EDWARDS, Calif. — Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven astronauts ended a 14-day journey of more than 5.7 million miles with a 5:53 p.m. PDT / 8:53 p.m. EDT landing Friday at Edwards Air Force Base in California. With its characteristic double sonic booms, Discovery touched down on Runway 22L at Edwards at 5:53.25 after almost 14 days in orbit.

The mission, designated STS-128, delivered two refrigerator-sized science racks to the International Space Station. One rack will be used to conduct experiments on materials such as metals, glasses and ceramics. The results from these experiments could lead to the development of better materials on Earth. The other rack will be used for fluid physics research. Understanding how fluids react in microgravity could lead to improved designs for fuel tanks, water systems and other fluid-based systems.

STS-128 Commander Rick Sturckow was joined on the mission by Pilot Kevin Ford, Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang. NASA astronaut Nicole Stott flew to the complex aboard Discovery to begin a nearly three-month mission as a station resident, replacing Tim Kopra, who returned home on Discovery.

Weather concerns prevented the crew from returning to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the primary end-of-mission landing site. In 7-10 days, Discovery will be transported approximately 2,500 miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet. Once at Kennedy, Discovery will be separated from the aircraft to begin processing for its next flight, targeted for March 2010.

In addition to carrying a new station crew member, Discovery and the crew also delivered a new sleeping compartment, an air purification system and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. The mission included three spacewalks that replaced experiments outside the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory and an empty ammonia storage tank. Ammonia is needed to move excess heat from inside the station to the radiators located outside.

Disney’s toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear also returned from the space station aboard Discovery. He flew to the station in May 2008 on shuttle Discovery’s STS-124 mission and served as the longest tenured “crew member” in space. While on the station, Buzz supported NASA’s education outreach by creating a series of online educational outreach programs.

With Discovery and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the launch of shuttle Atlantis on its STS-129 mission. Atlantis’ liftoff currently is targeted for Nov.12, although shuttle and station teams are assessing Nov. 9 as a potential launch date. The flight will focus on storing important spare hardware on the station’s exterior. The 11-day flight will include three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station’s truss, or backbone. Atlantis also will bring Stott back to Earth.

For more about the STS-128 mission and the upcoming STS-129 flight, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov.

HOUSTON – Discovery’s heat shield was cleared for landing on Wednesday, 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 7:05 p.m. EDT 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 8:42 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 ws due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Thursday. The is scheduled to awaken and begin final landing preparations at 10:59 a.m.

With eight days of joint operations between the spacecraft complete, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery have bid each other farewell and closed the hatches between them at 11:41 p.m. EDT on Monday and undocked on Tuesday afternoon at 3:26 p.m..

Prior to undocking, the crews completed the last major activity of the joint operation. 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.

On Wednesday, space shuttle Discovery’s crew will peform the Flight Control System checkout and the Reaction Control System hot-fire. Landing is scheduled for Thursday at 7:05 p.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center.

The STS-128 crew completed all its major objectives including three spacewalks, transferring 17,000 pounds of cargo and delivery of three major research facilities.

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.

By Marc S. Posner
SOAR Magazine

Space Shuttle Discovery lit up the night sky, blasting off on a 13-day mission from Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday night, just 30 seconds before midnight.

While in orbit, Discovery and the orbiter’s seven-member crew will replenish supplies and deliver science experiments to the International Space Station.

Inside the shuttle’s payload bay, Discovery is carrying the Leonardo supply module, which is filled with science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill, named after TV show host Stephen Colbert.

Discovery will celebrate it’s 25th birthday on Sunday when it docks with the International Space Station.

“Liftoff of Discovery celebrating its 25th birthday by bringing up science and supplies to the International Space Station,” said KSC Launch Commentator Mike Curie.

Unlike two previous attempts this week, Friday night’s countdown was smooth and uneventful. The 8.5-minute ride to orbit followed in suit.

Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick “C.J.” Sturckow, the crew also includes Nicole Stott — who is replacing Tim Kopra aboard the the International Space Station. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John “Danny” Olivas and Sweden’s Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.

Nine minutes before liftoff, Launch Director Pete Nickolenko wished Sturckow well: “This time the weather is cooperating. We wish you good luck and God speed.”

“Let’s go step up the science on the International Space Station,” said Sturckow in response. He then in thanked those who had prepared the crew and orbiter for flight.

The 13-day mission will include three spacewalks to replace experiments outside the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory, and install a new ammonia storage tank and return the used one. Ammonia is used to move excess heat from inside the station to the radiators located outside. Discovery also will deliver a new crew member and bring back another after almost two months aboard the space station.

STS-128 is the 128th space shuttle flight, the 30th to the station, the 37th for Discovery and the fourth in
2009.

Following this mission only six flights remain on the schedule before the shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired next year. All six are slated to head to the International Space Station.

Discovery is about to come out of the T-minus-9-minute hold for an 11:59 p.m., EDT launch. NASA mission managers have given the go ahead for a launch that will be visible up the Eastern coast.

NASA is targeting space shuttle Discovery for a launch attempt Friday morning at 12:22 a.m., mission management team Chairman Mike Moses said. Engineers will evaluate a liquid hydrogen valve that developed problems during tanking operations Tuesday evening. Detailed test data about the valve will be examined before Discovery’s fuel tank is loaded with propellant ahead of Friday morning’s launch attempt.

By Marc S. Posner
SOAR Magazine

NASA has scrubbed the launch of space shuttle Discovery because of multiple weather violations at the Kennedy Space Center launch site.

The space agency will try again tomorrow to get the orbiter off on STS-128 — a mission that will deliver supplies and a famous treadmill to the International Space Station. The piece of exercise equipment was named after comedian Stephen Colbert.

The name Colbert received the most entries in NASA’s online poll to name the station’s Node 3 module, so NASA named its new space station treadmill the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT. NASA named the module Tranquility.

Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” took an interest in the poll and urged his viewers to suggest his name, which received the most entries.

NASA will attempt to launch Discovery and its seven-member crew at 1:10 a.m. EDT
Wednesday, Aug. 26, on a 13-day mission.

Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick “C.J.” Sturckow, the crew also includes Nicole Stott — who is replacing Tim Kopra aboard the the International Space Station. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John “Danny” Olivas and Sweden’s Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has completed a two-day review of space shuttle Discovery’s readiness for flight and selected Aug. 25 as the official launch date for the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 1:36 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Discovery’s launch date was announced after a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle’s equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for launch pending the resolution of one remaining issue. An orbiter power controller that failed to operate properly was replaced, and an analysis was completed. The issue is expected to be closed when final data from the analysis is presented at the mission management team meeting on Aug. 23.

The readiness review included a thorough discussion about foam insulation that covers the shuttle’s external fuel tank. The foam helps prevent ice from developing when super-cold propellants are loaded prior to launch. During shuttle Endeavour’s liftoff on July 15, foam separated from the intertank area and the liquid oxygen tank’s ice frost ramps. The foam loss led to a detailed examination that determined Discovery is acceptable to fly.

“There was an excellent discussion on foam loss that included input from multiple teams including our NASA safety and engineering communities,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who chaired the day and a half meeting. “After examining the foam releases on recent flights and completing a lot of testing and analysis to improve our understanding of the relative risks, we concluded that we’re ready to go fly. The teams are continuing to learn about foam and have planned additional tests and analysis to continue to improve our understanding of foam loss mechanisms and risks.”

The 13-day flight will deliver science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment, an air purification system and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. The name Colbert received the most entries in NASA’s online poll to name the station’s Node 3. NASA named the node Tranquility.

Astronaut Rick Sturckow will command Discovery. He will be joined by Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang. NASA astronaut Nicole Stott will fly to the complex aboard Discovery to begin a three-month mission as a station resident. She replaces NASA’s Tim Kopra, who will return home on Discovery.

STS-128 will be Discovery’s 37th mission and the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. For more information about STS-128, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

For more information on the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station.

The end is in sight for NASA’s 28-year-old space shuttle program as the agency today announced that it has set launch dates for all ten of the remaining flights.

If the schedule holds, Endeavour — NASA’S newest orbiter — will make the 35th mission to the International Space Station to bring the program to a close in June, 2010. It will be the 25th flight for Endeavour, which was built to replace Challenger, the orbiter that exploded during a 1986 launch attempt.

President Bush called for an end to the shuttle program following the destruction of Columbia during re-entry in 2003. The shuttles, which also include Discovery and Atlantis, are to be replaced by a more traditional rocket as part of NASA’s Constellation program.

Eight shuttle missions received launch dates following a detailed, integrated assessment by NASA. The missions will fly in 2009 and 2010. Rounding out the remaining 10 flights are two which are slated for later this year, including the lone flight not scheduled for docking at the International Space Station.

The current launch manifest manifest includes a flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, seven assembly flights to the International Space Station, and two station contingency flights, planned to be completed before the end of fiscal year 2010. The agency previously selected Oct. 8 and Nov. 10 as launch dates for Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to service Hubble and Endeavour’s STS-126 / ULF-2 mission to supply the space station and service both Solar Alpha Rotary Joints on the port and starboard end of its truss backbone that supports equipment and solar arrays.

The approved target dates are subject to change based on processing and other launch vehicle schedules. They reflect the agency’s commitment to complete assembly of the station and to retire the shuttle fleet as transition continues to the new launch vehicles, including Ares and Orion.

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2009

Feb. 12 — Discovery (STS-119 / 15A) will kick off a five-flight 2009 with its 36th mission to deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays to be installed on the starboard end of the station’s truss. The truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare components, including the Mobile Base System. Lee Archambault will command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks. Joining him will be pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Sandy Magnus on the station as a flight engineer. STS-119 marks the 28th shuttle flight to the station.

May 15 — Endeavour (STS-127 / 2JA) sets sail on its 23rd mission with the Japanese Kibo Laboratory’s Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, the final permanent components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s contribution to the station program. During the 15-day mission, Endeavour’s crew will perform five spacewalks and deliver six new batteries for the P6 truss, a spare drive unit for the Mobile Transporter and a spare boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna. Mark Polansky will be Endeavour’s commander with Doug Hurley as pilot. Mission specialists will be Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will become a station flight engineer replacing Koichi Wakata, who will return home with the STS-127 crew. It will be the 29th shuttle flight to the station.

July 30 — Atlantis (STS-128 / 17A) launches on its 31st flight, an 11-day mission carrying science and storage racks to the station. In the payload bay will be a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module holding science and storage racks. Three spacewalks are planned to remove and replace a materials processing experiment outside the European Space Agency’s Columbus module and return an empty ammonia tank assembly. The mission includes the rotation of astronaut Nicole Stott for Tim Kopra, who will return to Earth with the shuttle crew. The remaining crew members have yet to be named. STS-128 marks the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and outfitting.

Oct. 15 — Discovery’s (STS-129 / ULF-3) 37th mission will focus on staging spare components outside the station. The 15-day flight includes at least three spacewalks. The payload bay will carry two large External Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly, a spare latching end effector for the station’s robotic arm, a spare trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter and a high-pressure gas tank. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will return home aboard Discovery with its crew, which has yet to be named. STS-129 marks the 31st shuttle mission devoted to station assembly.

Dec. 10 — Endeavour (STS-130 / 20A) will close 2009 with its 24th mission to deliver the final connecting node, Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the station. At least three spacewalks are planned during the 11-day mission. The 32nd station assembly mission by a shuttle does not yet have a crew named.

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2010

Feb. 11 — Atlantis (STS-131 / 19A) begins its 32nd mission as the first flight in 2010, carrying a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the station. The 11-day mission will include at least three spacewalks to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly outside the station and return a European experiment that has been outside the Columbus module. It will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station. The crew has yet to be named.

April 8 — Discovery’s (STS-132 / ULF-4) 38th mission will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module. The Russian module also will carry U.S. pressurized cargo. The first Russian Mini Research Module to go to the station is scheduled to launch on a Russian rocket in the summer of 2009.

Additionally, at least three spacewalks are planned to stage spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, a boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension. A radiator, airlock and European robotic arm for the Russian Multi-purpose Laboratory Module also are payloads on the flight. The laboratory module is scheduled for launch on a Russian rocket in 2011. The mission marks the 34th mission to the station. The STS-132 crew has yet to be named.

May 31 — Endeavour’s (STS-133 / ULF-5) 25th mission will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station. Those will include two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and micrometeoroid debris shields. At least three spacewalks are planned to be carried out by the crew, which has yet to be named. The 15-day mission will be the 35th to the station.

SOAR Magazine’s Marc S. Posner contributed to this report.