Space: Earth's Gravity Kept Astronauts Waiting at ISS's Door

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bystander
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Space: Earth's Gravity Kept Astronauts Waiting at ISS's Door

Post by bystander » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:51 am

Earth's Gravity Kept Astronauts Waiting at Space Station's Door
Space.com - 2010 Feb 10
Astronauts aboard space shuttle Endeavour had to wait an uncommonly long time to board the International Space Station. NASA blamed the orbital holdup on no less than the entire planet Earth — actually, its gravitational pull.

Endeavour docked at the space station Wednesday morning at 12:06 a.m. EST (0506 GMT), but it took nearly an hour for the two massive spaceships to form a secure connection using a complicated set of hooks and latches. Normally, the spring-loaded docking rings between the station and a visiting shuttle dampen out the vibrations associated with their rendezvous rather quickly, and align themselves automatically.

But not so during Endeavour's arrival. It took about 45 minutes for the relative motion to damp out. Only then could the docking systems align and pull both spacecraft together.

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