News From Space!

Another spacewalk is on tap for ISS astronauts Whitson and Tani.  NASA reports:

Station Crew Ramps up for Saturday Spacewalk

Image Above: Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson (upper left) and Flight Engineer Dan Tani work outside the International Space Station during Tuesday’s spacewalk. Image credit: NASA TV

Spacewalkers Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani are scheduled to exit the International Space Station Saturday at 6 a.m. EST. Their activities will be similar to Tuesday’s spacewalk.

+ Read more about Tuesday’s spacewalk

Whitson and Tani will hook up more electrical and fluid connections between the Harmony Node 2 and the Destiny laboratory. They also will move another 300-pound, 18.5 foot fluid tray, the Loop B fluid tray, from a temporary location on the station’s main truss to the Destiny lab. The Loop B fluid tray will be placed on the opposite side of where the Loop A fluid tray was placed on Tuesday.

The Expedition 16 crew took a break Wednesday but continue preparing for Saturday’s spacewalk. Preparations include conferences with ground controllers, timeline reviews and readying the spacesuits.

+ View crew daily timelines
+ Read more about Expedition 16

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

Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle
Force Application and Launch from CONUS (FALCON):

http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/hcv.htm

Chinese state media reported on 22 September that a new space launch center is planned to be built in the southern Hainan Province. 

http://www.sinodefence.com/news/2007/news07-09-22.asp

ISS Commander Whitson and Flight Engineer Malenchenko are working outside the Station today. NASA reports:

Station Spacewalk Under Way

Image Above: Station spacewalkers are at the end of the Harmony module preparing to remove a cover from the Common Berthing Mechanism. Image credit: NASA

Station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko began today’s spacewalk at 4:54 a.m. EST. The goal of the work is to ready the PMA-2 docking adapter for relocation to the newly installed Harmony module on Monday. On Wednesday, Harmony will be relocated from the Unity Node to the forward end of the Destiny laboratory.

The International Space Station’s crew enjoyed a day off duty Tuesday before starting a heavy schedule of spacewalks and robotics activities.

+ Read more about Friday’s spacewalk

+ View crew daily timelines
+ Read more about Expedition 16

Live discussion here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

At around 2:10PM EST, all the astronauts are off Discovery and aboard the Crew Tranport Vehicle.  NASA reports:

Discovery Lands in Florida

Image Above: Space shuttle Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Image credit: NASA
+ View Hi-Res Image

Space shuttle Discovery descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., concluding a successful assembly mission to the International Space Station. With Commander Pam Melroy and Pilot George Zamka at the controls, Discovery landed at 1:01 p.m. EST.

During its stay at the station, which began Oct. 25, the STS-120 crew continued the on-orbit construction of the station with the installation of the Harmony Node 2 module and the relocation of the P6 truss.

The crew installed Harmony Oct. 26 and did four spacewalks at the station. During the third spacewalk, the crew installed the P6 truss and solar array pair in its permanent location outboard of the port truss. The fourth spacewalk was changed during the mission so that the crew could repair a torn solar array on the P6 truss. Following the successful repair work, the crew was able to fully deploy the solar array.

Discovery also delivered a new station crew member, Flight Engineer Daniel Tani.

STS-120 is the 120th shuttle mission and 23rd mission to visit the space station. The next mission, STS-122, is slated to launch in December.

Landing videos here. Discussion here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV. Live video at CFNews13 and Florida Today.

Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy has landed Discovery safely on KSC Runway 33, wrapping up a 6.25-million mile mission!

Discovery is heading home! NASA reports:

Discovery Heads to Florida for Landing

STS-120 Commander Pam Melroy and Pilot George Zamka fired Space Shuttle Discovery’s jets at 11:59 a.m. EST to begin the descent to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Discovery is scheduled to touch down at Kennedy at 1:01 p.m. to end its mission to the International Space Station.

+ View landing ground tracks

Discovery undocked from the station Monday to end its almost-11-day stay and begin the trip home.

Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV. Live video at CFNews13 and Florida Today.

Discovery should be landing today shortly after 1PM EST, at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Weather is looking good.  NASA reports:

Discovery Ready to Return Home Today

Image Above: The path for space shuttle Discovery’s first landing opportunity takes it over the heartland of the United States. Image credit: NASA

Space shuttle Discovery is ready to return home with landing planned for the first of two opportunities to the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 1:01 p.m. EST today. The seven astronauts on board the shuttle completed final preparations Tuesday.

Landing preparations included testing flight control systems and thruster jets, stowing equipment and installing a special reclining seat for Clay Anderson, who is returning after more than five months on board the International Space Station. Later, the crew oversaw an orbit adjust maneuver to optimize landing opportunities with weather forecasts indicating favorable conditions for Wednesday’s landing.

This morning, Entry Team Flight Director Bryan Lunney and his team are overseeing Discovery’s reentry and landing with the deorbit burn set for 11:59 a.m. The 1 minute, 58 second burn will slow Discovery by 148 miles per hour (217 feet per second) for the reentry across the heartland of the United States traveling from the northwest to southeast.

A second landing opportunity also is available about 90 minutes later. Lunney will consider Florida only for today’s landing attempts with plenty of consumables on board to stay in space through Saturday, if necessary.

Flight Day 15 videos are up at the JSC Gallery. Discussion here. Status Report #31 here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV. Live video at CFNews13 and Florida Today.