NASA today announced the astronaut assignments for the upcoming STS-122 space shuttle mission, tentatively scheduled for October 2007. The commander will be Stephen N. Frick, and the pilot will be Alan G. Poindexter. The mission specialists will be Rex J. Walheim, Stanley G. Love, Leland D. Melvin and European Space Agency astronaut Hans Schlegel. During this mission, the space shuttle will deliver the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.
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Discovery’s Safely on the Ground
Discovery and its crew are safely back on the ground after a 13-day trip into space to visit the International Space Station. The shuttle detached from the station on Sunday, and then landed Monday morning in Florida at 1414 GMT (9:14 am EDT). After landing, the astronauts performed the traditional shuttle walkaround, and found the spacecraft surprisingly undamaged after its trip to space and back. The space shuttle Atlantis will be moved to the launch pad in early August to prepare for its upcoming mission to deliver a truss to the station.
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A Day of Rest for the Astronauts
After eight days in space, and three spacewalks, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery will be taking the day off. Yesterday’s spacewalk went well, with Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum testing out methods of repairing damaged shuttle heat shields. During the mission, Sellers lost one of the caulking spatulas used to spread on the repair compound – it flew out of Discovery’s payload bay area and was lost in space.
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Astronauts Wrap Up Third Spacewalk
Astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum wrapped up the third and final spacewalk for space shuttle mission STS-121. During the 7-hour, 11-minute spacewalk, they demonstrated techniques for repairing the shuttle’s heat shield if it was damaged during launch. The mock repairs were made using a special “space caulk gun” and several spatulas to spread on the caulking materials. Discovery will detach from the station on Saturday to return to Earth.
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Astronauts Take Out the Trash
The Italian Leonardo module was carried to the International Space Station filled with more than 3,175 kg (7,000 pounds) of clothing, food and supplies. The shuttle and station astronauts emptied it out, and today they’re going to fill it back up again with 1,800 kg (4,000 pounds) of unneeded hardware and trash. Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will also prepare themselves for tomorrow’s spacewalk – the third and final of the mission. Discovery is now halfway through its mission.
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Second Spacewalk Wraps Up
Mission specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum spent the day outside the International Space Station today, completing the second spacewalk of space shuttle mission STS-121. During their 6-hour, 47-minute excursion, the astronauts completed the installation of a spare thermal pump outside the Quest Airlock, and performed maintenance on the mobile transporter. The third and final spacewalk for the mission is scheduled for Wednesday, when astronauts will test out different methods to repair the shuttle’s heat shield.
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Discovery Docks Safely with the Station
The space shuttle Discovery linked up with the International Space Station this morning after astronauts gave it a thorough inspection with the extended boom attached to the shuttle’s robotic arm. Just before docking, Commander Steve Lindsey piloted the shuttle into a back-flip, so that cameras on board the station could document any damage to its heat shield. So far, it looks like the shuttle made it into orbit unscathed, even though a few small pieces of foam were dislodged from the external fuel tank during launch.
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Discovery Blasts Off
The space shuttle Discovery roared into orbit from Cape Canaveral today, after two days of delays. The first launch in nearly a year, STS-121 carried 7 astronauts on a mission to visit the International Space Station, delivering supplies and testing out safety procedures. Even though a small crack was discovered in Discovery’s external tank, NASA officials decided it didn’t pose a risk to the shuttle, and they approved the launch. The shuttle will dock up with the station on Thursday.
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NASA Announces STS-120 Crew
NASA has announced the crew of astronauts that will fly the space shuttle for mission STS-120. This mission will launch the Italian-built Node 2 connecting module to the International Space Station. The commander is Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy; the second woman to lead a shuttle mission. The flight mission specialists will be Scott E. Parazynski, Army Col. Douglas H. Wheelock, Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman and Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy.
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Italian Astronaut Assigned to STS-120
ESA announced today that Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli will be joining the crew of STS-120, due to launch in summer 2007. This mission will carry Node 2, an Italian-built connecting module, to the International Space Station. The station will eventually have 3 nodes; node 1 is the Unity module, which was the second ISS module orbited. Nodes 2 and 3 are being developed by ESA, and will allow further modules to be attached, including the European Columbus, US Destiny, and Japanese Kibo laboratories.
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