News From Space!

Discovery’s crew has left the ISS, leaving Thomas Reiter as Expedition 13’s third crew member. NASA Reports:

STS-121 Crew Exits Station
The six-member STS-121 crew said farewell to the Expedition 13 crew and exited the International Space Station at about 4 a.m. EDT. Space Shuttle Discovery is slated to undock at 6:08 a.m. Before Discovery’s undocking, both crews will conduct leak and pressure checks.

STS-121 delivered a new Expedition 13 crew member and much needed supplies and equipment to the international outpost. The shuttle crew also conducted three spacewalks to perform maintenance on the station and to test on-orbit heat shield repair techniques.

Landing is scheduled for Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 9:07 a.m. EDT Monday. Weather forecasts call for favorable landing conditions.

NASA is monitoring a slow leak in one of Discovery’s hydraulic systems. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

The third and final spacewalk of Discovery’s mission is underway. Check the blogroll for links to play-by-play and live video.

BBC News will have an interview with the Discovery and ISS crews today at 8:45AM EDT (1245GMT). Maybe it’s a half-hour delay of the AP interview thats starts… um… now? ESA TV is also covering the flight extrensively.

The second EVA of Discovery’s mission will start today at 8:13AM EDT and last for about 6-1/2 hours. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

Flight Day Six will see a news conference from orbit, and prep for tomorrow’s EVA. Mission managers need to decide on whether to pull a protruding gap filler from Discovery’s underside during the mission’s third spacewalk on Wednesday. NASA reports:

Crews Continue Cargo Transfers, Prep for Second Spacewalk
The STS-121 and Expedition 13 crews are continuing joint operations today aboard Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station.

Today’s activities include the transfer of cargo from Discovery and the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module to the station. Leonardo is a reusable cargo carrier that was attached to the station on Friday. After its 7,400-plus pounds of cargo are unloaded, it will be refilled with unneeded station items before returning to Discovery’s payload bay for the trip home. Also, the crews are preparing for a second spacewalk, which is slated to kick off at 8:13 a.m. EDT Monday.

All nine crew members will take a break from their work to participate in the joint crew news conference at 11:48 a.m. EDT.

+ NASA TV | + STS-121 Shuttle Mission TV Schedule

Flight Day 4 videos are up. MSNBC EVA clip here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

Flight Day 5 saw the completion of the first of three spacewalks. NASA reports:

One Spacewalk Down, Two to Go
Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum successfully completed STS-121’s first spacewalk at 4:49 p.m. EDT today. The excursion outside Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station featured two major scheduled tasks.

First, Sellers and Fossum installed a device to block the cutter blade on the station’s mobile transporter. The device will prevent the blade from cutting a power and data cable that links the mobile transporter to the rest of the station. After the installation was complete, they reattached the cable. Their work will allow the mobile transporter to move the robotic arm along the station’s integrated truss structure, once a reel assembly that plays out the cable is replaced during the mission’s second spacewalk Monday.

Then, the orbital duo tested the ability of the shuttle’s robotic arm and boom extension to be used as a platform for astronauts who would conduct heat shield repairs. Sellers worked on the end of the 50-foot extension before being joined by Fossum to simulate various working conditions.

The spacewalkers were assisted from inside the shuttle/station complex by Pilot Mark Kelly, who was the spacewalk coordinator. Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson operated the shuttle’s robotic arm. The spacewalk began at 9:17 a.m. EDT.

Monday’s spacewalk is slated to begin at 8:13 a.m. EDT, and the third spacewalk will be performed on Wednesday.

+ NASA TV | + STS-121 Shuttle Mission TV Schedule

Yahoo News has stills from NASA TV. BBC News has a video clip of the EVA. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

EVA-1 continues outside the docked ISS-Discovery complex. NASA reports:

Spacewalkers Fix Transporter Problem
STS-121 spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum completed the first major task of their spacewalk and have turned their attention to the second.

Sellers and Fossum installed a device to block the cutter blade on the International Space Station’s mobile transporter. The device will prevent the blade from cutting a power and data cable that links the mobile transporter to the rest of the station. After the installation was complete, they reattached the cable. Their work will allow the mobile transporter to move the robotic arm along the station’s integrated truss structure, once a reel assembly that plays out the cable is replaced during a second spacewalk Monday.

The orbital duo are now involved in a test of the ability to use the shuttle robotic arm and extension as a platform for astronauts making heat shield repairs.

+ NASA TV | + STS-121 Shuttle Mission TV Schedule

NASA Multimedia Gallery here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

The first of STS-121’s three spacewalks is in progress. NASA reports:

First STS-121 Spacewalk Under Way
Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum stepped outside the International Space Station’s Quest Airlock at 9:17 a.m. EDT to begin STS-121’s first spacewalk. They are slated to work outside the station and Space Shuttle Discovery for 6.5 hours.

The astronauts have two major tasks to tackle during the excursion. The first is to work on the station’s mobile transporter. Then, the orbital duo will test the ability of the shuttle’s robotic arm and extension to serve as a platform for astronauts making heat shield repairs.

Sellers is the lead spacewalker and is wearing a spacesuit with red stripes. Fossum is wearing an all white suit. They are being assisted from the inside the shuttle/station complex by Pilot Mark Kelly, who is the spacewalk coordinator. Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson will operate the shuttle and station robotic arms.

The spacewalk is slated to conclude at 3:47 p.m. The STS-121 crew will also conduct spacewalks on Monday and Wednesday.

+ NASA TV | + STS-121 Shuttle Mission TV Schedule

Flight Day 3 pics and videos are up. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.