Discovery Soars to Space on her 25th Anniversary

NASA's fourth space shuttle mission of the year thundered into earth orbit early this morning to begin a two week mission to resupply the international space station with supplies, equipment and a new treadmill.

A quiet, textbook countdown was met with beautiful weather as the Moon hung low over America's space coast on Friday evening. The flight crew awoke; the shuttle was fueled and the launch team was go to begin the final count.

In the darkness of America's spaceport, Discovery's three main engines roared to life followed by the ignition of her twin solid rocket boosters committing Discovery to a lift-off at 11:59:37 pm EDT, on Friday night.

"2, 1 booster ignition and lift-off of Discovery, celebrating it's 25th birthday by racking up science and supplies to the space station," KSC launch commentator Mike Curie as the shuttle stack soared past the launch tower mast.

As the boosters ignited, 225 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Tasmania, the space station soared with it's crew of six watching via a laptop computer.

As a 700-foot flame pushed Discovery upward toward space, night turned to day for a minute while a the shockwave created by the launch moved across America's spaceport and pounded the chests of us three miles from launch pad 39-A.

Two minutes into the launch - at 12:02:39 am on Saturday morning - the rocket boosters separated from the sides of the external tank as Discovery's three main engines carried the craft parralel along the United States east coast.

Discovery's crew includes commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and Nicole Stott.

Discovery is scheduled to dock with the station on Sunday night at 9:03 pm, as the orbital duo fly 222 miles over Poland.

Discovery: T-9 Minutes and Counting...

Clocks in the launch control center have resumed counting down at T-8 minutes, 30 seconds and counting. Weather remains perfect for liftoff as the closing seconds of Friday night EDT tick away.

During the T-9 minute hold, a great shot of the Moon over the space shuttle stack was seen as it seem to pass by the gaseous oxygen vent hood.

At T-5 minutes, or 11:54:37 pm, pilot Kevin Ford will activate Discovery's three auxilary power units for flight. The three APU's power the movement of the main engine bells as they steer during ascent. The APU's also control the wing elevons and rudder as well.

At T-2 minutes, the flight crew of seven will close their visors for launch. The external tank will be pressurized for flight.

Flight Crew Departs to Board Discovery

The seven member flight crew of tonight's space shuttle launch departed their crew quarters minutes ago to head out to the ocean side launch pad and board Discovery to begin 13 days in space.

The crew departed at 8:09 pm EDT, and after poising for a few pictures they boarded the Astro Van for the 12 mile trip to the launch pad.

As the crew departed, Air Force meteorologist Kathy Winters broke the news to launch director Pete Nickolenko that the weather was now green across the board.

NASA begins Fueling Space Shuttle Discovery

Discovery sits passively on pad 39-A late today.

Tanking operations officially began at 2:45 pm EDT. Fueling of over 527,000 galls of both liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are beginning to flow into the huge rust colored tank.

Tanking was delayed only 11 minutes due to weather in the area.

Mission managers meet for over two hours as the subject of the liquid hydrogen fill and drain valve was discussed. Tuesday night, the 8 inch valve gave indications that it was still open when the launch team commanded it closed. Still unsure as to why it happened, manager worked a plan for late today when the command will be given for the valve to close.

According to NASA, "The plan includes being able to open and close the valve two times during the tanking process if the valve position indicator sensor doesn't work. Teams would use alternate means, including monitoring pressure in the system, to provide confidence the valve is closed for launch".

Lift-off remains set for 11:59:37 pm EDT tonight, as Discovery soars into earth orbit to begin a 13 day mission to the international space station.

Discovery GO for Friday Night Launch

NASA's Mission Management Team said late today that they are go to restart the countdown and launch space shuttle Discovery in the closing seconds of Friday night following major tests on a suspect fuel valve.

Launch control here at the Kennedy Space Center were to try for launch early Friday morning at 12:22 am EDT, however the MMT wanted to give the same team who researched the issue with the fill and drain valve a rest before they went on console to work the launch. Thus, they delayed the restart of the countdown until early Friday morning.

The 8-inch diameter valve allows liquid hydrogen (LH2) in the aft section of Discovery and must be closed at the time of launch. Late into Friday afternoon's fueling, when the valve is super cold due to the cryogenic LH2 fuel passing through it, the team wil cycle the valve to ensure that it is indeed closing.

Also late this afternoon at 4PM EDT, technicians moved the rotating service structure (image above) back around Discovery so that they can perform a few updates to the space shuttle stack. Among the tasks include replacement of several tyvek covers on the forward RCS jets. They help keep moisture and dirt out of the jets, and are replaced every seven days due to wear.

The RSS is expected to be rolled back into the launch postion at about 6AM on Friday.

For launch day, the MMT will meet one last time to review any new issues and to check if weather will allow the launch team to begin flowing the super cold fuels into the LH@ and LO@ (liquid oxygen) tanks beginning at 2:34 pm.

The flight crew will awake at 1 PM to begin their launch day and have breakfast 30 minutes later. At 8:09 pm, the crew will then depart their living quarters for the ride out to launch pad 39-A to begin boarding Discovery.

The weather forecast is currently 60% favorable at the 11:59:35 pm launch time, with anvil clouds and rain as possible issues.

Discovery's 37th crew includes commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and Nicole Stott.

SpaceLaunchNews.com will have continuing LIVE TV, including our LIVE updates here and via Twitter @spacelaunchnews.

LAUNCH DAY: Discovery to try again Tonight

On the heels of a launch scrub earlier this morning, the launch team here at the Kennedy Space Center will try again to get the space shuttle Discovery off the ground on Wednesday morning on a resupply flight to the international space station.

Low clouds, rain and lightning within 20 miles from Discovery's launch pad forced both Cape weather and Houston's Spaceflight Meteorology Group to be no-go to resume the countdown at the T-9 minute hold at 1:26 am EDT this morning.

NASA has recycled the count and will try again beginning tonight to launch Discovery at 1:10:22 am EDT. The launch window is short -- only five minutes.

The Air Force weather office here at Cape Canaveral is calling for 70% favorable weather at launch time for Discovery (above, at 8AM today).

Discovery's 37th crew in 25 years includes mission commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and Nicole Stott.

A few launch milestones tonight (EDT):

• 2:30p -- Crew awakes to begin launch day
• 3:30p -- External tank fueling begins
  
• 8:40p -- Weather briefing by commander, pilot and mission specialist 2
• 8:50p -- Astronauts don flight suits
• 9:20p -- Depart for launch pad
  
• 9:50p -- Arrive at White Room and begin ingress
• 11:10p -- Close Discovery's crew hatch

Tuesday:

• 1:01:22 am -- T-9 minutes and counting
• 1:02:52 am -- Crew access arm retraction
• 1:05:22 am -- APU Start by pilot
• 1:10:16 am -- Main Engines start
• 1:10:22 am -- SRB Ignition - launch commit!

Once in space, Discovery's crew will open the huge 60-foot payload bay doors. They will then turn the crew cabin from rocket mode into an orbital space platform by setting up laptop computers and stowing launch seats. And, they will prepare for late-Wednesday's thermal protection system survey using the ship's robotic arm.

Thursday will be docking day as Discovery approaches and then docks with the space station as they travel 220 miles over southern Russia.

Stott, a former KSC orbiter process worker turned astronaut, will begin her stay aboard the space station as a member of the Expedition 20 crew. She will replace Tim Kopra who arrived for a six-week stay on July 17. Stott will return home aboard the next space shuttle flight in late-November.

(Be sure to watch the countdown and launch LIVE via our widescreen TV available at SpaceLaunchNews.com.)

Rain and Lightning threatens Discovery Launch

Rain and clouds over the Kennedy Space Center during the 11PM EDT hour is the only concern as the countdown moves toward launch in two hours. The seven member crew have fully boarded and the side hatch of space shuttle Discovery was closed at 11:34 pm.

Cape weather continues to monitor lightning south of KSC at about 10 to 15 miles out. KSC reports that the shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters reported a lightning strike six miles east of Discovery's launch pad.

At 11:53 pm, KSC went under a Phase Two lightning advisory until further notice.

New updates as the countdown moves forward tonight.

Crew boards Discovery for Launch

The seven member crew of Discovery spent the 10PM EDT hour tonight boarding the orbiter and strapping in for a kick-in-the-pants ride to space as the count down clock ticked closer to zero.

Discovery's commander Rick “C.J.” Sturckow boarded and took his seat on the flight deck on the left side (top image). Mission specialist and spaceflight rookie Nicole Stott ingressed next this evening and took her seat on the middeck. The crew also includes pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, and Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency).

Countdown Underway for Launch of Discovery

Clocks here at the Kennedy Space Center began ticking backward as the Launch Control Center picked up the countdown toward the launch of the space shuttle Discovery this Tuesday morning.

Launch of NASA's fourth space shuttle flight of 2009 is scheduled for 1:36:05 am EDT, on Tuesday morning.

The Air Force Weather Office here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is forecasting a 70% chance of acceptable conditions at launch. The real concern will come late afternoon on Monday when launch control prepares to load the super cold fuels into the rust-colored external fuel tank. There is a 30% chance of possible lightning along the Space Coast, a task which states lightning cannot be with 20 miles of the launch pad at the time of fueling.

The seven member flight crew arrived at America's spaceport on Wednesday, a tad earlier than most crews due to the remodeling of the crew quarters at the Johnson Space Center south of Houston. Shuttle crews normally begin one week of quarantine prior to launch day, thus this crew will spend most of it at the Operations and Checkout building about 10 miles from the launch pad.

Discovery's Crew Arrives at KSC for Launch

The crew of the next space shuttle flight arrived here at the Kennedy Space Center to prepare for their launch to the international space station early this Tuesday.

Due to storms and weather between Houston and Cape Canaveral, the crew flew together in a NASA Gulfstream II jet instead of seperate T-38 Talon jets. The Gulfstream arrived at the shuttle landing facility at 6:38 pm EDT, this evening.

"Well, good afternoon," Discovery's commander Rick Sturckow began as he approached the microphone here at the SLF. "It's great to arrive here in Florida for the launch of STS-128. We've been studying and training hard for just about a year now and we're ready to go accomplish this mission. Very happy to be here."

Discovery's crew includes pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and Nicole Stott.

Stott, who will be dropped off for a 2 1/2-month stay aboard the space station, summed up her thoughts tonight, "I'm really, really happy to be back here at KSC; and I'm really looking forward to the ride to station next week."

The launch countdown is slated to begin this Friday night at 11PM EDT, as NASA aims to launch Discovery this Tuesday morning at 1:36:02 am.

STS-127 Countdown Underway at KSC

T-:43 hours and counting...

Moments ago, at 9:00:00 am EDT, Launch Control's Firing Room #4 came to life as the countdown for this Saturday's space shuttle launch began on time.

Even though there is 2 days, 22 hours and 17 minutes until Saturday's 7:17 am EDT launch, the countdown has several built-in holds ranging in times of 10 minutes to several hours long. These holds give the launch team added time in case an issue arises during the count.

Currently, there is a 90% weather "Go" from the spaceflight meteorology group here at Cape Canaveral's Patrick, AFB.

Endeavour Astronaut David Wolf: Aerobatic Flyer

When it comes to being an astronaut or cosmonaut you are careful and selective in the activities you perform so that an injury will not sideline you from your flight assignment.

NASA astronaut David A. Wolf is the exception. When I think of David I liken him to a cross between Peter Fonda's character in Easy Rider and Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Determined in achieving goals, but with a bad boy attitude. Very smart and gifted, David is a mediacal doctor with a passion for aviation, having flown in space on three spaceflights including a four month stay on the Russian Mir space station.

David also has an aeronautical hobby which takes his passion for flight to a new level and it was one in which he shared with his uncle - Aerobatic Flying.
In the 1980's, David and his Uncle Ed Wolf began flying muscle airplanes out of Clover Field near Houston, Texas, which led to competitive flying. Around 1988, David and Ed joined the Houston Aerobatic Club, and flew in several competitions including winning a first place award in 1991. A few months later, David became a full fledged astronaut with NASA.

Throughout the 1990's, while David trained as a mission specialist for a 1993 space shuttle flight, he continued to enjoy his aerobatic stunt flying. David flew a Black Eagle biplane [above], which he had purchased from a fellow astronaut; while his Uncle Ed flew a S2B Pitts biplane.

Although he still privately flies in his spare time, he does not competitive fly as much any more. Due to NASA rules limiting what an astronaut can do regarding physical sports activities that are non-NASA related, he had to tone down his stunt flying.

However...

David has another flight this Saturday morning out of a tiny air strip known as launch pad 39-A here at the Kennedy Space Center. To watch him in his winged craft Endeavour take off just after Sunrise at 7:17:15 am EDT, will be a treat for the aviator spectator - a true air show!

David will be able to once again roll heads down, pull 3G's and climb and continue to climb all the way up to 220 miles above the earth - the dream of every aviator.

Endeavour's Crew aboard, hatch closed for practice

The Kennedy Space Center's launch control center is working with the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour as they run through a practice launch countdown this morning.

Endeavour's seven member flight crew climb aboard around 8AM EDT, and began a series of communications checks with LCC and Mission Control located south of Houston.

At 9:25 am, the orbiter's hatch was closed, and a series of cabin leak checks began just as they will due on their June 13 launch day. The image above was captured at 9:41 am, and shows Endeavour with her protective steel structure around her, and the threat of storms nearby.

Meanwhile, a Phase one and later phase 2 lightning warning was issued for the entire Cape Canaveral area as dark clouds associated with storms off shore began to develop.

Space Shuttle Fueling Nears; 14 hours until Launch

The countdown for launch of space shuttle Discovery remains on track this morning, with a beautiful evening and a full moon on the horizon to guide this flight toward the international space station.

Ahead today at Noon EDT, space shuttle launch control will begin the fuel loading of 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen & liquid hydrogen into the huge rust-colored external fuel tank [above, today at 8AM ET] - the next major milestone in preparation for Discovery's launch tonight at 9:20:14 pm EDT.

The fuel loading into the external tank - attached to the belly of the orbiter - will take approximately three hours to complete. During the following six hours, the LO2 & LH2 fuels will be topped off as they bleed into a gaseous state as the countdown moves toward zero.

Also, at about noon EDT, the seven member flight crew will be awoken to begin their launch day activities.

Led by STS-119 commander Lee Archambault, Discovery's crew of seven includes pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.