Shuttle to reach station today / Atlas rocket launch tonight from Cape Canaveral

     NEWSALERT: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 @ 1518 GMT
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         The latest news from Spaceflight Now


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SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION VIDEO!
Full coverage of Discovery's flight
http://www.spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php?k=STS-119
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IT'S RENDEZVOUS DAY FOR DISCOVERY AND SPACE STATION
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The space shuttle Discovery is closing in on the international space
station today, on track for a docking around 5:13 p.m. EDT. Commander Lee
Archambault and his six crewmates begin final rendezvous operations
shortly after waking up.  Follow the docking in our live status center:

 http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts119/status.html


ATLAS ROCKET SET FOR BLASTOFF TONIGHT FROM CAPE CANAVERAL
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A massive satellite that will boost communications for U.S. military
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan will be launched into space tonight from
Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas 5 rocket. Liftoff time is 9:24 p.m. EDT.
Follow the countdown in our live status center:

 http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av016/status.html


MISSION MANAGER SAYS SHUTTLE LAUNCH APPEARED FLAWLESS
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A quick-look at ascent imagery and other data indicates the shuttle
Discovery came through its launch and climb to space Sunday in very good
shape with no major issues or anomalies, the chairman of NASA's Mission
Management Team said late Monday. Space station controllers, meanwhile,
decided a piece of space junk they had been tracking posed no threat and
would not require an avoidance maneuver by the lab crew.

 http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts119/090316fd2/index2.html


DISCOVERY SOARS AT SUNSET TO BOOST SPACE STATION POWER
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Space shuttle Discovery launched at 7:43 p.m. EDT Sunday on a mission to
complete the power grid of the international space station. This 125th
shuttle mission will deliver and install the final segment of the
station's truss backbone and unfurl two giant solar wings.

 http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts119/090315launch/