NASA Press Release:

NASA today selected Janet Petro as the new deputy director of the agency's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., effective April 29. Petro succeeds William (Bill) W. Parsons, who assumed the position as the director of the center in January.

Prior to joining NASA, Petro served in various management positions for Science Applications International Corporation, also known as SAIC, where she provided extensive program management and technical leadership since December 2000. She directly interacted with senior-level government customers, and was responsible for overseeing program and project managers and providing operational guidance on various technical projects.

"I am extremely pleased that Janet has decided to join the leadership team at Kennedy," said Parsons. "She brings with her a strong technical management background and extensive engineering leadership that is directly applicable to the challenging future here at Kennedy."

NASA Press Release:

Mission: STS-117 - 21st International Space Station Flight (13A) - S3/S4 Truss Segment Solar Arrays
Vehicle: Atlantis (OV-104)
Location: Vehicle Assembly Building
Launch Date: Targeted for April 2007
Launch Pad: 39A
Crew: Sturckow, Archambault, Reilly, Swanson, Forrester and Olivas
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

Space Shuttle Atlantis, now parked in high bay No. 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, continues to undergo inspection for hail damage. Special scaffolding and access platforms have been erected to allow for the mapping and inspection of the external fuel tank, and repair methods and criteria are being developed.

Repairs to the orbiter's thermal protection system tiles are nearly complete, and technicians are preparing to conduct non-destructive evaluation of the vehicle's reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the left wing leading edge using thermography equipment.

Shuttle program managers plan to meet next week to assess the damage and repair status.

Arianespace Press Release: 

The Ariane 5 for Arianespace's upcoming dual-payload mission has completed its initial build-up as preparations continue for an early May launch with the Astra 1L and Galaxy 17 satellites.

Ariane 5's main cryogenic core stage is straddled by the two solid rocket boosters as preparation work continues inside the Launcher Integration Building. Mobile work stands provide access to the lower and upper sections of the vehicle. 

The two large solid rocket boosters have been mated to Ariane 5's main core cryogenic stage, creating the propulsion system that will power the vehicle through its initial phases of flight.

This activity is taking place inside the Launcher Integration Building at Europe's Spaceport, where the Ariane 5 also will receive its ESC-A cryogenic upper stage and vehicle equipment bay.

After its failure in mid 2006 the Dnepr launch vehicle, a converted SS-18 missile, readies for its next launch. The launch is planned for March 27, 2007 carrying EqyptSat and several microsatellites for Saudi Arabia and universities. 

The launch failure in 2006 was due to overheating in the hydraulics system. This was caused by damaged heat insulation and led to the failure of the engine gimbal system. So the flight ended 74 seconds after launch.

After that a Ministrial Committee comprised of members of the manufacturers, the Russian Space Agency, Russian Ministry of Defense and several other organisation investigated the failure and cleared the path to the upcoming launch. 

The primary payload, EgyptSat, and the micro-satellites from the SaudiSat-3 and SaudiComSat series arrived in Baikonur for final checking and integration with the launcher. As an additional payload several CubeSat satellites from universities are also included.

A successful launch of the Dnepr will clear the way to the upcoming launch of Bigelow Aerospace’s Genesis 2 space station currently slated for April 2007.