launch vehicle at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

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[Thursday, December 20, 2007] NASA Television will provide live coverage of the arrival of a new shipment of food, fuel, supplies and holiday gifts to the International Space Station on the morning after Christmas.

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[Thursday, December 20, 2007] The following statement is from Michael Coats, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, regarding the Wednesday, Dec. 19, death of International Space Station Flight Engineer Daniel Tani's mother.

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[Friday, December 21, 2007] A tanking test was conducted on Tuesday to aid in troubleshooting the cause of malfunctioning ECO sensors. Technicians used time domain reflectometry equipment to help locate the electrical anomaly.

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[Friday, December 21, 2007] At 4:00 Moscow time the Soyuz-U launch vehicle with Progress M-62 transport vehicle was rolled out from the integration building to the launch pad.

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[Friday, December 21, 2007] Having passed the Day 60 mark in her flight, Dr. Peggy Whitson began her third session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, for which she had to forego exercising and food intake for eight hours.

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[Friday, December 21, 2007] The next launch is Shuttle mission STS-122, Station flight 1E, carrying the European Columbus module to the Station. Launch will be no earlier than 2008 Jan.

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[Saturday, December 22, 2007] Last night, Progress M-61/26P successfully undocked from the ISS at 10:59pm EST (hook opening command: 10:57pm). The separation appeared smooth with no vibrations noted.

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[Saturday, December 22, 2007] "To authorize the Space Shuttle to be flown from 2010 through 2015, and to authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for this purpose."

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[Saturday, December 22, 2007] NASA signed a $465.7 million contract modification with Lockheed Martin, New Orleans, for space shuttle external tanks. The modification aligns and extends all activities associated with the production contract for tanks until shuttle retirement in 2010.

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[Saturday, December 22, 2007] A multinational team of ground controllers are undergoing intense training for the launch of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), one of the most complex spacecraft ever built and flown by ESA.

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[Sunday, December 23, 2007] All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday - off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. Ahead: Week 10 of Increment 16.

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[Monday, December 24, 2007] Cargo transportation spacecraft Progress M-62 was launched from Baikonur launch site at 10:12:41 Moscow Time on 23 December 2007.

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[Monday, December 24, 2007] Progress M-62/27P is continuing its 3-day flight to the ISS for docking Wednesday morning (12/26) at ~3:25am EST at the DC1 nadir port. All onboard tests (TV, KURS, TORU), performed today during RGS (Russian ground site) passes, were without issues.

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[Tuesday, December 25, 2007] Progress M-62/27P is continuing its 3-day flight to the ISS for docking tomorrow morning (12/26) at ~3:25am EST at the DC1 nadir port. All onboard tests and the DV3 burn on Orbit 33, during RGS (Russian ground site) passes were nominal.

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[Wednesday, December 26, 2007] Progress M-62 docked at the DC1 Docking Compartment nadir port at 3:14am EST, with automatic AO-VKA orientation antenna retraction, followed by docking probe retraction and hook closure at 3:23am after motion damp-out, while the ISS was in free drift.

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[Thursday, December 27, 2007] NASA held a teleconference today with Wayne Hale with regard to repairs needed for STS-122. According to Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale "We have no launch date to talk about today".

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[Friday, December 28, 2007] At ~5:02am, the FE-1 powered up the SM's amateur radio equipment to conduct, at 5:07am, a ham radio exchange with students at High School No. 15 in the city of Korolev

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[Friday, December 28, 2007] An attempt yesterday by ground controllers at MCC-Houston to upload a software patch to the GNC MDMs (Guidance, Navigation & Control Multiplexer/Demultiplexers) was unsuccessful when the backup & prime GNC MDMs could not be synchronized.

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[Saturday, December 29, 2007] All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani except for housekeeping and voluntary work.

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[Sunday, December 30, 2007] NASA has awarded a contract to Canadian Commercial Corporation for support of hardware and software associated with the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System robotic arm, inspection boom assembly and robotic work station.

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[Sunday, December 30, 2007] Sunday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. New Year's Eve's Eve! Ahead: Week 11 of Increment 16. The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning.

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[Monday, December 31, 2007] New Year's Eve... 16 times for the Expedition 16 crew of CDR Peggy Whitson, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko and FE-2 Dan Tani while counting down to 2008! Crew off-duty day. Underway: Week 11 of Increment 16.

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