Wednesday, September 02, 2009
SLN VIDEO: Tonight's NASA News Conference
Tonight's NASA STS-128 Discovery Flight Director News Conference from the Johnson Space Center.
Spacewalk concludes; Equipment Transfers Continue
As two astronauts took an orbital stroll in space on Monday evening, the crews of the space shuttle Discovery and the international space station moved cargo and supplies from the recently docked Leonardo module.
Space shuttle Discovery astronaut Danny Olivas and newly arrived space station flight engineer Nicole Stott began a six hour & 35 minute spacewalk at 5:49 pm EDT, on Tuesday. It was Stott's first spacewalk and mission control recently reported that she performed well.
The orbital duo removed an 1800 pound ammonia tank from the station's port truss segment. Nearly empty, the largest mass ever moved by spacewalking astronauts went nicely as the pair transfered it over to Discovery's payload bay for a return trip home.
The large white box tank's removal now sets the stage for Tgursday evening's spacewalk as Olivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang install a replacement ammonia tank carried up by Discovery.
Meanwhile, as the spacewalk continued, astronauts inside the station worked to remove and stow equipment from the newly arrived Leonardo cargo module. The COLBERT treadmill went into storage; as did several racks, and a sleep station as the crew awaits the arrival of the Tranquility module this February.
This morning at 3:50a EDT, Discovery began her 5,000 orbit of the earth in her 25 years of space flight. She has also traveled over 126,300,000 miles around the globe.
Space shuttle Discovery astronaut Danny Olivas and newly arrived space station flight engineer Nicole Stott began a six hour & 35 minute spacewalk at 5:49 pm EDT, on Tuesday. It was Stott's first spacewalk and mission control recently reported that she performed well.
The orbital duo removed an 1800 pound ammonia tank from the station's port truss segment. Nearly empty, the largest mass ever moved by spacewalking astronauts went nicely as the pair transfered it over to Discovery's payload bay for a return trip home.
The large white box tank's removal now sets the stage for Tgursday evening's spacewalk as Olivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang install a replacement ammonia tank carried up by Discovery.
Meanwhile, as the spacewalk continued, astronauts inside the station worked to remove and stow equipment from the newly arrived Leonardo cargo module. The COLBERT treadmill went into storage; as did several racks, and a sleep station as the crew awaits the arrival of the Tranquility module this February.
This morning at 3:50a EDT, Discovery began her 5,000 orbit of the earth in her 25 years of space flight. She has also traveled over 126,300,000 miles around the globe.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
First Spacewalk of Discovery's Mission Begins
The first of three planned spacewalks to perform housekeeping related chores outside the international space station began this evening as two astronauts left the Quest airlock for six hours.
Space shuttle Discovery astronaut Danny Olivas and newly arrived station flight engineer Nicole Stott switched their spacesuits to internal power thus beginning the spacewalk at 5:49 pm EDT today.
The primary goal on tonight's (EDT) spacewalk will be the removal of the ammonia tank (above, at 9:50 pm) on the station's port truss segment.
Ninety minutes into the spacewalk, what looked like a tear on Olivas' right glove caused concern for both the astronaut and Discovery's commander Rick Sturckow on the flight deck. The frayed right index finger of the glove was quickly cleared as ground controlers deemed it an uneven stitch.
Space Station Receives Leonardo's Cargo Today
The two crews working side by side aboard the space shuttle Discovery and the international space station opened up the pressurized Leonardo supply module today, as they prepare to transfer its cargo over to station.
Leonardo was firmly docked to the station's Harmony port late on Monday.
Following pressurization of the module and checks for leaks around the seals, the crews opened the hatch to the equipment module 90 minutes ahead of schedule at 11:54 pm EDT.
Beginning after the crew wakes to start their fifth day in space this afternoon EDT, they will begin slowly transferring both small packages and large equipment racks from Leonardo to areas around the space station for storage.
Overnight, this reporter spoke with space station flight director Ron Spencer at the Johnson Space Center, and I asked him "how will the crew store large equipment from the Leonardo - which are destined for Tranquility - in the station for six months":
"As we continue to fly more and more shuttle missions to station, station is getting a lot fuller.
Storage is a challenge right now. Luckily for this mission, we still have enough empty spots to store hardware which is destined for the modules right now. But in a couple more shuttle flights from now this will be more of a problem."
Between this flight of Discovery and the arrival on the Tranquility module six months from now, several racks and a huge treadmill known as COLBERT, will be in a temporary storage site aboard station.
Spencer added, "It's kind of a shell game as to where to put all these empty racks; but right now, luckily, we have enough empty slots available."
Also today, newly arrived space station flight engineer Nicole Stott and Discovery mission specialist Danny Olivas will head out of the Quest airlock to begin a 6 1/2-hour spacewalk.
The spacewalk is scheduled to start at 5:49 pm, however this flight has been a mission which is always ahead of their timeline.
Their prime goal during the orbital walk will be the removal of several bolts attaching a nearly dry ammonia tank in preparation for it's removal on Thursday evening.
In a bit of good news for the crew of Discovery, the craft's thermal protection system has been cleared for reentry follow detailed camera surveys on Sunday. The crew will still perform a prelanding late inspection of the orbiter's tiles to look for micrometeorites impacts which may occur as it sits docked with station this week.
Leonardo was firmly docked to the station's Harmony port late on Monday.
Following pressurization of the module and checks for leaks around the seals, the crews opened the hatch to the equipment module 90 minutes ahead of schedule at 11:54 pm EDT.
Beginning after the crew wakes to start their fifth day in space this afternoon EDT, they will begin slowly transferring both small packages and large equipment racks from Leonardo to areas around the space station for storage.
Overnight, this reporter spoke with space station flight director Ron Spencer at the Johnson Space Center, and I asked him "how will the crew store large equipment from the Leonardo - which are destined for Tranquility - in the station for six months":
"As we continue to fly more and more shuttle missions to station, station is getting a lot fuller.
Storage is a challenge right now. Luckily for this mission, we still have enough empty spots to store hardware which is destined for the modules right now. But in a couple more shuttle flights from now this will be more of a problem."
Between this flight of Discovery and the arrival on the Tranquility module six months from now, several racks and a huge treadmill known as COLBERT, will be in a temporary storage site aboard station.
Spencer added, "It's kind of a shell game as to where to put all these empty racks; but right now, luckily, we have enough empty slots available."
Also today, newly arrived space station flight engineer Nicole Stott and Discovery mission specialist Danny Olivas will head out of the Quest airlock to begin a 6 1/2-hour spacewalk.
The spacewalk is scheduled to start at 5:49 pm, however this flight has been a mission which is always ahead of their timeline.
Their prime goal during the orbital walk will be the removal of several bolts attaching a nearly dry ammonia tank in preparation for it's removal on Thursday evening.
In a bit of good news for the crew of Discovery, the craft's thermal protection system has been cleared for reentry follow detailed camera surveys on Sunday. The crew will still perform a prelanding late inspection of the orbiter's tiles to look for micrometeorites impacts which may occur as it sits docked with station this week.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Leonardo Supply Module Docked to Station
An Italian-built supply module filled with racks of experiments, supplies and equipment was removed from the bay of space shuttle Discovery and successfully docked to the space station late today.The 21-foot long Leonardo module was bolted down and officially mated at 5:49 pm EDT, as the space station flew 221 miles over central South America.
The entire process -- from unberthing the module from the shuttle's payload bay to docking it at the Harmony module's earth facing port -- ran thirty minutes ahead of schedule.
Beginning on Tuesday morning at 1:34 am EDT, the combined station and shuttle crew of 13 will enter the pressurized module and begin transferring the 15,200 pounds of item to station.
Transfers will continue all week as the crew takes an item and places it in a predetermined location per an item checklist. Once the module has been unloaded late this week, completed space experiments, empty containers and basic trash will be loaded onto the Italian module for it's return back to earth.
Leonardo will be undocked from the station and returned to Discovery's bay this Monday evening.
Leonardo arrived at the Kennedy Space Center following it's air flight from Italy in August 1998. This is the module's sixth trip to the space station, having first flown in March 2001 aboard Discovery.
Space Station Arm to dock Leonardo Today
Discovery astronauts Stott and Olivas late on Saturday.The astronauts aboard the international space station will use their Canadian-built robotic arm to pluck the supply packed Leonardo module from Discovery's payload bay for docking later today.
Beginning at 3:39 pm EDT, the station's arm attached to the orbiter boom extension will reach over to the newly docked space shuttle and slowly raise the module from it's payload bay.
After carefully carrying the module over to the station's Harmony node, the station's arm will attach it to begin seven days of docked operations as astronauts unload the vast array of equipment and supplies for storage on the growing space station.
The Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is a pressurized cargo carrier holding 15,200 pounds of new experiments from around the globe; the COLBERT treadmill which will improve astronaut exercise on board; and several tanks of oxygen and fuel.
Inside the storage module is a new carbon dioxide scrubbing device; two experiment racks to support new investigations in microgravity; and several items intended for February's upcoming Tranquility module's arrival -- including a new sleeping station compartment
In Leonardo awaiting to be transfered aboard station is a second Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer which will "preserve biological samples collected on station for later return" to labs back here on earth, stated NASA's Johnson Space Center last week.
Leonardo will stay docked until next Monday evening.
Also on Sunday evening, Discovery astronaut and space rookie Nicole Stott officially became a member of the station's Expedition 20 crew at 11:49 pm EDT, replacing current two month resident Tim Kopra who joins the STS-128 crew.
Discovery's crew now includes commander Rick "CJ" Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and former station member Kopra.
Earlier this morning, Hernandez told SpaceLaunchNews.com, "Finished flight day 3 & docked to the Station. Met our 6 neighbors & they seem nice! So nice we are giving one of them a ride home!".
On an interesting note, on Wednesday morning at 3:50 am EDT, Discovery will begin her 5,000th orbit of the earth since launching exactly 25 years ago.
India announces loss of Lunar Satellite
The Indian government announced today that they have lost contact with their satellite mission to the Moon, with no causes as to why the satellite has disappeared.
India's Chandrayaan-I satellite stopped transmitting back to earth on Saturday following 3422 orbits of the Moon during 312 days.
The satellite's lunar mission was hoped to last 2 years as it tookt detailed, high resolution images of the surface, and carried experiments from the United States and Europe.
India is preparing the Chandrayaan-II satellite for launch aboard a GSLV rocket by 2012. A portion of the C-II will actually be based on the lunar surface.
India's Chandrayaan-I satellite stopped transmitting back to earth on Saturday following 3422 orbits of the Moon during 312 days.
The satellite's lunar mission was hoped to last 2 years as it tookt detailed, high resolution images of the surface, and carried experiments from the United States and Europe.
India is preparing the Chandrayaan-II satellite for launch aboard a GSLV rocket by 2012. A portion of the C-II will actually be based on the lunar surface.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Discovery's Crew Enters Space Station
Discovery's seven astronauts boarded the international space station tonight following a textbook docking by her commander as a combined 13 astronauts begin eight days together 220 miles above earth.
The hatches of both spacecraft opened at 9:33 pm EDT, and as Discovery's crew floated on board the orbiting outpost, the expedition 20 crew shook hands and hugged their newly arrived guests.
This will be only the second time in human space flight that 13 people are working and living on one spacecraft. NASA has prepared for this moment over past year by installing a second toilet (with a third on the shuttle), oxygen, a water purifier and extra supplies to support large crews.
Discovery's crew flying on her 37th mission 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.
Sturckow served as the pilot for the first space station assembly flight in 1998 when the two first pieces of the station were connected thus forming the nucleus of the space station complex.
Stott will switch places with current Station resident Tim Kopra at 11:30 pm, to begin a three month stay as a member of the expedition 20 and 21 crews on station. She will return home aboard Atlantis in late-November.
Up next will involve plucking the Leonardo MPLM (Multi-purpose logistics module) from the orbiter's payload bay with the station's robotic arm, and docking it to the station's Harmony port beginning on Monday afternoon. This is the module's seventh trip into space as a supply vessel.
Leonardo is a pressurized module full of 5,200 pounds of racks with experiments, supplies, and hardware -- including a huge freezer for storing new growth samples; a treadmill known as COLBERT which is arriving in two parts; and a new sleeping compartment for the recently expanded station crew.
Leonardo will be docked slowly to the station at 6:19 pm tomorrow.
The hatches of both spacecraft opened at 9:33 pm EDT, and as Discovery's crew floated on board the orbiting outpost, the expedition 20 crew shook hands and hugged their newly arrived guests.
This will be only the second time in human space flight that 13 people are working and living on one spacecraft. NASA has prepared for this moment over past year by installing a second toilet (with a third on the shuttle), oxygen, a water purifier and extra supplies to support large crews.
Discovery's crew flying on her 37th mission 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.
Sturckow served as the pilot for the first space station assembly flight in 1998 when the two first pieces of the station were connected thus forming the nucleus of the space station complex.
Stott will switch places with current Station resident Tim Kopra at 11:30 pm, to begin a three month stay as a member of the expedition 20 and 21 crews on station. She will return home aboard Atlantis in late-November.
Up next will involve plucking the Leonardo MPLM (Multi-purpose logistics module) from the orbiter's payload bay with the station's robotic arm, and docking it to the station's Harmony port beginning on Monday afternoon. This is the module's seventh trip into space as a supply vessel.
Leonardo is a pressurized module full of 5,200 pounds of racks with experiments, supplies, and hardware -- including a huge freezer for storing new growth samples; a treadmill known as COLBERT which is arriving in two parts; and a new sleeping compartment for the recently expanded station crew.
Leonardo will be docked slowly to the station at 6:19 pm tomorrow.
Discovery Docks with Space Station on her 25th Anniversary
On the silver anniversary of her first launch into space, the space shuttle Discovery performed a perfect rendezvous and docking to the international space station tonight to begin eight days of docked operations.
Discovery docked with earth's orbital outpost in space at 8:54 pm EDT, as the two flew 222 miles over the northeast Atlantic Ocean and orbital darkness.
It was a perfect approach as docking occurred ten minutes earlier than scheduled and using less fuel than was planned.
Earlier at 8:03 pm, Discovery performed a ten minute back flip so that two of the space station's six crew member could photograph the belly's tiles for traces of damage.
Inside the space station, commander Gennady Padalka, "Space shuttle Discovery, arriving," as he rang the traditional port-of-call bell.
Discovery will remain docked to station for eight days as it resupplies the space station and perform three spacewalks to install a new ammonia tank; retrieve a few experiments from outside; and install a rack to stow extra parts.
Discovery's Crew Completes Tile Inspection
Space shuttle Discovery astronauts spent their second day in space surveying the tiles and blankets which cover the spacecraft looking for any damage following their Midnight ride into space on Saturday.
Pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Jose Hernandez and Patrick Forrester spent several hours using the ship's 50-foot robotic arm and it's attached orbiter boom sensor to examine and perform a detailed look of the shuttle's aft section tiles, wing leading edges and nose section.
As of Sunday morning EDT, the crew did not see any damaged tiles or thermal blankets during the survey.
Early this morning, mission specialist and first time space flier Jose Hernandez told this spacelaunchnews.com reporter, "Flight Day 2 - my first full day in orbit! We used the robotic arm to do our routine inspection of the Shuttle”s thermal protection system. Also did rendezvous tool checkout!"
Meanwhile, on the mid deck, astronauts spent Saturday evening and into this morning EDT, preparing experiments and other items which will be transferred following Sunday night's docking. They also inspected the spacesuits which will be used on Tuesday's spacewalk in which Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott will go outside the station for 6 1/2-hours.
The crew will go to bed this morning at 5:30 am and awaken at 1:30 pm this afternoon to begin their third day -- docking day.
Discovery is currently in a lower orbit than the space station's so that that the shuttle can catch up at a quicker rate. Per orbital mechanics, an object in a lower orbit will circumnavigate the planet at a faster rate than an object in a higher orbit.
Beginning at 3:24 pm, Discovery's crew will begin rendezvous operations. Mission commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Ford will perform a series of jet firings to move Discovery's orbit higher as they close in on station.
An hour prior to docking, Discovery will begin a station-keeping attitude about 600 feet away, and perform a ten minute back flip so that the crew aboard the station can take several detailed images of the orbiter's belly using several camera's with 400 and 800 mm lens. The images will be sent to the ground as mission control inspects the belly for any tile damage which may have occurred during the ascent.
Discovery is scheduled to dock with the orbital outpost in space on Sunday night at 9:03 pm, as the orbital duo fly 222 miles over Poland.
Following final latching and leak checks between the two crafts, the two hatches are scheduled to open at 11PM tonight.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Discovery Crew Inspects Thermal Tiles
The crew of the space shuttle Discovery awoke this afternoon to begin their second day in space and will spend the day inspecting the thermal tiles of the orbiter and preparing for Sunday night's docking with the international space station.
The seven member crew awoke at 2:30 pm EDT, to the music of Gene Autry's Back in the Saddle Again, for mission commander Rick Sturckow - a former California rancher himself.
The crew awoke following a brief sleep period following a beautiful launch at the stroke of Midnight EDT this morning.
Discovery's 37th crew includes pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and Nicole Stott.
On board Discovery in the aft section of her payload bay is the Leonardo module filled with racks of equipment, experiments and supplies for the station's crew of six. Leonardo is a pressurized module carrying such items as a huge freezer for storing new growth samples; a treadmill which will arrive in two parts; and a new sleeping compartment. Food, water, oxygen and fuel is among the 5,200 pounds of new items for the station's crew.
Late afternoon on Sunday, Discovery will begin its final approach as the craft moves to 600 feet from the space station. It will be at this point at 8:02 pm where the orbiter will perform a back flip to allow two of the station's crew members to photograph the belly of the orbiter. The photographs will be sent to the ground as Mission Control looks for any tile damage which may have occurred at launch.
Discovery will then move into position to fly payload bay first as it's docking adapter connects with the space station docking port at 9:03 pm EDT.
Once docked the two crafts will pressurize the docking modules, check for leaks and open the hatches at 10:58 pm to begin eight days of docked operations.
Stott, a space rookie who worked during the 1990's at the Kennedy Space Center processing space shuttles such as Endeavour, will switch places with current resident Tim Kopra and begin a two month stay as a flight engineer aboard earth's orbital outpost.
On Monday evening at 6:19 pm EDT, the station robotic arm having grappled the Leonardo module will dock it to the American Harmony module.
Discovery is scheduled to land back at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:06 pm EDT of September 10th after 202 orbits of the earth, and nearly 13 days in space.
The seven member crew awoke at 2:30 pm EDT, to the music of Gene Autry's Back in the Saddle Again, for mission commander Rick Sturckow - a former California rancher himself.
The crew awoke following a brief sleep period following a beautiful launch at the stroke of Midnight EDT this morning.
Discovery's 37th crew includes pilot Kevin Ford, and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency) and Nicole Stott.
On board Discovery in the aft section of her payload bay is the Leonardo module filled with racks of equipment, experiments and supplies for the station's crew of six. Leonardo is a pressurized module carrying such items as a huge freezer for storing new growth samples; a treadmill which will arrive in two parts; and a new sleeping compartment. Food, water, oxygen and fuel is among the 5,200 pounds of new items for the station's crew.
Late afternoon on Sunday, Discovery will begin its final approach as the craft moves to 600 feet from the space station. It will be at this point at 8:02 pm where the orbiter will perform a back flip to allow two of the station's crew members to photograph the belly of the orbiter. The photographs will be sent to the ground as Mission Control looks for any tile damage which may have occurred at launch.
Discovery will then move into position to fly payload bay first as it's docking adapter connects with the space station docking port at 9:03 pm EDT.
Once docked the two crafts will pressurize the docking modules, check for leaks and open the hatches at 10:58 pm to begin eight days of docked operations.
Stott, a space rookie who worked during the 1990's at the Kennedy Space Center processing space shuttles such as Endeavour, will switch places with current resident Tim Kopra and begin a two month stay as a flight engineer aboard earth's orbital outpost.
On Monday evening at 6:19 pm EDT, the station robotic arm having grappled the Leonardo module will dock it to the American Harmony module.
Discovery is scheduled to land back at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:06 pm EDT of September 10th after 202 orbits of the earth, and nearly 13 days in space.
Discovery Launch Images
A few of our favorite images from this morning's midnight launch of Discovery. Above, a SpaceLaunchNews.com photographer grabs a great shot from his perch at Space View Park in northern Titusville. The park lies 12 miles across the river from the launch pad.Below, a KSC-NASA images showing how dramatic the launch truly is as Discovery departs the pad a few seconds following booster ignition.
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.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Discovery: T-2 minutes and Counting...
Space shuttle Discovery is just under two minutes until launch. All remains go for liftoff at 11:59:37 pm EDT, and the launch team are not working any issues.
The critical point in tonight's launch will be at T-31 seconds when Discovery's on board computers accept control of the launch.
The critical point in tonight's launch will be at T-31 seconds when Discovery's on board computers accept control of the launch.
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's Mission: Space Station Resupply
The international space station will receive a major delivery order as a moving truck filled with racks of experiments, equipment and supplies arrives at their door as NASA and it's space partners increase the productivity of earth's only outpost in space.
NASA's 128th space shuttle mission will head to the space station beginning this weekend on a resupply flight as Discovery and her crew of seven unload 15,200 pounds of cargo from the Leonardo module tucked in the orbiter's payload bay.
Once Discovery has docked with the station on flight day 3, the crew will begin work to power up the station's robotic arm using the attached orbiter boom sensor and pluck Leonardo out of its bay and slowly dock it with the station. Leonardo is also known as the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), and is a pressurized room filled with racks of equipment such as a huge freezer for storing new growth samples; a treadmill which will arrive in two parts; and a new sleeping compartment.
Commanding this 37th flight of Discovery will be three time spaceflight veteran Rick "CJ" Sturckow. Sturckow served as the pilot for the first space station assembly flight in 1998 when the two first pieces of the station were connected 220 miles up.
Serving as pilot on STS-128 is retired U.S. Air Force colonel and spaceflight rookie Kevin Ford. Ford will operate the station's robotic arm and fly Discovery around as the shuttle separates from the orbital outpost.
Mission specialists include Danny Olivas, who will perform three spacewalks on this mission; Patrick Forrester, who will be the choreographer (IV) for the three spacewalks; Jose Hernandez, who will use the orbiter's arm to inspect for tile damage on day 2; Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency and will perform two of the three spacewalks; and Tampa Bay native Nicole Stott, who will begin her stay on the space station as part of the Expedition 20 & 21 crews. Stott will return back to earth on the next shuttle flight STS-129 in December.
There will be three spacewalks performed on flight days five, seven and nine, each lasting 6 and one-half hours.
On the first spacewalk or EVA-1, Olivas and Stott will headout to the left side of the backbone of the station to begin unbolting an empty ammonia tank. The tank will be replaced on the second spacewalk. The pair will also head over the the ESA Columbus module and grab two experiments for their return back to earth aboard Discovery eight days later.
The second orbital walk in space will have Olivas and Fuglesang retrieve the 1800 pound new ammonia tank from Discovery's bay and replace the empty one. This new tank, according to the Johnson Space Center, "is the most mass ever moved around by spacewalking astronauts during station assembly".
The third and final planned spacewalk during STS-128 will see Olivas and Fuglesang prepare the station for the February 2010 arrival of the Tranquility node. The orbital duo will attach cables between the right side truss segment and the Unity node where Tranquility will be docked. They will also install a bracket which will store spare station parts; and install a circuit breaker.
As NASA's current oldest orbiter sails upon the ocean of space this week, she will celebrate the silver anniversary of her first voyage into space - STS-41D. Launched on August 30, 1984, the first flight of Discovery performed an experiment which had a lasting effect on the space station program. Mission Specialist Judith Resnik deployed the OAST-1, or the very first retractable solar array in space as a test bed for the then future space station Freedom project.
Discovery was named for the famous explorer Henry Hudson's ship, the HMS Discovery which sailed in the early 1600's; and Capt. James Cook's vessel which explored in the 1770's.
NASA's 128th space shuttle mission will head to the space station beginning this weekend on a resupply flight as Discovery and her crew of seven unload 15,200 pounds of cargo from the Leonardo module tucked in the orbiter's payload bay.
Once Discovery has docked with the station on flight day 3, the crew will begin work to power up the station's robotic arm using the attached orbiter boom sensor and pluck Leonardo out of its bay and slowly dock it with the station. Leonardo is also known as the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), and is a pressurized room filled with racks of equipment such as a huge freezer for storing new growth samples; a treadmill which will arrive in two parts; and a new sleeping compartment.
Commanding this 37th flight of Discovery will be three time spaceflight veteran Rick "CJ" Sturckow. Sturckow served as the pilot for the first space station assembly flight in 1998 when the two first pieces of the station were connected 220 miles up.
Serving as pilot on STS-128 is retired U.S. Air Force colonel and spaceflight rookie Kevin Ford. Ford will operate the station's robotic arm and fly Discovery around as the shuttle separates from the orbital outpost.
Mission specialists include Danny Olivas, who will perform three spacewalks on this mission; Patrick Forrester, who will be the choreographer (IV) for the three spacewalks; Jose Hernandez, who will use the orbiter's arm to inspect for tile damage on day 2; Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency and will perform two of the three spacewalks; and Tampa Bay native Nicole Stott, who will begin her stay on the space station as part of the Expedition 20 & 21 crews. Stott will return back to earth on the next shuttle flight STS-129 in December.
There will be three spacewalks performed on flight days five, seven and nine, each lasting 6 and one-half hours.
On the first spacewalk or EVA-1, Olivas and Stott will headout to the left side of the backbone of the station to begin unbolting an empty ammonia tank. The tank will be replaced on the second spacewalk. The pair will also head over the the ESA Columbus module and grab two experiments for their return back to earth aboard Discovery eight days later.
The second orbital walk in space will have Olivas and Fuglesang retrieve the 1800 pound new ammonia tank from Discovery's bay and replace the empty one. This new tank, according to the Johnson Space Center, "is the most mass ever moved around by spacewalking astronauts during station assembly".
The third and final planned spacewalk during STS-128 will see Olivas and Fuglesang prepare the station for the February 2010 arrival of the Tranquility node. The orbital duo will attach cables between the right side truss segment and the Unity node where Tranquility will be docked. They will also install a bracket which will store spare station parts; and install a circuit breaker.
As NASA's current oldest orbiter sails upon the ocean of space this week, she will celebrate the silver anniversary of her first voyage into space - STS-41D. Launched on August 30, 1984, the first flight of Discovery performed an experiment which had a lasting effect on the space station program. Mission Specialist Judith Resnik deployed the OAST-1, or the very first retractable solar array in space as a test bed for the then future space station Freedom project.
Discovery was named for the famous explorer Henry Hudson's ship, the HMS Discovery which sailed in the early 1600's; and Capt. James Cook's vessel which explored in the 1770's.
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