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STS-121 MCC Status Reports


Waspie_Dwarf

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The MCC Status Reports issued by NASA are similar to the Shuttle Processing Status Reports except that they are updates on a mission in progress rather than shuttle ground activities.

I forgot to post these in the first few days of the STS 121 mission so I am now playing catch up.

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07.04.06
2 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-01

STS-121 MCC Status Report #01

On the nation’s 230th birthday, Discovery rocketed into the Florida sky this afternoon, returning the shuttle fleet to space after almost a year.

The first human spacecraft to launch on an Independence Day holiday, Discovery has begun a journey to resupply and service the International Space Station. Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Thomas Reiter, a European Space Agency astronaut, lifted off at 1:38 p.m. CDT. The launch followed a flawless countdown.

During the next 12 days, Discovery’s crew will demonstrate techniques for inspecting and protecting the shuttle’s thermal protection system, restore the station to a three-person crew for the first time since May 2003, and replace critical hardware needed for future station assembly. The crew is planned to conduct two spacewalks during the mission. If supplies allow, managers may extend Discovery's flight by an additional day, a day that will be used by the crew to conduct a third spacewalk.

A system of new and upgraded ground-based cameras, radar and airborne cameras aboard high altitude aircraft documented Discovery's launch. That imagery, along with data to be gathered from in-flight inspections, will be used to ensure Discovery's heat shield is in good condition. The in-flight inspections will be performed by the crew using the shuttle's robotic arm, an extension boom and laser system as well as photography to be taken from the station of a back flip the shuttle will perform as it approaches for docking.

Moments after main engine cutoff, less than nine minutes after liftoff, Fossum and Wilson used handheld video and digital still cameras to document the external tank after it separated from the shuttle. That imagery, as well as imagery gathered by cameras in the shuttle’s umbilical well where the tank was connected, will be transmitted to the ground for review.

As Discovery lifted off, the International Space Station was 220 miles above the southern Pacific Ocean, south of Tasmania. Aboard the outpost, Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer Jeff Williams watched the launch via a television transmission from Mission Control. Discovery is set to dock to the complex at about 9:51 a.m. CDT July 6.

The shuttle crew will test Discovery’s robot arm tomorrow and then use it to grasp a 50-foot long boom extension, called the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. That boom holds the laser system and TV cameras they will use to inspect the shuttle’s wings and heat shield.

During the two spacewalks, Sellers and Fossum will test the capability of the boom extension to be used as a work platform from which repairs could be performed to the shuttle heat shield. They also will repair a cable system on the station’s rail car, a system that will be a base for the station's robotic arm for future assembly work. If the mission is extended by a day, the third spacewalk will be used to test techniques under development for repair of the reinforced carbon-carbon that makes up the heat shield on the shuttle wing edges.

Carried inside the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module in Discovery’s cargo bay and elsewhere on the shuttle, about 14 tons of hardware and supplies is on its way to the space station. Discovery's crew begins an eight-hour sleep period at 7:38 p.m. CDT. The astronauts will awaken at 3:38 a.m. CDT Wednesday to begin their first full day in orbit.

The next STS-121 status report will be issued shortly after crew wakeup, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #01

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07.05.06
5 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-02

STS-121 MCC Status Report #02

Discovery's astronauts are awake and ready to begin their first full day in space. Today the crew will focus on thermal protection system inspections, preparing for docking to the International Space Station and getting spacesuits ready for two and perhaps three spacewalks.

Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Thomas Reiter got their wakeup call at 4:08 a.m. CDT, allowing them an extra 30 minutes of sleep after their first day in space ran long. The wakeup song was β€œLift Every Voice and Sing” performed by the New Galveston Chorale.

Four crewmembers will spend much of the day looking for damage to Discovery's thermal protection system. Lindsey, Kelly, Fossum and Nowak will use the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), a 50-foot boom on the end of the shuttle's robotic Canadarm, to look at the wings' leading edges and the nose cap.

The task involves about 6Β½ hours of intense work for the crew members. Actual data takes will total about an hour, 20 minutes for each wing and the nose cap. The rest of that time is devoted to very careful movement of the Canadarm and the OBSS.

Later, after lunch, Nowak and Wilson will return the OBSS to its berth on the starboard sill of Discovery's cargo bay. Then they and Fossum will use cameras on the shuttle arm to photograph the outside of Discovery's cabin. That activity should take about an hour.

Wilson also will take digital hand-held camera photos of the orbital maneuvering system pods at the base of the shuttle's vertical tail fin.

Photos and sensor readings from the shuttle, as well as photos of launch and ascent from more than 100 ground-based and airborne cameras and radar and instrument data, will be reviewed by experts on the ground. The data, photos by the station crew and information from subsequent arm surveys at the station and after undocking, will be used to determine if Discovery sustained damage during launch and ascent or in space, to ensure that it is safe for the shuttle to re-enter the atmosphere to land.

In other activities today, Wilson and Reiter will get items on the middeck ready for transfer to the station. Spacewalkers Fossum and Sellers, helped by Kelly, the intravehicular officer who will coach the spacewalkers, will check out spacesuits.

Nowak and Sellers will extend the shuttle docking ring which will help secure Discovery to the station. Just before the shuttle crew goes to bed, Kelly and Sellers will check out and prepare docking tools, including laptop computers.

At 3:30 a.m., Discovery was trailing the station by 9,573 statute miles and closing at a rate of 870 statute miles per orbit. Docking is scheduled for 9:52 a.m. Thursday.

Today the space station crew, Commander Pavel Vinogradov and NASA Science Officer Jeff Williams, will continue to prepare the orbiting laboratory for Discovery's arrival. They will ready the digital cameras with 400mm and 800mm lenses they will use during Discovery’s approach to take high-resolution photos of the shuttle's heat shield. They also will pressurize the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 at the end of the U.S. laboratory Destiny, where Discovery is scheduled to dock.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Wednesday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #02

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07.05.06
8 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-03

STS-121 MCC Status Report #03

The Astronauts of Space Shuttle Discovery examined their spaceship with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System today and found no evidence of any damage from debris during yesterday’s ride to orbit.

The several hours of inspection began just after 6:00 a.m. when Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson verified proper operation of the Space Shuttle’s robotic arm, then maneuvered it to lift the 50-foot-long OBSS from the starboard sill of the payload bay.

Assisted by Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Mike Fossum, Nowak and Wilson began a slow and steady examination of the reinforced carbon-carbon panels along the leading edge of Discovery’s starboard wing just before 8:30 a.m., looking for any evidence of damage.

The inspection using the Laser Dynamic Range Imager, Laser Camera System, and Intensified Television Camera on the end of the boom continued across the shuttle’s nose cap and port wing. After returning the OBSS to its berth, Nowak, Wilson and Fossum spent an hour using the cameras on the shuttle robot arm to scan the outside of the crew cabin.

While the survey proceeded, Mission Specialist Piers Sellers completed the setup of on board computers and cameras and Mission Specialist Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency prepared Discovery’s middeck for the planned transfer of supplies onto the International Space Station. The first item to be transferred after docking, scheduled for 9:52 a.m. Thursday, is Reiter’s customized seat liner for the Soyuz vehicle; that will make him an official member of the station’s Expedition 13 crew, and the first ISS crewmember who is neither an American nor a Russian.

Sellers and Fossum, who also installed the centerline camera in Discovery’s docking mechanism, completed a checkout of the spacesuits they will wear during scheduled spacewalks on Flight Days 5 and 7. The EVAs will evaluate the combination of ISS robot arm and OBSS as a work platform for astronauts repairing a damaged shuttle orbiter and restore the station’s Mobile Transporter to full operation to support continued station assembly.

On board ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams prepared the digital cameras with 400mm and 800mm lenses they will use to take high-resolution photos of the shuttle's heat shield when it flies a nose over tail somersault at a range of 600 feet below the station. They also prepared Pressurized Mating Adapter 2, at the forward end of the U.S. laboratory Destiny, where Discovery will dock tomorrow morning.

The astronauts on Discovery were scheduled to be awakened at 2:38 a.m. CDT Thursday to being final preparations for the docking with the ISS.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued at approximately 6 a.m., or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #03

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07.06.06
4 a.m. CDT, Thursday, July 6, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-04

STS-121 MCC Status Report #04

A third crewmember will join the International Space Station today after the docking of the Space Shuttle Discovery. It will mark the first time since May 2003 that more than two long-duration crew members have called the orbiting laboratory home.

Discovery, with Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Thomas Reiter aboard, is scheduled to dock with the station at 9:52 a.m. CDT.

Shortly after the welcome by station Commander Pavel Vinogradov and NASA Science Officer Jeff Williams and a mandatory safety briefing, Reiter will transfer his seat liner to the Soyuz spacecraft attached to the station, making him an official station crewmember. Reiter is a European Space Agency astronaut from Germany, flying under a contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

During Discovery’s approach to the station, Lindsey will pilot the shuttle on what amounts to a back flip, called the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver. At about 600 feet below the station, the flip will give Vinogradov and Williams a chance to photograph the thermal protection tiles on the bottom of Discovery. Using digital cameras with 400mm and 800mm lenses, they will take a carefully planned series of photos of the shuttle's underside.

The images will be downlinked for study by experts on the ground, starting with the more detailed images from the 800mm lens. More 800mm photos will be taken than during Discovery's approach during STS-114. One increased photo emphasis will be looking for protruding gap fillers, like those removed by STS-114 spacewalker Steve Robinson last year.

These photos and other data, including images from more than 100 cameras on the ground, in aircraft and on the shuttle, as well as data from the shuttle arm and the Orbital Boom Sensor System (OBSS) attached to it, will be used, along with data from subsequent surveys, to make sure that Discovery sustained no major damage on launch, ascent and in orbit.

About three hours after docking, both crews get to work with more robotic operations to prepare for additional surveys. Nowak, Wilson and Williams will operate the space station robotic arm, Canadarm2, from inside the Destiny Lab.

They will use the arm to lift the OBSS from Discovery's payload bay sill and hand it over to the shuttle arm, operated by Lindsey and Fossum. Clearance restraints around the shuttle’s docking mechanism do not allow the shuttle arm to grapple the boom on its own.

Transfer of cargo from the shuttle's middeck including spacesuits will begin shortly after docking. At least two spacewalks are scheduled, one on Saturday and another on Monday. A third may be done if the mission is extended a day.

Discovery’s crew was awakened at 2:38 a.m. Thursday by β€œDaniel," performed by Elton John and dedicated to Reiter. The station crew was awakened at the same time by its standard wakeup tone.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Thursday afternoon, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #04

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07.06.06
7 p.m. CDT, Thursday, July 6, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-05

STS-121 MCC Status Report #05

There is a crew of three aboard the International Space Station today for the first time in more than three years, and for the first time ever that crew includes an American, a Russian and a European.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany was delivered as the newest member of ISS Expedition 13 just hours after Space Shuttle Discovery docked at the station’s Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 at 9:52 a.m. CDT, as the two ships flew above the south Pacific Ocean south of Pitcairn Island.

Commander Steve Lindsey piloted Discovery’s approach to ISS, halting 600 feet directly below the station to perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver: the shuttle was commanded to do a nose-over-tail somersault so ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams could photograph the thermal protection system tiles on the orbiter’s underside. Imagery experts on the ground will study the high-resolution still pictures for evidence of any damage to the insulating tiles.

Lindsey and his crewβ€”Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Reiterβ€”greeted the station crewmembers when the hatches between the vehicles were opened at 11:30 a.m. CDT.

After Vinogradov’s safety briefing for the shuttle crew, he helped Reiter install his customized Soyuz seat liner into the Russian rescue vehicle and check his pressurized Sokol suit, finalizing Reiter’s transfer from Discovery to ISS. Other first-day transfers from Discovery included the spacesuits that Sellers and Fossum will wear on their spacewalks out of the Quest airlock on Flight Days 5 and 7.

In preparation for the first EVA, Nowak, Wilson and Williams lifted the Orbiter Boom Sensor System with the station’s robotic arm and handed it over to the shuttle’s robotic arm. During the first spacewalk Sellers and Fossum will simulate orbiter repair tasks while attached to the OBSS/shuttle arm combination to test that 100-foot-long construction crane as a work platform.

On the second spacewalk the astronauts will deliver a spare Pump Module to an external stowage platform before replacing a damaged power and data cable reel assembly in the station’s truss. The repair will allow the Mobile Transporter to move along the truss during installation of new truss segments on future shuttle assembly missions.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued early Friday morning.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #05

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07.06.06
7 p.m. CDT, Thursday, July 6, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-06

STS-121 MCC Status Report #06

After a successful docking to the International Space Station Thursday, the focus of the STS-121 shuttle mission now turns to unloading more than 7,000 lbs of cargo, continued shuttle inspections and preparations for the mission’s first spacewalk.

The first task of the day will be the relocation of the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) from the shuttle payload bay onto the station’s Unity Module. Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will use the station robotic arm, Canadarm2, to maneuver the module, with help from pilot Mark Kelly.

Once successfully mated to its temporary position on the station, shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey and new Expedition 13 Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter will conduct leak checks and enter the pressurized cargo container. Wilson will lead the transfer activities, which are scheduled to continue until next Thursday.

Later, using the shuttle robotic arm and boom system, Kelly, Nowak and Wilson will conduct additional inspections of the orbiter’s thermal protection system. They will target a few specific areas on the shuttle’s nose cap that were missed on the initial scans, as well as two gap fillers that appear to be protruding from Discovery’s underside. They also intend to get a closer look at a piece of fabric near the shuttle nose.

Fossum and Sellers will make preparations for Saturday’s planned spacewalk. They will configure tools and the U.S. airlock Quest for the spacewalk. They will repair the station's mobile transporter and test the capability of the robotic arm boom extension to carry spacewalkers. The results of that test will help engineers understand the feasibility of using the arm for thermal system inspections and repairs if needed on later flights.

The crew has time set aside at the end of the day for a review of the spacewalk procedures.

The newly augmented space station crew, including Flight Engineer Jeff Williams and Commander Pavel Vinogradov, will work closely with the shuttle crew, assisting with transfer activities and robotic arm operations.

Some crewmembers will talk with journalists. Lindsey and Kelly will chat in the morning with radio reporters from CBS, Fox, ABC and National Public Radio. Toward the end of the day, the Expedition crew will speak with CNN, CBS News and the Associated Press.

The space shuttle crew awoke at 2:14 a.m. CDT by the Beatles’ β€œGood Day Sunshine” dedicated to first time spaceflyer Lisa Nowak. The Expedition 13 crew awoke 30 minutes later with their standard wake up tone.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Friday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #06

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07.07.06
7 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 7, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-07

STS-121 MCC Status Report #07

The STS-121 Mission Management Team Friday decided to extend Discovery’s flight by an additional day to 13 days after reviewing the rate at which the orbiter’s consumables are being used. The extra day will allow a third spacewalk to test thermal protection system repair techniques and evaluate a thermal imaging camera.

With the mission extension, landing is now planned at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 17 at 8:12 a.m. CDT.

Among the highlights of Friday’s activities was the transfer of the Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module from Discovery’s cargo bay to its temporary mounting point on the International Space Station’s Unity module. Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson operated the robotic arm on ISS around 4:45 a.m. to begin the process. After some initial concern that loose straps on a cover of the latching mechanism on the Unity module docking port might interfere with a proper seal between Leonardo and Unity, the MPLM was successfully latched in place by 7:15 a.m. CDT. After leak checks confirmed a good seal, Leonardo was ready for access by the astronauts who will move its supplies and equipment into the ISS over the next few days.

Discovery’s astronauts went to bed shortly after 6 p.m. Friday and were scheduled to awaken just after 2 a.m. Saturday to begin preparations for the first spacewalk of the mission.

Also on Friday, mission managers reviewed the preliminary surveys of Discovery’s heat shield and picked some areas for additional attention. Six areas were the subject of focused attention including some protruding gap fillers, the nose cap and a heat shield blanket.

In the post-Mission Management Team briefing Friday, Orbiter Project Office Manager Steve Poulos gave details of heat shield survey work. None of the items being looked at more closely gives reason for concern, said Poulos, but more analysis remains before Discovery’s heat shield can be given a clean bill of health.

The next Mission Status Report will be issued early Saturday morning or as conditions warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #07

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07.08.06
4 a.m. CDT, Saturday, July 8, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-08

STS-121 MCC Status Report #08

The first spacewalk of Discovery's STS-121 mission to the International Space Station will highlight Saturday activities for crews of both docked spacecraft.

Spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum have two major tasks. First they will work to ensure that the second power and data cable linking the mobile transporter to the rest of the station is spared the fate of the mobile transporter's other trailing umbilical system cable. It was inadvertently severed by its safety cutter last December. The second activity is to test the capability of the shuttle's robotic arm and its 50-foot extension to act as a platform for spacewalkers making repairs.

Expedition 12 crewmembers tried to install a safety bolt to protect the remaining cable. They were unable to insert the bolt, so they removed the cable from the emergency cutter.

Sellers and Fossum will install a device to block the cutter blade. If that doesn't work, they'll install a new unit, called an interface umbilical assembly, this one without a blade. Once they reinstall the cable, the mobile transporter will again be able to move the station's robotic arm along the rails on the station's main truss. The arm is scheduled to be moved during the Monday spacewalk.

For the test of the arm as a repair platform, Sellers will work on the end of the 50- foot extension, called the orbital boom sensor system. Then both spacewalkers will simulate working motions at the end of the extension. That will be done in at least three arm positions.

Sellers will be the lead spacewalker and wear the spacesuit with red stripes. He did three spacewalks in October 2002 during the STS-112 mission of Atlantis to the station. On that mission he helped install the station's starboard one (S1) truss.

Fossum will wear the all-white spacesuit. He is making his first spaceflight. Discovery Pilot Mark Kelly will serve as the intravehicular officer, coaching and helping the spacewalkers from inside the station-shuttle complex.

Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson will operate the robotic arms during all three of the mission's spacewalks. They will maneuver the shuttle's Canadarm with its extension during the first, scheduled to begin at 8:13 a.m. CDT Saturday. They will use the station's Canadarm2 during the second spacewalk on Monday and the third on Wednesday.

Expedition 13 Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer Jeff Williams and Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey also will help out during the spacewalk.

Meanwhile Thomas Reiter, the European Space Agency astronaut from Germany who became part of the Expedition 13 crew shortly after docking, will work with station commander Pavel Vinogradov to transfer cargo and equipment from the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module.

In staggered wake ups, the shuttle crew arose at 2:08 a.m. CDT to the sound of β€œGod of Wonders” by Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong. The music was selected for Fossum by his family. The station crew was awakened about 30 minutes later.

The next Mission Status Report will be issued Saturday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #08

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07.08.06
6 p.m. CDT, Saturday, July 8, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-09

STS-121 MCC Status Report #09

Astronauts from Space Shuttle Discovery prepared the International Space Station’s rail car for restoration and tested a repair crane during a 7 hour 31 minute long spacewalk today, while their colleagues delivered a new oxygen generator and laboratory freezer to the station.

Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum turned their spacesuits to battery power to officially start the spacewalk at 8:17 a.m. CDT. After they configured their tools and safety tethers, they moved to the S0 Truss and installed a blade blocker in the zenith Interface Umbilical Assembly to protect the undamaged power, data and video cable. Then they rerouted that cable through the IUA so the Mobile Transporter rail car could be moved into position on the truss for replacement of the Trailing Umbilical System containing the severed power and data cable during a spacewalk Monday.

The remainder of today’s spacewalk was devoted to testing the combination of space shuttle robotic arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System as a platform for spacewalking astronauts to make repairs to a damaged orbiter. Sellers got into a foot restraint on the OBSS, almost 100 feet from where the shuttle arm is attached to the payload bay sill, and performed a set of motions designed to see how the arm/OBSS handled the forces generated by those movements; Fossum stood nearby and reported his observations of the arm/OBSS’ movements.

Then Fossum joined Sellers on the end of the OBSS for another round of demonstrations, with measurements again taken by a load cell mounted under the foot restraint. For the last measurement the arm maneuvered Fossum into position so he could push against the end of the P1 Truss.

Sellers, wearing the spacesuit with red stripes, and Fossum, wearing the white spacesuit, re-entered the station and started pressurizing the airlock at 3:48 p.m., concluding the first of three spacewalks planned for the mission. Today’s EVA was the fourth of Sellers’ career, and the first for Fossum.

Pilot Mark Kelly served as intravehicular crewmember, keeping the spacewalkers on time and relaying information from Mission Control in Houston, while Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson and Expedition 13 Flight Engineer Jeff Williams operated the shuttle robot arm and Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey monitored their activities while transferring water onto ISS.

During the EVA ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter unloaded cargo from the Multipurpose Logistics Module. Today’s transfers included a new oxygen generator, to be installed in the Destiny laboratory in the coming months, and a Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS, which will provide low temperature storage for lab supplies and for experiment samples awaiting return to Earth.

Delivery of cargo from the MPLM onto ISS will be the centerpiece of activity on orbit Sunday, and the second of two spacewalks will take place Monday morning at 7:13 a.m. CDT.

Also Saturday, Mission Managers reported clearing for entry all but one area of the orbiter’s thermal protection system that engineers had been looking at closely. The remaining area, a protruding gap filler near the external tank umbilical doors, needs further analysis, according to Steve Poulos, Orbiter Project Office Manager. The outlook was favorable for clearing that area, as well, Poulos said, but image analysts will be working through the night Saturday to finish looking at it.

Overall, the spacecraft thermal protection system had relatively few β€œdings” and Chairman of the Mission Management Team John Shannon said that Discovery was by far the β€œcleanest” in terms of damage to the heat shield.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued early Sunday, or as events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #09

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07.09.06
4 a.m. CDT, Sunday, July 9, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-10

STS-121 MCC Status Report #10

Continued unloading of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module will be the focus of the Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station’s crew today. Some preparations for the second spacewalk, on Monday, also are on today's plan.

The Discovery crew was awakened at 2:08 a.m. CDT with β€œI Have a Dream,” by ABBA, for shuttle pilot Mark Kelly. It was requested by his children. The station’s crew woke up at 2:38 a.m. CDT for the third day of joint operations.

Every member of the two crews would have at least some involvement in the cargo activities throughout the day. Mission specialist Stephanie Wilson is leading the transfer effort, which will ultimately relocate the more than 7,400 lbs of equipment and supplies that were brought up in the cargo module named β€œLeonardo” and 1,800 lbs from the shuttle’s middeck.

Flight controllers reported that 14 percent of equipment and supplies from the MPLM has already been transferred, including the Minus Eighty Lab Freezer and the 1,400 lb Oxygen Generation System that will expand the station’s ability to support up to six crewmembers. Six percent of equipment from the shuttle’s middeck has been relocated thus far.

All nine crewmembers will participate in a joint news conference that will air on NASA TV at 10:48 a.m. CDT. They will field questions from U.S. media at NASA centers and journalists at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany.

Throughout the day, Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will work on post- and pre-extravehicular activity tasks. The two completed the first spacewalk of the mission on Saturday and are preparing for the second, scheduled for Monday. They will make configurations to the Quest Airlock and prepare the tools needed for this second trip into the vacuum of space. The rest of the Discovery's crew, Commander Steve Lindsey, Kelly, Wilson, and Mission Specialist Lisa Nowak will all participate in an EVA procedures review.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Sunday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #10

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07.09.06
6 p.m. CDT, Sunday, July 9, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-11

STS-121 MCC Status Report #11

Delivering the equipment and supplies loaded in an Italian-built moving van was the primary activity for the crews of Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station today. The astronauts also made preparations for the second spacewalk during joint docked operations, scheduled for Monday morning.

Leonardo, the Multipurpose Logistics Module that rode to orbit in the shuttle payload bay, launched with more than 7,400 pounds of new space station equipment and crew supplies. Today’s operations included transfer of a new heat exchanger for the Common Cabin Air Assembly, a component of the ISS environmental control system which collects condensate out of the air, and a spare U.S. spacewalk suit and emergency jet pack.

As they deliver the module’s contents onto the station, the astronauts are also refilling Leonardo with almost 4,400 pounds of material no longer needed on the station. That includes experiment samples, trash, and broken equipment.

For several hours today Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum refreshed the systems of their spacesuits and prepared tools and equipment for tomorrow’s EVA. During that planned six and a half hour excursion, scheduled to begin at 7:13 a.m. CDT, they will deliver a spare cooling system Pump Module to a stowage platform and replace the Trailing Umbilical System on the nadir side of the S0 Truss. That replacement will give the station’s Mobile Transporter rail car a redundant pair of power, data and video cables so it can translate along the truss in support of future station assembly tasks.

Earlier today, Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Fossum and Sellers joined Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter to answer questions about their missions from reporters at NASA centers and at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany.

Late today John Shannon, the deputy shuttle program manager and chairman of the STS-121 Mission Management Team, reported that mission managers cleared Discovery for its return to Earth, declaring that the shuttle’s heat shield was free from any damage. The crew will conduct another inspection later in the mission looking for any other evidence of damage done by orbital debris prior to landing.

Discovery’s crew began its sleep period just after 5 p.m. CDT and will be awakened at 1:08 a.m. CDT Monday to begin the seventh day of the flight.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Monday morning following the wakeup of Discovery’s crew or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #11

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07.10.06
3 a.m. CDT, Monday, July 10, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-12

STS-121 MCC Status Report #12

Discovery Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will work on the International Space Station’s mobile transporter and install a pump module today on the second of three spacewalks of the STS-121 mission.

The shuttle crew was awakened at 1:08 a.m. CDT by "Clocks," performed by Coldplay. It was requested by Sellers' family for the day of the second spacewalk.

The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 7:13 a.m. and expected to last nearly seven hours. First, Fossum and Sellers will make their way to the shuttle’s payload bay to a spare pump module for the station’s thermal control system. Once there, they will attach it to the fixed grapple bar which will allow Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson, inside at the controls of the robotic arm, to maneuver the pump to the external stowage platform.

While the module is being moved, Fossum and Sellers will stay in the payload bay and get ready for their next task, replacement of a trailing umbilical system (TUS) reel assembly, this one on the nadir side of the mobile transporter.

After they reconfigure the payload bay for the activity, they’ll then translate to the starboard zero truss segment, to get it ready for retrieval. Fossum will disconnect electrical cables while Sellers changes out the assembly. Once it is ready, they will leave that site to go to the stowage platform and assist with the detaching and installation of the pump into its permanent storage location. That pump is onboard as a spare should it be needed in the future.

The two spacewalkers will then return to the truss and remove the TUS reel assembly. Fossum, on the end of the robotic arm, will take the reel assembly to the payload bay. Sellers will move there on his own, and set up for the swap of that assembly with a new one. After the swap is complete, the two will go back to the worksite to install the new reel assembly, reroute the power and data cable and thus restoring the desired redundancy to the mobile transporter and enabling it again to be used for continued station assembly tasks.

Shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey and Pilot Mark Kelly will support the spacewalk with Lindsey monitoring the vehicle systems and video/television set ups and Kelly overseeing activities and coaching the spacewalkers.

The Expedition 13 crew, Commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter, will be working steadily throughout the day transferring trash and unneeded equipment and supplies for return to Earth in the multipurpose logistics module Leonardo. More than 4,300 pounds of cargo will be packed for the return to Earth.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Monday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #12

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07.10.06
5 p.m. CDT, Monday, July 10, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-13

STS-121 MCC Status Report #13

A six-hour, 47-minute spacewalk by astronauts from Space Shuttle Discovery today restored the International Space Station’s Mobile Transporter rail car to full operation and delivered a spare pump module for the station’s cooling system.

Spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum exited the Quest module’s airlock at 7:14 a.m. and climbed down into the shuttle payload bay, where they lifted the Pump Module from its stowage platform so Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson could grapple it with the station’s 58-foot-long robotic arm. While the arm moved the module to its destination, Sellers and Fossum moved to the S0 Truss segment to begin work on the primary task of the EVA, replacement of the nadir-side Trailing Umbilical System (TUS).

A TUS contains a power, data and video cable that serves the Mobile Transporter as it moves along the station’s truss; the nadir TUS cable was inadvertently severed late last year and required replacement. As the first step in that process Sellers replaced the Interface Umbilical Assemblyβ€”the component containing the cutterβ€”with a new IUA, one without a blade.

By that time, Canadarm2 reached External Stowage Platform 2 on the forward side of Quest with the Pump Module; Sellers and Fossum moved to the platform to receive the module from the arm, secured it to the storage platform, and returned to the TUS work site.

The spacewalkers removed the damaged TUS from within the S0 Truss, and Fossum carried it to the payload bay while riding the station arm. When he arrived, Sellers removed the new TUS from the payload bay platform, and the two swapped cable reels. Sellers stowed the old TUS on the cross-bay carrier while the arm moved Fossum back to the truss work site, where Sellers rejoined his crewmate to complete installation of the TUS and properly route its power, data and video cable through the IUA.

At two points during the spacewalk Fossum paused to take care of a loose connection of the emergency jet thruster backpack on Sellers’ spacesuit, securing it the first time with a safety tether.

The spacewalkers closed the hatch and began to repressurize Quest to end the spacewalk at 2:01 p.m. to conclude a six-hour, 47-minute excursion; the combined time spent spacewalking on two EVAs on this mission so far is 14 hours, 18 minutes. A third spacewalk, devoted to testing potential repair techniques and materials, is scheduled for Wednesday.

During the spacewalk Pilot Mark Kelly oversaw the timeline for the spacewalkers while Commander Steve Lindsey managed the cameras and transferred two containers of water onto ISS. Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter continued to work on delivery and stowage of equipment and supplies from the Multipurpose Logistics Module.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be early Tuesday.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #13

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07.11.06
3 a.m. CDT, Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-14

STS-121 MCC Status Report #14

Repacking the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo will be the focus of today’s activities for the Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews.

More than 4,300 pounds of experiment results, unneeded hardware and trash is scheduled to be loaded onto the pressurized cargo module for return to Earth in Discovery's cargo bay next week. Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson serves as the loadmaster for the extensive transfer activity.

All nine shuttle and station crew members will help gather and stow the return cargo in Leonardo. It brought more than 7,000 pounds of clothing, food and other supplies for the station.

Throughout the day, Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will also have spacewalk preparation tasks. They’ll recharge the spacesuits, gather and organize needed tools, and configure the airlock.

Before the day’s end, they’ll be joined by Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly, and fellow Mission Specialist Lisa Nowak and Wilson for a review of the spacewalk procedures.

Kelly, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Sellers will talk with representatives from the Associated Press and USA Today. That 20-minute chat is scheduled to begin at 7:18 a.m. CDT.

The shuttle crew was awakened at 1:08 a.m. by β€œAll Star,” performed by Smashmouth. It was for Nowak, requested by her family.

Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter were awakened 30 minutes later, at 1:38 a.m.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Tuesday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #14

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07.11.06
5 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-15

STS-121 MCC Status Report #15

In between spacewalks, the joint crews aboard Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station today turned their attention to packing the Leonardo logistics module in preparation for its return to Earth. Additional time was set aside today for procedural review for the third spacewalk planned to begin at 6:13 a.m. CDT Wednesday.

Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov along with Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter spent most of the day loading items no longer needed on the station into the Multipurpose Logistics Module docked to the station’s Unity module. Before being returned to Discovery’s payload bay on Friday, the Italian-built Leonardo will be filled with almost 4,400 pounds of experiment samples, unneeded hardware and trash.

Included in the more than 7,400 pounds of supplies delivered to the station was a new window and window seals for the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a European Space Agency-developed enclosed workspace for science experiments involving fluids, flames, particles or fumes. Reiter, the ESA astronaut who joined the station crew last week, installed the new window and window seals today. Additional work will be needed after the shuttle departs before the MSG can resume operation.

Discovery Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum, who already have spent 14 hours and 18 minutes outside the Discovery/ISS complex on two spacewalks, devoted much of the day to preparing their spacesuits and tools for the mission’s third Extravehicular Activity. The planned 6-Β½ hour spacewalk is devoted to testing a non-oxide adhesive as a repair material for the reinforced carbon carbon panels that line a shuttle’s leading edge, and the use of an infrared camera to detect unseen damage to RCC.

At 7:18 this morning the spacewalkers joined Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson to talk about the progress of their flight in interviews with the Associated Press and USA Today.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Wednesday morning, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #15

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07.12.06
2 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-16

STS-121 MCC Status Report #16

The third and final spacewalk of the STS-121 space shuttle mission will be the focus of today’s space activities.

Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will test techniques to inspect and repair damage to an orbiter's heat shield. The 6.5-hour spacewalk from the Quest airlock is scheduled to start at 6:13 a.m. CDT.

Sellers and Fossum will set up tools and a foot restraint on the station robotic arm. Sellers will position himself on the arm, operated by Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson. He will use an infrared camera to record about 20 seconds of imagery as the arm, and Sellers, move along the shuttle’s wing leading edge.

Sellers, designated EV1 and wearing the spacesuit with red stripes, will meet EV2 Fossum, in the all-white suit, in Discovery’s payload bay. There they will set up the worksite for the repair tasks. A pallet with 12 reinforced carbon-carbon panels is pre-positioned in the payload bay. Eight are pre-damaged and will be the subject of the repair test. Two are blank, to be used as a work palette, and the last two are for further imaging by the infrared camera.

Sellers and Fossum will use a variety of tools and methods for the repair work demonstration including a space-certified caulk gun and a variety of spatulas to manipulate the test materials.

They hope to finish demonstrations on at least two of those samples. Then they’ll do a 60-second recording using the IR camera of two other damaged tiles. The camera is designed to capture temperature gradients that will indicate invisible damage.

If they have time, they may take additional photos of some shuttle panels and move the fixed grapple bar in the shuttle payload bay.

The spacewalkers will clean up the worksite and inspect their spacesuits. Then Fossum will ride the robotic arm back to the airlock, again taking video of the wing leading edge as he passes it. Sellers will make his own way back.

Pilot Mark Kelly will again serve as the intravehicular activities officer. Commander Steve Lindsey will oversee the shuttle systems and spacewalk operations.

While the shuttle crew is helping with the spacewalk, repacking of the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo will continue. The Expedition 13 crew, Commander Pavel Vinogradov, and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter, will put experiment results, unneeded equipment and garbage into Leonardo.

The STS-121 crew woke this morning at 12:08 a.m. to β€œI Believe I Can Fly,” played for Wilson. The Expedition 13 crew was awakened 30 minutes later.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Wednesday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #16

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07.12.06
4 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-17

STS-121 MCC Status Report #17

Astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery gathered valuable new data during the third spacewalk today as part of an ongoing evaluation of repairing a damaged orbiter.

Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum began the spacewalk at 6:20 a.m. CDT and prepared a foot restraint on the end of the International Space Station’s Canadarm2. Sellers rode the arm, commanded by Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson, to the starboard wing of Discovery where he used an infrared camera to shoot 20 seconds of video of selected reinforced carbon carbon panels on the wing’s leading edge. Infrared imagery may aid in identifying damage on the inside of those panels.

Fossum translated to the aft of Discovery’s payload bay to join Sellers and help prepare a box containing 12 RCC sample panels for the EVA’s primary task of testing a repair material known as NOAX. Non-oxide adhesive experimental is a pre-ceramic polymer sealant containing carbon-silicon carbide powder, and is being evaluated for repairing damage to RCC panels.

Data gathered from tests on mission STS-114 last year indicated NOAX is most effective when applied while the temperature of an RCC panel is falling between 120Β° F and 30Β° F, so today’s spacewalkers were directed to apply NOAX to the pre-damaged RCC panels based on the temperatures of the panels. Over the course of almost two and a half hours, Sellers and Fossum completed three gouge repairs and two crack repairs with NOAX, and provided Mission Control a running dialogue describing the repair activity and how the NOAX responded. They also imaged four of the samples with the infrared camera, which Fossum also used to gather video of an area of Discovery’s port wing while riding Canadarm2 back to the airlock.

Near the end of the EVA, Mission Control added a task to the spacewalk. Since the spacewalkers were on schedule and had plenty of supplies, Sellers carried a Pistol Grip Tool to the Integrated Cargo Carrier in Discovery’s payload bay and removed the fixed grapple bar used during delivery of the Pump Module during the second spacewalk. He carried it to the S1 Truss where Fossum helped him install it on an ammonia tank inside that truss so that the tank can be moved on a later shuttle assembly mission.

Repressurization of Quest began at 1:31 p.m., completing a 7-hour, 11-minute spacewalk, the 68th in support of ISS assembly and maintenance. The cumulative duration of the three spacewalks on this mission is 21 hours and 29 minutes. Sellers’ total spacewalking time of 41:10 on six EVAs ranks him 4th among U.S. spacewalkers and 9th in the world all-time.

ISS Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter concentrated on packing the Multipurpose Logistics Module today with returning experiment samples, unneeded hardware and trash. The Leonardo module is scheduled to be returned to Discovery’s payload bay on Friday.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Thursday morning, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #17

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07.13.06
2 a.m. CDT, Thursday, July 13, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-18

STS-121 MCC Status Report #18

After eight days in space, three spacewalks and six days of cargo transfer, the Space Shuttle Discovery crew today gets a much deserved day off.

The crew woke at 12:08 a.m. CDT to "Charlie's Angels Theme Song." It was for the entire crew, from their training team.

Moments later, Texas A&M University yell leaders performed briefly for Mission Specialist Mike Fossum from Mission Control. Fossum is the first A&M undergraduate alum to fly in space.

Fossum is scheduled to receive a call from Texas Gov. Rick Perry, also an A&M graduate and former member of the Corps of Cadets, at 11:58 a.m. It will air on NASA Television.

Later in the day, Fossum and Mission Specialist Lisa Nowak will talk with representatives of MSNBC and FOX News Live. That interview, at 12:23 p.m., also will be seen on NASA-TV.

Fossum, Nowak and shuttle Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson and Piers Sellers then have off duty time with only a few isolated tasks and exercise planned.

International Space Station Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter will talk at 3:13 a.m. with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque, a journalist, students and the operations manager at the Columbus Control Centre, in Cologne, Germany. At 8:09 a.m. the crew will talk with Russian journalists at Mission Control Moscow. Those events will air on NASA-TV and be replayed with interpretation at 9 a.m.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Thursday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #18

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07.13.06
4 p.m. CDT, Thursday, July 13, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-19

STS-121 MCC Status Report #19

Astronauts on board Space Shuttle Discovery today got a much deserved day off after having completed three successful space walks and thousands of pounds of supply and equipment transfers earlier in the flight.

The only events scheduled today were interviews for both the International Space Station and the Shuttle crews.

Mission Specialist Mike Fossum received a call from Texas Governor Rick Perry at 11:58 a.m. CDT today. Perry, who like Fossum is a graduate of Texas A&M University, told the astronaut how proud he was to have the first Aggie in space. β€œAggies are all up in great arms to have the first Aggie in space,” said Perry. β€œYou are making some history, Michael.”

At 12:44 p.m. Mike Fossum and Lisa Nowak participated in live interviews with MSNBC and Fox News Live.

Expedition 13 crewmember Jeff Williams confirmed steps and final procedures for Friday’s closeout of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module which will be relocated from the ISS to Discovery’s cargo bay Friday.

The Shuttle crew also will begin a late mission check out of the shuttle’s heat shield tomorrow, taking a final look at the port wing to make sure no orbital debris struck the wing since it was inspected early in the flight.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Friday morning, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #19

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07.14.06
2 a.m. CDT, Friday, July 14

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-20

STS-121 MCC Status Report #20

It’s back to work for the Space Shuttle Discovery crew. After a day off, the crew will spend much of today getting ready for their undocking from the International Space Station.

The crew woke at 12:19 a.m. CDT with the Aggie War Hymn performed by the Fighting Texas Aggie Band. It was for Mission Specialist Mike Fossum, a graduate of Texas A&M University.

The first activity of the day will be media interviews for most of the crew -- shuttle Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson and Piers Sellers, and station Expeditioon 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams. Beginning at 3:03 a.m. they will talk with journalists from CNN, ABC News, NBC’s Today Show, and CBS News.

Meanwhile, shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey and station Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter will deactivate the multipurpose logistics module Leonardo and begin preparing for its move back to Discovery’s payload bay. Nowak and Wilson will use the station robotic arm to maneuver Leonardo, which has been packed with more than 4,000 pounds of experiment results, unneeded supplies and equipment from the station, to its place in the cargo bay.

The two, joined by Lindsey, will also use the arm with the boom extension to conduct a scheduled final inspection of the shuttle’s port wing to ensure it has not been damaged by orbital debris during the docked operations.

Throughout the day, the remainder of the crew will continue with final transfer of supplies and equipment from the shuttle’s middeck, organize the spacewalk tools and do other tasks to get ready for Discovery's undocking from the station on Saturday.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Friday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #20

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07.14.06
5 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 14

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-21

STS-121 MCC Status Report #21

Emptied of its cargo and refilled with returns, the Multipurpose Logistics Module Leonardo is back in the payload bay of Space Shuttle Discovery with just hours left before the orbiter undocks from the International Space Station and heads home.

First thing this morning Shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey and ISS Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter deactivated the cargo module, closed the hatch, and prepared it for removal from the Unity node. Just after 8:32 a.m. CDT Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson used the station robotic arm to uninstall Leonardo from ISS; the MPLM was reberthed in the shuttle payload bay at 10:00 a.m. CDT.

More than 7,400 pounds of cargo was delivered to ISS in the cargo module, and approximately 4,600 pounds of material including experiment samples, broken equipment and trash are now packed inside for return to Earth.

After the MPLM was returned to Discovery, Nowak and Wilson used the shuttle robot arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to inspect the shuttle’s port wing. Similar to the pre-docking inspection on Flight Day 2, which was aimed at uncovering evidence of damage from debris at launch, this inspection looked for any signs of damage done by debris on orbit. None was found; inspection of the starboard wing and the shuttle’s nose cap will be done after undocking tomorrow, which is scheduled to occur at 5:08 a.m. CDT.

Early this morning, as Lindsey and Reiter worked at the MPLM, Nowak and Wilson joined Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers, Pilot Mark Kelly, and ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams to discuss the mission in interviews with CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued early Saturday morning.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #21

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07.15.06
2 a.m. CDT, Saturday, July 15, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-22

STS-121 MCC Status Report #22

Today marks the final day of joint operations for the Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews. After almost nine days together, Discovery is scheduled to undock from the station today at 5:08 a.m. CDT.

Discovery crew members were awakened at 12:08 a.m. by "Beautiful Day," performed by U2. It was for Discovery Pilot Mark Kelly, on undocking day.

After a few final equipment transfers and system configurations, all nine crew members will gather for a televised farewell ceremony at 2:38 a.m. Hatch closure between the station and shuttle will immediately follow.

After undocking, Kelly will perform the two separation burns to take Discovery away from the station.

About three hours after undocking, Commander Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Mike Fossum will use the shuttle's robotic arm and the orbital boom sensor system to perform final inspections of the starboard wing. Then Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson will do the same on the shuttle nose.

Discovery will remain about 45 miles behind the station until the mission management team reviews survey results and clears Discovery for landing, scheduled for Monday at Kennedy Space Center.

The Expedition 13 crew will resume normal station operations. Once their shuttle counterparts have departed, they will conduct some routine maintenance and exercise onboard. Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter will conduct emergency drills training and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams will depressurize the pressurized mating adapter.

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued Saturday evening, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #22

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07.15.06
5 p.m. CDT Saturday, July 15, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-23

STS-121 MCC Status Report #23

The Space Shuttle Discovery is on its way home with six astronauts on board, one fewer than when it launched 11 days ago.

The delivery of European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter to join Expedition 13 on the International Space Station was one of the major goals achieved on this second return to flight shuttle mission. Discovery is now aiming for an 8:14 a.m. CDT Monday landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The shuttle astronauts said goodbye to Reiter and his crewmates, Station Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams, and Commander Steve Lindsey and Pilot Mark Kelly reported the hatches between the two ships closed at 3:15 a.m. CDT. Astronauts Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson completed a leak check in the docking vestibule while Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers installed a centerline camera in the hatch window.

With Kelly at the controls, Discovery released its grip on the station at 5:08 a.m. CDT and springs pushed the two ships apart. Kelly guided the shuttle away to a distance of 400 feet and fired thrusters to separate the vicinity of the complex. A second engine firing, 50 minutes after undocking while above and behind the station, set Discovery on course that now has it about 46 miles behind the station and opening the distance slowly. No other shuttle engine firings are planned before it fires its engines to begin the descent to Earth Monday morning.

After Discovery left the station, the shuttle crew used the robotic arm and boom sensors to thoroughly inspect the starboard wing and nose cap heat shield, looking for damage from orbital debris. A similar survey of the port wing was conducted yesterday. After the nose cap survey, the boom was berthed along the starboard sill of the payload bay and the robot arm was powered down.

Mission managers reviewing the latest heat shield inspections of Discovery have found no concerns so far, and the analysis is continuing. Discovery is planned to fire its engines to deorbit at 7:07 a.m. CDT Monday. That is the first of two opportunities for landing on Monday at Kennedy. A second opportunity begins with a deorbit engine firing at 8:43 a.m. CDT leading to a landing at 9:50 am. CDT. The next STS-121 status report will be issued early Sunday.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #23

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07.16.06
2:30 a.m. CDT, Sunday, July 16, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-24

STS-121 MCC Status Report #24

The Space Shuttle Discovery crew is scheduled for their last full day in space today, as they make their final preparations for deorbit and landing tomorrow.

Their day began at 12:18 a.m. with β€œJust Like Heaven,” by The Cure for Mission Specialist Piers Sellers. It was requested by his family.

At 3 a.m., Shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly and Entry Flight Engineer Lisa Nowak will do an hour-long flight control system checkout and fire the reaction control system jets. The checkout will let managers further assess the performance of one of the auxiliary power units. The APUs power flight control surfaces. Specialists had detected a small leak in the APU but have determined it is likely a nitrogen gas leak and should not affect re-entry.

Throughout the day, most of the crew members, including Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Stephanie Wilson, will work on final clean up and stowage of the vehicle cabin area. All six crew members will participate in a deorbit briefing with the ground team as part of their final preparation for landing.

At 11:03 a.m. CDT, the STS-121 crew will participate in interviews with major television networks, including, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC. That event will be televised on NASA television.

Mission managers continue to analyze images from the post-undocking inspection of Discovery's port wing and nose cone. Initial analysis indicated nothing amiss. A decision on whether to clear Discovery for landing is expected later today.

Discovery's deorbit burn is scheduled for 7:07 a.m. Monday, for an 8:14 a.m. CDT landing at Kennedy Space Center. A second opportunity would see a deorbit engine firing at 8:43 a.m. for a landing at 9:50 a.m.

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter are enjoying an off-duty day after the intense activity during Discovery docked operations.

The next STS-121 status report will be issued Sunday evening or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #24

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07.16.06
12:30 p.m. CDT, Sunday, July 16, 2006

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STATUS REPORT: STS-121-25

STS-121 MCC Status Report #25

Discovery is targeted for a landing at 8:14 a.m. CDT Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For that landing, Discovery's engines would be fired at 7:07 a.m. CDT Monday to begin its descent. A second opportunity is available for Discovery to land at Kennedy on Monday, beginning the descent with an engine firing at 8:43 a.m. CDT and leading to a touchdown in Florida at 9:50 a.m. CDT. Flight managers do not plan to consider other shuttle landing sites on Monday.

The weather forecast for landing on Monday calls for a chance of rain in the vicinity of Kennedy's shuttle runway that could be unacceptable for Discovery's landing.

Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey and Pilot Mark Kelly checked the shuttle landing systems and steering jets early today. A test run of one of the three generators that power the shuttle hydraulics found that auxiliary power unit operating normally. A minute leak in that system has remained at expected levels. All three units are planned to be run as normal for landing.

The astronauts spent the rest of their planned final full day in orbit stowing gear and securing the shuttle for the trip home. Key events leading up to Discovery's first landing opportunity on Monday include:

4:27 a.m. CDT -- Discovery's payload bay doors are closed

6:07 a.m. CDT -- Discovery's astronauts begin to strap in for landing

6:48 a.m. CDT -- Mission Control "go" or "no-go" for the deorbit engine firing

The next STS-121 mission status report will be issued after Discovery's landing, or earlier if events warrant.

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Source: NASA - STS-121 MCC Status Report #25

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