STS-128 MCC Status Reports

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MCC status reports for previous mission can be found here: STS-121, STS-115, , STS-117, STS-118, STS-120, STS-122, STS-123, STS-124, STS-126, STS-119, STS-125 & STS-127.

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08.28.09

11:30 p.m. CDT Friday, Aug. 28, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-01

STS-128 MCC Status Report #01

HOUSTON – Space shuttle Discovery turned midnight into noon along the central Florida coast with launch at 10:59 p.m. CDT (11:59 p.m. EDT) beginning its 37th mission – a flight to deliver supplies and research facilities to the International Space Station and its six-person crew.

Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas, Nicole Stott and Christer Fuglesang representing the European Space Agency reached orbit eight and a half minutes later as the space station flew 225 miles up, southwest of Tasmania.

Aboard the station watching Discovery’s launch on a live feed from Mission Control were Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Michael Barratt, Tim Kopra, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency and Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency.

Following Discovery’s docking Sunday night, Stott officially becomes a station crew member when she and Kopra swap places shortly before midnight. Kopra will return home aboard Discovery after a month and a half aboard the station.

Shortly after reaching orbit, Discovery’s crew began procedures to ensure the spaceship is healthy for on-orbit operations and is scheduled to open the payload bay doors at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

The crew’s launch day ends with a thorough checkout of the robotic arm and survey of the payload bay before heading to bed about 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

Following wakeup at 1:29 p.m. Saturday, the crew will spend the majority of the day assessing the health of Discovery’s wing leading edge panels and nosecap using the boom/sensor extension and checking out the spacesuits to be worn during three planned spacewalks later in the mission. The crew also will test rendezvous tools and prepare the docking system ahead of arrival at the station.

Discovery’s mission is the 128th in shuttle program history and the 30th dedicated to station assembly, resupply and maintenance.

The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wakeup – earlier if warranted.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #01

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8.29.09

2 p.m. CDT Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-02

STS-128 MCC Status Report #02

HOUSTON –The crew of space shuttle Discovery woke at 1:30 p.m. to startwork on the first full day of their 13-day mission. The seven-personcrew will focus on heat shield inspections and preparations docking tothe International Space Station Sunday.

Overnight, the FlightControl Team reported the failure of one of two small steering jetsthat flank the orbiter nose due to a leak. This will have no impact todocking, other mission activities or entry, but the crew will close amanifold to isolate both jets and disable them from use for theremainder of the mission.

The song "Back in the Saddle Again"by Gene Autry, was played as the wake-up music for shuttle commanderRick Sturckow. Sturckow will be joined by Pilot Kevin Ford for theirfirst task of the day – a firing of the Orbital Maneuvering Systemengines to refine Discovery's path toward the station. A second burn isplanned later in the crew day.

Ford will then join MissionSpecialists Pat Forrester and Jose Hernandez to perform the survey ofthe shuttle's heat shield. Using the shuttle robotic arm andspecialized cameras, they'll commence with a well-establishedchoreography to capture detailed video of the orbiter's wing-leadingedges and nose cap. The imagery will be reviewed by specialists toensure there was no damage from liftoff.

Their crewmatesDanny Olivas, Christer Fuglesang and Nicole Stott will perform a checkout of the space suits they will wear on the mission's three spacewalksand prepare the suits for transfer to the station.

Later inthe day, the crew will set up the centerline camera, extend the OrbiterDocking System ring and check out other equipment that will be used fortomorrow's approach and docking to the space station.

Aboardthe station, Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and flightengineers Michael Barratt, Tim Kopra, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk ofthe Canadian Space Agency and Frank De Winne of the European SpaceAgency, will prepare for the arrival of the Discovery crew by reviewingphotography procedures for documenting the condition of the shuttle'sheat protection tiles as it completes a rendezvous pitch maneuverduring its approach to the station.

Discovery's crew will go to bed just before 4:30 a.m.

The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew's workday, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #02

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08.30.09

11:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-03

STS-128 MCC Status Report #03

During their first full day in space, astronauts aboard Discoveryconducted a daylong inspection of the space shuttle's thermalprotection system, checked out spacesuits and prepared to dock with theInternational Space Station.

With Commander Rick Sturckow atthe controls, Discovery is scheduled to link up with the space stationat 8:03 p.m. CDT Sunday.

Pilot Kevin Ford and missionspecialists Patrick Forrester and Jose Hernandez took turns using the50-foot-long Orbiter Boom Sensor System, attached to the shuttle'srobotic arm, to inspect the shuttle's right wing, nose cap and leftwing. Specialists on the ground will analyze the imagery to ensure theshuttle's heat shield sustained no damage during the climb to orbit.

Working in Discovery's middeck, mission specialists Danny Olivas,Christer Fuglesang and Nicole Stott completed a two-hour checkout ofthe spacesuits that will be used during three spacewalks planned forthe docked phase of the mission. They conducted leak checks on thesuits and prepared them for transfer to the station.

Dockingpreparations occupied the remainder of the crew's workday. The crewtested equipment that will be used for rendezvous operations. Forresterand Fuglesang installed an Orbiter Docking System centerline camera andextended the outer ring atop the docking system.

AwaitingDiscovery's arrival at the station are Expedition 20 Commander GennadyPadalka and flight engineers Michael Barratt, Tim Kopra, RomanRomanenko, Robert Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency and Frank DeWinne of the European Space Agency. The station crew members spent theday preparing for the seven new visitors by reviewing photographyprocedures they will use to capture images of Discovery's underside asSturckow pilots a back flip during the approach to the station. Padalkaand Barratt will use digital cameras with 400 and 800 millimeter lensesto snap detailed photos of the shuttle's heat shield tiles.

The shuttle crew is scheduled to begin its eight-hour sleep period at 4:29 a.m. Sunday.

The next status report will be issued after wake-up at 12:29 p.m. Sunday, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #03

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08.30.09

1 p.m. CDT Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-04

STS-128 MCC Status Report #04

For the second time in history, thirteen people will be assembled onone spacecraft today to kick-off eight days of joint space operations.Space shuttle Discovery is on track for a docking with theInternational Space Station just after 8 p.m. CDT.

Discovery's crew awoke at 12:30 p.m. with "Made To Love" performed by Toby Mac and played for Mission Specialist Nicole Stott.

The morning will focus on preparations for the rendezvous and dockingto the station. Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford willperform a few final corrective jet firings to refine the orbiter's pathto the station and poise them for a rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM)under the station at 7 p.m. While Sturckow performs the "backflip"Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer MikeBarratt will take photos from the station. Their photos will bereviewed by experts on the ground for evidence of damage to the shuttletiles.

Once the RPM is complete, Sturckow will fly Discoveryahead of the space station and slowly back it in to dock to thestation. Mating is expected to occur at 8:04 p.m. After hatch openingand a routine safety briefing, the two crews will start their jointoperations.

Sturckow, Christer Fuglesang and Stott will begintransfer work, including the relocation of the space suits and toolsthat will be used for the three planned spacewalks. They also will swapSoyuz seatliners for Stott and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra. The two arerotating positions on their respective crews, and the installation ofStott's seatliner in the Russian spacecraft will mark the start ofStott's position on the station crew, and likewise, Kopra's transitionto the shuttle crew.

Meanwhile Ford, Kopra and missionspecialists Pat Forrester and Jose Hernandez will start roboticactivities. They'll use the station robotic arm to remove the orbiterboom from its position on the payload bay sill and hand it off to theshuttle arm to provide additional clearance for the Multi-PurposeLogistics Module removal Monday.

Mission specialist DannyOlivas will install TV and photo equipment, while station crew membersRoman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne exercise and continueother work on station.

The station crew will go to bed at 4 a.m., and Discovery's crew 30 minutes later.

The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew's workday, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #04

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08.30.09

11 p.m. CDT Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-05

STS-128 MCC Status Report #05

HOUSTON – The Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 7:54 p.m. delivering more than seven tons of cargo and a new crew member to the International Space Station and its Expedition 20 crew.

Discovery Commander Rick Sturckow carefully guided the 100-ton orbiter to a docking with the 350-ton station as the two spacecraft flew 220 miles above the northeast Atlantic Ocean approaching southern England.

Prior to docking at a distance of 600 feet, Sturckow – with rendezvous help from his fellow crewmates Pilot Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Jose Hernandez – deftly flew Discovery through a “backflip” allowing station Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt to take photos that imagery experts will review to assess the health of Discovery’s thermal protection system tiles.

The shuttle and station crews opened hatches at 9:33 p.m. and greeted one another beginning a week’s worth of joint operations that includes three spacewalks and transfer of 15,000 pounds of supplies and logistics to sustain the six-person crew on the station.

After the ceremonial welcoming of Discovery’s crew by Padalka and Flight Engineers Barratt, Tim Kopra, Roman Romanenko, Bob Thirsk and Frank De Winne, the joint crews completed one of the first major tasks: the swap of Nicole Stott for Kopra as a station crew member. Kopra is scheduled to return aboard Discovery Sept. 10 after 57 days in space. Stott will handle flight engineer duties aboard the station until her return home aboard Atlantis following the STS-129 mission in November.

Ford, Kopra, Hernandez and Pat Forrester will begin robotic activities that include using the station robot arm to remove the orbiter extension boom from its position on the payload bay sill and hand it off to the shuttle arm to provide additional clearance for the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module removal Monday.

Before the crews head to bed about 4:30 Monday morning, transfer of shuttle middeck supplies to the station will begin along with relocation of spacesuits that will be used for the three planned spacewalks.

The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wake – earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to wake up at 12:29 p.m. Monday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #05

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08.31.09

1 p.m. CDT Monday, Aug. 31, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-06

STS-128 MCC Status Report #06

The combined crews of space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station awoke today to start the first of eight days of joint operations. With the successful docking last night, the crews will focus on transfer work and spacewalks.

The shuttle crew wake-up song was “Mi Tierra,” performed by Gloria Estefan. The song was selected for Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez. Later today, Hernandez will participate in an interview with Univision, which will air on NASA TV at 9:29 p.m. CDT.

Pilot Kevin Ford and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will use the station robotic arm to move the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) from Discovery’s payload bay to the Earth-facing port on the station’s Harmony module. They’re expected to start the nearly three-hour maneuver just after 2:30 p.m. Mission specialists Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency and Tim Kopra will assist with the attachment and activation activity. After leak checks and pressurization, the teams are expected to open the hatches to the cargo module at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday.

The MPLM is carrying 15,000 pounds of supplies and equipment for use on the station, including more science facilities. The crew will spend the next several days unloading the hardware.

Meanwhile, transfer of equipment from the shuttle’s middeck will get under way. Mission specialists Pat Forrester, Hernandez and Danny Olivas will carry over items from the shuttle to the station, including the spacesuits to be used in the upcoming spacewalks. Shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow will assist with transfer as well as monitor shuttle systems.

Flight Engineer Nicole Stott, whose rotation with Kopra on the station crew was made official yesterday, will conduct some transfer work and familiarization of her new home in space. She will join Olivas to set up their tools for tomorrow’s spacewalk. The two will be joined later by all of the U.S. crew members and station Commander Gennady Padalka for a procedures review for that spacewalk.

Expedition 20 flight engineers Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne will continue with station science, maintenance work and exercise.

The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #06

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08.31.09

Midnight CDT Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-07

STS-128 MCC Status Report #07

HOUSTON – The 8 tons of supplies, equipment and science experiments that space shuttle Discovery carried into space are now at the International Space Station and ready to be unpacked.

Using the station’s 50-foot-long robotic arm Monday, STS-128 Pilot Kevin Ford and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt removed the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module from the shuttle’s cargo bay and installed it onto the station’s Harmony module. Once attached, Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang and Flight Engineer Frank DeWinne, both of the European Space Agency, became the first crewmembers to venture inside. They spent the rest of their day preparing the pressurized cargo module for the transfer work that will be performed over the next six days.

The shuttle and station crews already have gotten a start on transferring the cargo brought up inside the shuttle’s middeck. In particular, the mission’s spacewalkers – Mission Specialists Danny Olivas and Jose Hernandez, and Flight Engineer Nicole Stott – worked to move the tools to be used during the three STS-128 spacewalks into the station’s airlock and get them ready for use.

The first of those spacewalks is set to begin 4:49 p.m. Tuesday, as Olivas and Stott head outside the station to begin the task of replacing an empty ammonia tank assembly. They’ll also be retrieving two science experiments that have been attached to the station’s exterior and transferring them to the shuttle’s cargo bay for return to Earth.

Olivas and Stott will spend the night inside the Quest airlock at a lower air pressure to prepare their bodies for work in the vacuum of space. Part of what’s called the “pre-breathe protocol,” the reduced air pressure helps force nitrogen out of the spacewalkers’ blood stream, which protects them from getting decompression sickness, also known as the bends.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep just before 4 a.m. Tuesday and wake up at 11:59 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew wakes up call or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #07

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09.01.09

1 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-08

STS-128 MCC Status Report #08

HOUSTON – The International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery crews shift their focus to spacewalking today, as they prepare for the first excursion of the mission. Transfer work continues as well, including moving a new treadmill to its home in space.

Their day started at noon with “Indiana, Our Indiana,” performed by the Indiana University Band, for Pilot Kevin Ford, born in Indiana and on his first spaceflight.

Mission Specialist Danny Olivas and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott will venture out the station door at 4:49 p.m. CDT to remove an Ammonia Tank Assembly from the station’s truss. They will stow the tank, which has neared the end of its usefulness, on the station robotic arm. It will remain there until the spacewalk Thursday when a new tank is installed and the old one is stored in the shuttle’s payload bay.

Next, Stott will ride the robotic arm to meet Olivas on the Columbus laboratory to remove two exposure experiments. They will remove the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF), a European Space Agency experiment suite. Once detached from the station, Olivas will hand EuTEF to Stott, who will carry it to the payload bay.

Stott will step off the arm and meet Olivas back on Columbus where they will proceed to their final task - removal of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). Olivas will detach two containers, passing the first to Stott, and they will install the cases in the payload bay for return to Earth.

During the spacewalk, shuttle commander Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialist Pat Forrester will guide the spacewalkers through the procedures. Ford and Flight Engineer Bob Thirsk will operate the station’s robotic arm.

Meanwhile, mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Tim Kopra and Christer Fuglesang and Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will continue unloading the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The crew got a head-start on unpacking yesterday, and plans to transfer an air revitalization system, a new crew quarters compartment and a new treadmill.

The treadmill, dubbed the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT), was named after comedian Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” took an interest in a recent NASA naming poll and urged his followers to post the name “Colbert.” The treadmill will be the second on the station.

The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to go to sleep about 3:29 a.m. Wednesday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #08

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09.02.09

3 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-09

STS-128 MCC Status Report #09

HOUSTON – The first spacewalk of the STS-128 mission came off without a hitch on Tuesday, as spacewalkers Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott completed all the tasks on their to-do list.

Olivas and Stott left the International Space Station at 4:49 p.m. Tuesday, and spent the next 6 hours and 35 minutes outside, working to get cargo that space shuttle Discovery will bring home ready for its return. They started with a depleted ammonia tank assembly on the P1, or port 1, segment of the station’s truss, getting it out of the way in preparation for the installation of a new tank to be installed on Thursday, during the mission’s second spacewalk. The ammonia in the tanks is used to cool the station and expel the heat generated by its residents and systems.

Once they’d installed the ammonia tank assembly in Discovery’s cargo bay, the spacewalkers moved to the exterior of the Columbus laboratory to retrieve two science experiments – the European Technology Exposure Facility and the sixth Materials International Space Station Experiment.

EuTEF, as the first is called, has been at the space station since October 2007, and held nine different experiments, most of which collected various types of information on the environment of space. MISSE-6 was housed in two suitcase-sized containers and evaluated the effect of the space environment on various material and coating samples.

While Discovery was being packed for its return trip outside the station, shuttle and station crews were working inside to unload the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module that Discovery brought up. The station’s new treadmill -- the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT -- was unloaded, as were the new crew quarters and the new air revitalization system rack.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep just before 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and be awakened at 11:30 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew receives their wakeup call or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #09

Edited September 2, 2009 by Waspie_Dwarf

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09.02.09

1p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-10

STS-128 MCC Status Report #10

HOUSTON – The 13 members of the combined space shuttle and International Space Station crew will install new science equipment and racks in the station today, enhancing the research capabilities for the orbiting laboratory.

The crew was awakened at 11:30 a.m. CDT by Louis Armstrong’s performance of “What a Wonderful World,” played for Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang, an astronaut with the European Space Agency.

The Fluids Integrated Rack, Materials Science Research Rack-1 and Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS will be installed in the U.S. Destiny laboratory. Shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez and Fuglesang as well as Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Frank De Winne will all play a part in the transfer and installation of the new hardware.

Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will work on installation and outfitting of the new crew quarters compartment that was transferred, providing a new private space for fellow crewmate Robert Thirsk. Thirsk will focus on the ongoing transfer of food and supplies from the Leonardo module. New Expedition crew member Nicole Stott will continue with station orientation and later join De Winne for two hours of training related to the upcoming arrival of Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, set to launch Sept. 10. Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko will continue with station maintenance tasks.

Mission Specialist Danny Olivas and Hernandez will participate in two media events. They will talk with CNN Espanol, Televisa Mexico and KCRA-TV at 5:24 p.m. Later, at 8:55 p.m., they will respond to public questions submitted via Twitter and YouTube.

Olivas and Fuglesang also will work on preparations for their spacewalk tomorrow. They will get their spacesuits in place in the Quest airlock, gather tools and join the U.S. crew members to review the spacewalk plan. The two spacewalkers will spend the night in the airlock for their pre-breathe procedure.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to go to sleep about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #10

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09.02.09

11 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-11

STS-128 MCC Status Report #11

HOUSTON – Key research facilities that were delivered today will play a role in future discoveries as the bustling International Space Station matures into a fully outfitted orbiting laboratory.

The Fluids Integrated Rack, Materials Science Research Rack-1 and Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer-2 were transferred from the Leonardo logistics module and installed in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory.

STS-128 Commander Rick Struckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez and Christer Fuglesang pitched in for the transfers, as did Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Frank De Winne.

Meanwhile, Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt installed and outfitted the third of four planned NASA crew quarters. His crewmate, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, will be the first to enjoy the privacy of the new compartment. Thirsk ferried food and supplies from Leonardo into the station.

The newest station crewmember, Nicole Stott, had time to orient herself in her new home, and joined De Winne for two hours of training related to the upcoming arrival of Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, set to launch Sept. 10.

Spacewalkers Danny Olivas and Fuglesang will camp out in the Quest airlock overnight to acclimate their bodies for a spacewalk to swap ammonia tanks used to keep the station cool. The second spacewalk of the mission is scheduled to begin about 4:19 p.m. CDT Thursday. They also readied spacesuits and tools, and went over the spacewalk plan with their colleagues.

Olivas and Hernandez were interviewed by reporters with CNN Espanol, Televisa Mexico and KCRA-TV, and answered questions submitted by the public via Twitter and YouTube.

The crew is due to go to sleep about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, and awaken about 11:30 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew awakens or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #11

Edited September 3, 2009 by Waspie_Dwarf

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09.03.09

11 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-12

STS-128 MCC Status Report #12

Two astronauts will venture back into the cosmos today for the second of three planned spacewalks during this mission. Mission specialists Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang will install a new ammonia tank on the International Space Station and stow a depleted tank for return to Earth.

Olivas and Fuglesang spent the night in the Quest airlock in preparation for the excursion. They were awakened with the rest of their crewmates at 11:30 a.m. CDT. The wake-up song, “There is a God” by 33 Miles, was played for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester. Forrester will serve as the intravehicular officer throughout the 6.5-hour spacewalk, which is scheduled to begin at 4:19 p.m.

The spacewalk activity will begin in Discovery’s payload bay where the two spacewalkers will remove the new ammonia tank. They will take a thermal blanket off of the tank and loosen four bolts holding the tank to a cargo carrier. Fuglesang, positioned at the end of the station robotic arm, will hand carry the tank to the truss. Pilot Kevin Ford and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott will operate the arm for the 30-minute maneuver and other arm operations.

Olivas and Fuglesang will meet at the Port 1 truss to install the tank. They will attach it to the truss with four bolts and connect its fluid lines. Then Olivas will ingress a foot restraint on the truss to remove the depleted tank previously attached to the end of the robotic arm. He will hand it to Fuglesang, who will be on the arm to hold the 1,295-pound tank for the ride to the payload bay.

There, they will install the tank on the carrier rack with four bolts and cover the tank with a thermal blanket. They also will remove a grapple fixture from the tank, to be relocated to the starboard truss for later use.

The remaining crew members, including shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez and station flight engineers Mike Barratt, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne will continue unloading the Leonardo cargo module. Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko will continue station maintenance in the Russian segment.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to go to sleep about 3 a.m. Friday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #12

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09.04.09

2 a.m. CDT Friday, Sept. 4, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-13

STS-128 MCC Status Report #13

HOUSTON – The International Space Station has about 600 pounds of fresh ammonia circulating through its port cooling system, thanks to the work today of spacewalkers Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang.

Olivas and Fuglesang spent 6 hours and 39 minutes outside the station during the second spacewalk of Discovery’s mission, primarily working to install a new ammonia tank assembly, which pushes ammonia through loops on the space station’s truss to get rid of excess heat generated by the station’s systems. The spacewalk began at 5:12 p.m. CDT Thursday, and ended at 11:51 p.m.

In addition, the spacewalkers prepared the empty ammonia tank assembly that they’d removed on Tuesday for return to Earth by bolting it down inside the shuttle’s cargo bay. By that point in the spacewalk, Olivas and Fuglesang were ahead of their timeline, and so were able to move into get-ahead work.

They installed protective lens covers on the cameras of the station’s robotic arm, which will shield them from contamination when the arm is used to dock the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle to the station later this month. And they installed a portable foot restraint on the station’s truss system for use during upcoming missions.

Meanwhile, inside the space station, Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez and station Flight Engineers Michael Barratt, Frank De Winne and Robert Thrisk continued the work of unloading the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module of the 8 tons of cargo it carried into space and filling it back up with items to be returned home. The crew has finished about half the transfer work to be done, and has until Monday to do the rest.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep around 3 a.m. and wake up at 10:59 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew gets its wakeup call or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #13

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09.04.09

Noon CDT Friday, Sept. 4, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-14

STS-128 MCC Status Report #14

Mid-mission, the activities in space slow down a bit while the shuttle crew members have the morning off. They will join their International Space Station counterparts for work in the afternoon, continuing with supply transfers and preparing for the third spacewalk.

For the second time, the crew was awakened by the sound of Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World,” this time played for Mission Specialist Danny Olivas. The crew was awakened at 11 a.m. CDT.

Shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Christer Fuglesang, Tim Kopra and Olivas all have the morning off.

Station Commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineers Mike Barratt, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk, Frank De Winne and Nicole Stott have some off-duty time scheduled and will continue station maintenance work. Stott, Thirsk and De Winne also have about two hours scheduled to study H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) procedures. Japan’s HTV is set to launch to the station Sept. 10 and arrive a week later.

All 13 crew members will gather for a midday meal, crew photo and news conference. At 7:54 p.m., they will convene in the station to take questions from media in the United States, Canada and Sweden.

The crew resumes transfer work for the rest of the day. Flight controllers report the planned transfer of supplies is more than 60 percent complete. The crew also will prepare the spacesuits and airlock for the third and final excursion of the mission slated for Saturday. The shuttle crew, station commander and Stott will all convene to review the spacewalk procedures before Olivas and Fuglesang prepare to spend their night in the Quest airlock.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The station crew is due to go to sleep about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and the shuttle crew follows thirty minutes later.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #14

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.04.09

9 p.m. CDT Friday, Sept. 4, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-15

STS-128 MCC Status Report #15

After a mid-mission rest, Discovery’s crew is now ready to go for Saturday’s third and final spacewalk of the mission.

With two spacewalks and more than half of their scheduled transfer work complete, the first half of the STS-128 mission’s eighth day in space was set aside for off-duty time for its crew.

The crew members wrapped up their relaxation with a 40-minute news conference, where they and their International Space Station counterparts answered questions from American, Canadian and European journalists.

After that, it was back to work with more cargo transfer – primarily packing up the emptied Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module with items to be sent home – and preparation for the mission’s third spacewalk.

Saturday’s spacewalk, to be conducted by mission specialists Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang, is scheduled to begin just before 4 p.m. The plan for the excursion has changed slightly from the pre-mission agenda. In Thursday’s spacewalk, Olivas and Fuglesang found that heater cables on the outside of pressurized mating adapter 3 appeared to be in an incorrect configuration to reach properly for relocation. That task has, therefore, been deferred.

The rest of the plan will stay essentially the same. The spacewalkers will be deploying a payload attachment system on the station’s truss that will be needed during the next shuttle mission to the station, and replace a rate gyro assembly, a power control module and two GPS antennas.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep around 3 a.m. Saturday and wake up at 10:59 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew gets its wakeup call or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #15

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.05.09

Noon CDT Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-16

STS-128 MCC Status Report #16

HOUSTON – The space shuttle and International Space Station crews will turn their focus to the third and final spacewalk of the mission today. Inside the complex, transfer and maintenance continue.

The crews were wakened at 11 a.m. “El Hijo del Pueblo” performed by Alfredo Jimenez was played for Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez.

Hernandez will assist crewmates Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang as they prepare for their second spacewalk together. Their extravehicular activity will include outfitting and maintenance of station modules.

The two will deploy a payload attachment system on the starboard truss. They will have a special tool with them in the event they encounter any problems with a detent pin that caused problems on similar tasks in previous missions.

Next they will replace a failed rate gyro assembly, which measures rates for any changes in the station’s attitude, with a new one.

With that complete, the two will split up for the next tasks. Olivas will install a Global Positioning System antenna while Fuglesang will remove and replace a remote power control module and install a insulation sleeve on a cable inside the truss. Fuglesang will follow that up with the installation of a second GPS antenna.

The two will reunite for the final task, routing two 60-foot-long avionics systems cables along the station. The cables are being installed in preparation for the arrival of the Node 3 “Tranquility” in 2010.

Inside, Mission Specialist Tim Kopra and Flight Engineer Robert Thirsk will replace a bolt on the Common Berthing Mechanism in the “Unity” Node 2. Flight Engineer Frank De Winne will replace a filter on the oxygen generating system.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The station crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Sunday and the shuttle crew follows thirty minutes later.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #16

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.06.09

1:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-17

STS-128 MCC Status Report #17

HOUSTON – Discovery’s astronauts have now finished all of their work outside the station for the STS-128 mission.

Mission Specialists Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang spent 7 hours and 1 minute outside the International Space Station on Saturday in the third and final spacewalk of this trip to the station, bringing the total for the mission to 20 hours and 15 minutes.

Inside the station, crewmembers replaced one of 16 common berthing mechanism bolts used to secure the Leonardo cargo carrier to the station. The bolt had not operated as expected early in the mission. The crew also opened an oxygen generation assembly water filter that was replaced before the shuttle arrived, and saw that it was 70 to 80 percent blocked. The inspection increases confidence that the filter replacement has restored the system to full functionality.

As with the mission’s previous spacewalks, Olivas and Fuglesang accomplished everything they set out to do, including the set up of a payload attachment system on the station’s truss to be called into service on the next mission. They also replaced a rate gyro assembly and a remote power control module, installed two GPS antennas and removed a slide wire on the Unity module.

The spacewalkers were not able to connect two avionics cables that eventually will be connected to Tranquility, the final U.S. module to be delivered to the station. Connectors on one of the cables would not mate, and so they were wrapped in insulation and left for a future spacewalk.

At the end of the spacewalk, Fuglesang’s helmet-mounted video camera and headlight system became unlatched. Olivas helped Fuglesang connect a tether to the equipment and planned to inspect its latches after they got back inside.

The rest of the mission’s work will take place inside the station and shuttle. More transfer work is on the slate for tomorrow, as well as some off-duty time for the crew and interviews with reporters on the ground.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep around 2:30 a.m. and wake up at 10:29 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after they get their wakeup call or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #17

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.06.09

11:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-18

STS-128 MCC Status Report #18

HOUSTON – The astronauts aboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery turn their focus to final packing today. After nearly seven days of busy joint activities and three spacewalks, the shuttle crew will also get a half-day off.

The crew awoke at 10:35 a.m. to “Rocket” performed by Andrew Peterson. The song was played for Mission Specialist Pat Forrester.

Shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford, Forrester and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas, Tim Kopra and Christer Fuglesang are slated to spend the morning packing up the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module with supplies and equipment that will be returned to Earth. They will also install control panels on the Node 2 common berthing mechanism.

Their station counterparts, Commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineers Mike Barratt, Nicole Stott, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne will assist with the transfer and perform station maintenance.

Early in the crew day, Kopra and Olivas have time set aside for a media opportunity with journalists from Texas and the military. At 12:54 p.m., their interviews with KFOX-TV, KXAN-TV and the Military Times will air live on NASA TV.

Toward the end of the crew day, European Space Agency astronauts Fuglesang and De Winne will join in the Columbus module for a special event with representatives from Sweden. The event will air on NASA TV as they speak with former ESA astronaut Jean Francois Clervoy, Lotta Bouvain of Swedish television, Swedish Minister for Education Jan Björklund, American Finnish journalist and talk show host Mark Levengood, and Swedish opera singer Malena Ernman.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The station crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Monday and the shuttle crew follows thirty minutes later.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #18

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.06.09

3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-19

STS-128 MCC Status Report #19

The 13 crew members aboard space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station completed final transfer work between the two spacecraft Sunday in preparation for Monday afternoon’s scheduled return of the high-tech moving van “Leonardo” back to the orbiter’s payload bay.

With Leonardo packed with items for return to Earth, the crew planned to spend some free time together this evening before Monday’s careful return of the Italian-built logistics module to Discovery for return home and refurbishment before it is used again to deliver more supplies to the station.

With seven days of docked operations behind them, the astronauts and cosmonauts prepared to say their goodbyes and close the hatches Monday about 9:30 p.m. CDT.

Earlier today, Danny Olivas and Tim Kopra talked about their missions with hometown television stations in El Paso and Austin, Texas, respectively. Kopra is returning home after nearly two months aboard the space station. Olivas performed three spacewalks outside the station on this mission and has performed five total accumulating more than 34 hours of spacewalking time.

Toward the end of the crew day, European Space Agency astronauts Christer Fuglesang and Frank De Winne will gather in the Columbus module for a special event with representatives from Sweden. The event will air on NASA TV as they speak with former ESA astronaut Jean Francois Clervoy, Lotta Bouvain of Swedish television, Swedish Minister for Education Jan Björklund, American Finnish journalist and talk show host Mark Levengood, and Swedish opera singer Malena Ernman.

The crews are scheduled to go to bed about 2 a.m. Monday followed by their musical wakeup call from Mission Control at 10:29 a.m. The next status report will be issued after that call.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #19

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.07.09

11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 7, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-20

STS-128 MCC Status Report #20

The 13 crew members onboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery will prepare to part today. They will pack up their final items and close the hatches dividing the two spacecraft in preparation for undocking tomorrow.

The crew woke at 10:30 a.m. to “Only One,” performed by Jeremy Kay and played for Mission Specialist Danny Olivas.

About two and a half hours after wake up, Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez and Flight Engineer Nicole Stott will join to take questions from reporters at Telemundo, WTSP-TV in Florida, and Univision. The interactive event will air live at 1:09 p.m.

The crew will close up the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module today. Once configured, Pilot Kevin Ford will join Hernandez to use the station’s robotic arm to remove Leonardo from its location on the station, and position it in the shuttle’s payload bay for the ride back to Earth.

With Leonardo in place, the crew members, including shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, Ford, mission specialists Pat Forrester, Hernandez, Olivas, Christer Fuglesang, Tim Kopra and station commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineers Mike Barratt, Stott, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne will gather one last time for farewells before the hatch closure. Tim Kopra will bid his Expedition 20 crewmates farewell as he prepares to wrap up his first spaceflight mission and return with the space shuttle crew, who will in turn be wishing well to Stott who will remain on station, taking Kopra’s place as an expeditionary crew member.

Hatch closure is expected at 9:30 p.m. Next, the shuttle crew will set up and check out tools and a camera needed for undocking tomorrow.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #20

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.07.09

11 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-21

STS-128 MCC Status Report #21

HOUSTON – The astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery have wrapped up their work in space together. The crews of the two spacecraft bid each other farewell and closed the hatches between them at 10:41 p.m. CDT.

With eight days of joint operations between the spacecraft complete, Discovery is scheduled to undock from the station at 2:26 p.m. Tuesday.

Today the crews completed the last major activity before undocking. They exited the Leonardo Multi-purpose Logistics Module, deactivated it and returned it to Discovery’s cargo bay using the station’s robotic arm. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez operated the arm.

Leonardo is carrying about 2,400 pounds of equipment back to Earth. Discovery’s middeck is transporting about 860 pounds of return items.

Also returning to Earth aboard Discovery, Mission Specialist Tim Kopra bid his Expedition 20 crew mates farewell. Flight Engineer Nicole Stott has taken his place as a long-duration crew member aboard the station.

The shuttle crew is scheduled to go to sleep about 2 a.m. and wake up at 9:59 a.m. Tuesday.

The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew awakens, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #21

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.08.09

11 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-22

STS-128 MCC Status Report #22

After closing the hatches between the two spacecraft last night, the two crews aboard space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station prepare to undock today.

The wakeup song, “Beautiful Day” by U2, was played at 10 a.m. CDT for the shuttle’s newest crew member, Mission Specialist Tim Kopra. Kopra is returning to Earth with the STS-128 crew after 44 days on the space station as a member of the Expedition 20 crew.

Kopra, joined by shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas, and Christer Fuglesang, will focus on preparations for the undocking from the station.

They are scheduled to undock from the station at 2:26 p.m. Once safely separated from the orbiting complex by about 450 feet, Ford will conduct a flyaround of the space station. The maneuver provides an opportunity to get video of the station that can be used to inspect for damage or general condition of the vehicle’s exterior. A final separation burn is expected at 4:09 p.m.

Later, the shuttle crew will again engage the shuttle robotic arm, its extension boom and cameras for a last look at the thermal protection system to check for any damage. Once complete, they will stow the arm back on the payload bay sill.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #22

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.08.09

9:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-23

STS-128 MCC Status Report #23

HOUSTON – The population aboard the International Space Station is back to six following the departure of the space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew at 2:26 p.m. CDT today.

Pilot Kevin Ford guided Discovery through a full fly-around of the orbiting outpost, using only the primary reaction control system steering jets. The smaller vernier jets were disabled before the shuttle docked to the station because of a small leak in one jet.

The shuttle crew’s newest member, Mission Specialist Tim Kopra, is returning to Earth after 44 days as a member of the station’s Expedition 20 crew, while his replacement, Nicole Stott, begins a three-month stay in orbit.

After delivering 7.5 tons of scientific equipment, food and other supplies for use by the station crew, the shuttle is returning home with 2.5 tons of specimens, used equipment and trash. The Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module contains 2,412 pounds of return cargo, and the used ammonia tank assembly and European Technology Exposure Facility account for another 1,950 pounds in the unpressurized cargo bay. Discovery’s middeck also is carrying 861 pounds of cargo home to Earth.

Discovery’s crew is now in the process of examining its heat shield one last time using the shuttle’s robotic arm, its 50-foot-long extension boom and sophisticated sensors. Once complete, the astronauts will stow both the boom and Canadarm back in the payload bay.

The space station crew will enjoy a day off tomorrow to rest up after the busy assembly mission. They’ll also prepare for the arrival of the next cargo delivery vehicle, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, scheduled for launch from Tanegashima, Japan, at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Wednesday. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew awakens at 9:59 a.m., or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #23

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.09.09

10:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-24

STS-128 MCC Status Report #24

As they wind down their mission, space shuttle Discovery’s crew members will focus on landing preparations today. Landing opportunities begin Thursday with a first possible touchdown about 6 p.m. at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The crew awoke at 10 a.m. CDT to the vocals of Rod Stewart singing “Sailing,” a song played for Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang.

The crew will spend the day preparing the vehicle for re-entry and ensuring its systems are operational for landing. Approximately four hours after wake-up, shuttle commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford will perform a checkout of the flight control systems. A little more than an hour later, they are expected to conduct a hot fire test of the Reaction Control System.

Meanwhile, mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and Fuglesang will pack and stow items throughout the cabin. They also will set up and install a recumbent seat that will be used by Mission Specialist Tim Kopra for entry and landing. He is returning to Earth after more than 50 days in space.

All seven crew members will gather for a final media interview opportunity. At 3:54 p.m. they will take questions from CBS News, ABC News and CNN. The event will air on NASA Television.

The crew will end the day by stowing the Ku-band antenna.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Thursday.

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #24

[Waspie_Dwarf]

09.09.09

9 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-25

STS-128 MCC Status Report #25

HOUSTON – Discovery’s heat shield was cleared for landing today, and the crew checked out the systems that will be used to control the space shuttle’s return to Earth.

The first landing opportunity is planned for 6:05 p.m. CDT Thursday, but Mission Control is keeping a close watch on weather conditions at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A second opportunity is available on the following orbit at 7:42 p.m.

The forecast shows a frontal boundary meandering up and down the Florida peninsula over the weekend that could cause thunderstorms or winds unfavorable for landing.

Entry Flight Director Richard Jones and his team have elected to focus solely on a landing at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway on Thursday. If Discovery is unable to land in Florida on Thursday, additional landing opportunities may be considered at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Friday or Saturday.

Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford spent the day preparing the shuttle for re-entry, completing a checkout of the flight control systems and test-firing the shuttle’s reaction control system thrusters.

Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang packed up for the return to Earth, and installed a reclining seat that will be used by Mission Specialist Tim Kopra, who is returning home after more than 50 days in space.

All seven crew members answered questions posed by reporters from CBS News, ABC News and CNN on NASA Television.

The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Thursday. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew awakens to begin final landing preparations at 9:59 a.m., or earlier if events warrant..

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Source: NASA - STS-128 MCC Status Report #25