SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
Oct. 1, 2007
Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749
katherine.trinidad(a)nasa.gov
Allard Beutel
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
allard.beutel(a)nasa.gov
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY AT LAUNCH PAD; LAUNCH DRESS REHEARSAL NEXT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With space shuttle Discovery now at its launch
pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the next major milestone for the
upcoming STS-120 mission is a full launch dress rehearsal.
The shuttle arrived at the pad near noon EDT Sunday on top of a giant
vehicle called the crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter began
carrying Discovery out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 6:47
a.m., traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4 mile journey.
Discovery was firmly on the launch pad, or hard down, at 1:15 p.m.
Discovery is targeted to launch Oct. 23 on a 14-day mission to the
International Space Station. The shuttle's seven crew members will
add a module to the space station that will serve as a port for
installing additional international laboratories. The crew also will
move the station's first set of solar arrays to a permanent location
and redeploy them.
Discovery's crew members are Commander Pam Melroy, Pilot George Zamka
and mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson, Doug
Wheelock, Daniel Tani and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency.
Tani will remain aboard the station and return with the STS-122 crew,
targeted to launch Dec. 6. Current station Flight Engineer Clayton
Anderson will return to Earth aboard Discovery.
The STS-120 astronauts and ground crews will participate in a launch
dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test,
or TCDT, from Oct. 7 to 10 at Kennedy. The test provides each shuttle
crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated
countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and
emergency training.
Oct. 7 - STS-120 Crew Arrival: The crew will arrive at 7 p.m. at the
Shuttle Landing Facility and make a statement. The arrival will not
be broadcast live but will be part of the NASA TV Video File.
Oct. 9 - STS-120 Crew Media Q&A: The crew will take media questions at
Launch Pad 39A at 8:15 a.m. The session will be carried live on NASA
TV.
Oct. 10 - STS-120 Crew Walkout Photo Opportunity: The astronauts will
depart from the Operations and Checkout Building at 7:45 a.m. in
their flight entry suits in preparation for the countdown
demonstration test at the launch pad. The walkout will not be
broadcast live but will be part of the NASA TV Video File.
Video b-roll of the terminal countdown demonstration test will be
available on the NASA TV Video File. For NASA TV downlink
information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For information about the STS-120 mission and crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
-end-
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
The Expedition 15 crew members are busy with science, station
maintenance, preparations for their return to Earth and the arrival of
the next crew to the International Space Station.
Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov worked Monday
with a medical experiment that tests the cardiovascular system by
applying negative pressure on the lower body to simulate the effects of
gravity.
Flight Engineer Clay Anderson collected samples of the station's potable
water. These samples are for a periodic check of the water for microbial
or chemical contamination.
The Expedition 15 crew continues with preparations for departure and for
the arrival of the next crew. The Expedition 16 crew, Commander Peggy
Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko, will launch from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 10 and arrive at the station
on Oct. 12.
Accompanying Expedition 16 is Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh
Muszaphar Shukor, who will return to Earth on Oct. 21 with Yurchikhin
and Kotov. Anderson will remain on the station with Expedition 16 until
his replacement, Flight Engineer Dan Tani, arrives on space shuttle
Discovery later in October.
The Zarya module's solar array wings were successfully retracted on
Friday and Saturday, marking the first time they had been retracted
since the module was put in orbit in November 1998. The arrays needed to
be retracted to avoid contact with the station's radiators. The
starboard radiators will be deployed during Discovery's STS-120 mission,
followed by the port radiators after the shuttle departs.
+ View crew daily timelines
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>
+ Read more about Expedition 15
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.ht…>
+ Read more about Expedition 16
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition16/index.ht…>
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #3146
:
> Oct. 1, 2007
>
> John Yembrick
> Headquarters, Washington
> 202-358-0602
> john.yembrick-1(a)nasa.gov
>
> Kylie Clem
> Johnson Space Center, Houston
> 281-483-5111
> kylie.s.clem(a)nasa.gov
>
>
>
> NASA ASSIGNS CREW FOR SPACE STATION ASSEMBLY MISSION
>
> WASHINGTON -- NASA has assigned the space shuttle crew for Endeavour's
> STS-126 mission, targeted for launch in September 2008. The flight
> will deliver equipment to the International Space Station that will
> enable larger crews to reside aboard the complex.
>
> Veteran space flier Navy Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson will command
> Endeavour. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot.
> The mission specialists are Navy Cmdr. Stephen G. Bowen, NASA
> astronaut Joan E. Higginbotham, Army Lt. Col. Robert S. Kimbrough and
> Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper. Boe, Bowen and Kimbrough
> will be making their first spaceflight.
>
> STS-126 will be the second spaceflight for Ferguson and
> Stefanyshyn-Piper, who flew together on STS-115 in September 2006. It
> also is the second flight for Higginbotham, who flew on STS-116 in
> December 2006.
>
> Endeavour will carry a reusable logistics module that will hold
> supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, a second
> treadmill, equipment for the regenerative life support system and
> spare hardware.
>
> A native of Philadelphia, Ferguson served as pilot of the shuttle
> Atlantis for STS-115. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical
> engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, and a master's
> degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate
> School, Monterey, Calif. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998.
>
> Boe was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta. He has a bachelor's
> degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy,
> Colorado Springs, Colo., and a master's degree in electrical
> engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. He was
> selected as an astronaut in 2000.
>
> Bowen was born in Cohasset, Mass. He has a bachelor's degree from the
> U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and a master's degree from the
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Bowen also was
> selected as an astronaut in 2000. He was previously named to the
> STS-124 crew but has been reassigned to STS-126. The change will
> allow room for the STS-124 mission to rotate a space station
> resident, who will be named later.
>
> A native of Chicago, Higginbotham flew on STS-116. She has a
> bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois
> University, Carbondale, and master's degrees in both management and
> space systems from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne.
> She was selected as an astronaut in 1996.
>
> Kimbrough was born in Killeen, Texas, and grew up in Smyrna, Ga. He
> has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S.
> Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., and a master's degree in
> operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was
> selected as an astronaut in 2004.
>
> Stefanyshyn-Piper was born in St. Paul, Minn. She conducted two
> spacewalks on STS-115. She has a bachelor's and master's degrees in
> mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of
> Technology. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996.
>
> Video of the STS-126 crew members will air on NASA Television's Video
> File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming
> video, visit:
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
>
> For complete astronaut biographical information, visit:
>
> http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios
>
> For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit:
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
>
>
> -end-
>
>
>
>
>
