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Update de la mision STS 128 sur le site Nasa

11 p.m. CDT Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 08.30.09

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-05

STS-128 MCC Status Report #05

HOUSTON – The Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 7:54 p.m. delivering more than seven tons of cargo and a new crew member to the International Space Station and its Expedition 20 crew.

Discovery Commander Rick Sturckow carefully guided the 100-ton orbiter to a docking with the 350-ton station as the two spacecraft flew 220 miles above the northeast Atlantic Ocean approaching southern England.

Prior to docking at a distance of 600 feet, Sturckow – with rendezvous help from his fellow crewmates Pilot Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Jose Hernandez – deftly flew Discovery through a “backflip” allowing station Expedition 20
Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt to take photos that imagery experts will review to assess the health of Discovery’s thermal protection system tiles.

The shuttle and station crews opened hatches at 9:33 p.m. and greeted one another beginning a week’s worth of joint operations that includes three spacewalks and transfer of 15,000 pounds of supplies and logistics to sustain
the six-person crew on the station.

After the ceremonial welcoming of Discovery’s crew by Padalka and Flight Engineers Barratt, Tim Kopra, Roman Romanenko, Bob Thirsk and Frank De Winne, the joint crews completed one of the first major tasks: the swap of Nicole
Stott for Kopra as a station crew member. Kopra is scheduled to return aboard Discovery Sept. 10 after 57 days in space. Stott will handle flight engineer duties aboard the station until her return home aboard Atlantis following the
STS-129 mission in November.

Ford, Kopra, Hernandez and Pat Forrester will begin robotic activities that include using the station robot arm to remove the orbiter extension boom from its position on the payload bay sill and hand it off to the shuttle arm to
provide additional clearance for the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module removal Monday.

Before the crews head to bed about 4:30 Monday morning, transfer of shuttle middeck supplies to the station will begin along with relocation of spacesuits that will be used for the three planned spacewalks.

The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wake – earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to wake up at 12:29 p.m. Monday.

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Une vue imprenable :

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10ème rapport de mission de la mission 128

Entre autres, un Freezer - 80° dans la station internationale

Pris sur le site de la NASA :

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas,

Sept. 2, 2009

STATUS REPORT : STS-128-10

HOUSTON – The 13 members of the combined space shuttle and International Space Station crew will install new science equipment and racks in the station today, enhancing the research capabilities for the orbiting laboratory.

The crew was awakened at 11:30 a.m. CDT by Louis Armstrong’s performance of “What a Wonderful World,” played for Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang, an astronaut with the European Space Agency.

The Fluids Integrated Rack, Materials Science Research Rack-1 and Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS will be installed in the U.S. Destiny laboratory.
Shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez and Fuglesang as well as Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Frank De Winne will all play a
part in the transfer and installation of the new hardware.

Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will work on installation and outfitting of the new crew quarters compartment that was transferred, providing a new private space for fellow crewmate Robert Thirsk. Thirsk will focus on the ongoing transfer of food and supplies from the Leonardo module. New Expedition crew member Nicole Stott will continue with station orientation and later join De Winne for two hours of training related to the upcoming arrival of Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, set to launch Sept. 10. Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko will continue with station maintenance tasks.

Mission Specialist Danny Olivas and Hernandez will participate in two media events.
They will talk with CNN Espanol, Televisa Mexico and KCRA-TV at 5:24 p.m.
Later, at 8:55 p.m., they will respond to public questions submitted via Twitter and YouTube.

Olivas and Fuglesang also will work on preparations for their spacewalk tomorrow. They will get their spacesuits in place in the Quest airlock, gather tools and join the U.S. crew members to review the spacewalk plan. The two spacewalkers will spend the night in the airlock for their pre-breathe procedure.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to go to sleep about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

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Rapport d'étape mission STS-128

Sorties de Danny Olivas et Christer Fuglesang ( " Space walk " )

D'Aviationweek :

Astronauts Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang were set to finish replacing a spent ammonia-coolant tank on
the International Space Station (ISS) late Sept. 3 EDT in the second of three extravehicular activities (EVAs) of the STS-128 mission on the shuttle Discovery.

As they worked to get ready for the spacewalk, Discovery Commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Kevin Ford were
standing down from a possible maneuver to get the docked orbiter and ISS out of the way of a threatening piece of space debris.
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Mission controllers at Johnson Space Center concluded that the spent Ariane 5 rocket body will pass the huge orbiting stack at a safe distance on its closest approach early Sept. 4. Earlier tracking data triggered a round of contingency planning that at one point raised the possibility the second EVA would be moved back a day.

Olivas, a veteran NASA spacewalker, and Fuglesang, a European Space Agency astronaut from Sweden who is also an EVA veteran, will spend the entire six-and-a-half hours they are scheduled to be outside finishing up the job that Olivas and NASA's Nicole Stott began late Sept. 1.

Starting in Discovery's payload bay, they will attach the 1,700-pound replacement tank -- including 600 pounds of ammonia coolant for the station's port-side radiator system -- to the station's robotic arm. With Fuglesang along for the ride in a foot restraint and astronaut Patrick Forrester at the controls inside, the Canadian-built arm will then swing the new tank from the back end of the payload bay up to its position on the main station truss. There Olivas and Fuglesang will bolt it down and connect its cables and plumbing.
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The depleted old tank will make the round trip on the arm with its replacement. Olivas and Stott left the 1,200-pound unit attached to the arm at the end of the first spacewalk. After the new tank is installed, Fuglesang will ride with it back to the payload bay, where Olivas will help him attach it to its carrying fixture for return to Earth.
Plans call for it to be refurbished, refilled and returned to the ISS next year.

The combined crews spent the day between spacewalks Sept. 2 moving equipment racks and supplies out of the Italian-built Leonardo multipurpose logistics module into the station, and helping check out one of the 16 bolts that holds the module to the Earth-facing port on the Harmony pressurized node.

The mechanical bolt showed higher-than-normal running torque when it attached Leonardo to the station late Aug. 30, and controllers wanted to check it out because they had seen the same issue on an earlier mission. The crew set up the controlling electronics, but when the ground commanded the bolt to retract, it jammed.

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Plans call for the crew to replace the bolt before Harmony is unberthed at the end of the eight-day docked portion of the mission. The remaining 15 bolts are sufficient to hold the seal between the module and the node and keep the connection structurally sound, NASA said.

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Statut report STS-128, d'un site différent : scpaceref.com

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Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

The 13 crew members onboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery will prepare to part today. They will pack up their final items and close the hatches dividing the two spacecraft in preparation for undocking
tomorrow.

The crew woke at 10:30 a.m. to "Only One," performed by Jeremy Kay and played for Mission Specialist Danny Olivas.

About two and a half hours after wake up, Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez and Flight Engineer Nicole Stott will join to take questions from reporters at Telemundo, WTSP-TV in Florida, and Univision.
The interactive event will air live at 1:09 p.m.

The crew will close up the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module today. Once configured, Pilot Kevin Ford will join Hernandez to use the station's robotic arm to remove Leonardo from its location on the station, and position it in the
shuttle's payload bay for the ride back to Earth.

With Leonardo in place, the crew members, including shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, Ford, mission specialists Pat Forrester, Hernandez, Olivas, Christer Fuglesang, Tim Kopra and station commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineers
Mike Barratt, Stott, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne will gather one last time for farewells before the hatch closure.
Tim Kopra will bid his Expedition 20 crewmates farewell as he prepares to wrap up his first spaceflight mission and return with the space shuttle crew, who will in turn be wishing well to Stott who will remain on station, taking Kopra's place as an expeditionary crew member.

Hatch closure is expected at 9:30 p.m. Next, the shuttle crew will set up and check out tools and a camera needed for undocking tomorrow.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew's workday, or earlier if events warrant.
The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

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Merci Nooril

Retours de la navette prévu Jeudi si tout se passe bien

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew are expected to return to Earth Thursday after a 13-day mission.
Two landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are available at 7:05 p.m. and 8:42 p.m. EDT.

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Statut report 9 septembre, STS-128

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON As they wind down their mission, space shuttle Discovery's crew members will focus on landing preparations today.
Landing opportunities begin Thursday with a first possible touchdown about 6 p.m. at NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.

The crew awoke at 10 a.m. CDT to the vocals of Rod Stewart singing Sailing, a song played for Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang.

The crew will spend the day preparing the vehicle for re-entry and ensuring its systems are operational for landing. Approximately four hours after wake-up, shuttle commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford will perform a checkout of the flight control systems. A little more than an hour later, they are expected to conduct a hot fire test of the Reaction Control System.

Meanwhile, mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and Fuglesang will pack and stow items throughout the cabin. They also will set up and install a recumbent seat that will be used by Mission Specialist Tim Kopra for entry and landing. He is returning to Earth after more than 50 days in space.

All seven crew members will gather for a final media interview opportunity. At 3:54 p.m. they will take questions from CBS News, ABC News and CNN. The event will air on NASA Television.

The crew will end the day stowing the Ku-band antenna.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crews workday, or earlier if events warrant. The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Thursday.

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la Mission STS-128 touche à sa fin. Retours sur terre...

Aviationweek :

Florida weather appears to be the biggest obstacle to an on-time return to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the crew of the space shuttle Discovery, with forecasters calling a chance of thundershowers at the coastal landing strip.

Initial results from the final inspection Tuesday night of the delicate reinforced carbon-carbon thermal panels on the nose and wing leading edges were positive, although the mission management team was taking one more look at results late Wednesday.

STS-128 Commander Rick Sturckow and Discovery pilot Kevin Ford checked out the flight control surfaces and test-fired the reaction control system to ensure the orbiter will be controllable as it leaves orbit for the long glide back to Earth.

If the weather permits, Discovery is scheduled to land at KSC at 7:05 p.m. EDT, after a deorbit burn at 5:59 p.m. EDT. If weather forces a wave-off, plans call for another attempt in Florida on Friday, and a landing either in Florida or at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Saturday if that doesn't work.

Discovery spent eight days docked to the International Space Station, delivering more than 18,000 pounds of scientific equipment and supplies to get the orbiting laboratory ready for full-time science with its newly expanded six-person crew.

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Image Nasa

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Update ce AM sur PR, USnewswire

HOUSTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Advances in the fight against food poisoning, new methods for delivering medicine to cancer cells, and better materials for future spacecraft are among the results published in a NASA report detailing scientific research accomplishments made aboard the International Space Station during its first eight years.

The report includes more than 100 science experiments ranging from bone studies to materials' research.

"This report represents a record of science accomplishments during assembly and summarizes peer-reviewed publications to date," said Julie Robinson, program scientist for the station at NASA's Johnson Space Center
in Houston. "As we enter the final year of station assembly, this report highlights the capabilities and opportunities for space station research after assembly is complete."

One of the most compelling results reported is the confirmation that the ability of common germs to cause disease increases during spaceflight, but that changing the growth environment of the bacteria can control this virulence.

The Effect of Spaceflight on Microbial Gene Expression and Virulence experiment identified increased virulence of space-flown Salmonella typhimurium, a leading cause of food poisoning. New research on subsequent station missions will target development of a vaccine for this widespread malady.

Another experiment produced a potential medical advance, demonstrating a new and powerful method for delivering drugs to targets in the human body. Microgravity research on the station was vital to development of miniature, liquid-filled balloons the size of blood cells that can deliver medicine directly to cancer cells. The research was conducted for the Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System experiment.

One of the most prolific series of investigations aboard the station tests how spacecraft materials withstand the harsh space environment.

The results of the Materials International Space Station Experiment already have been used to develop solar cells for future commercial station cargo ships.
This experiment has significantly reduced the time needed to develop new satellite systems, such as solar cells and insulation materials, and paved the way for materials to be used in new NASA spacecraft such as the Orion crew capsule.

The report compiles experiment results collected from the first 15 station missions, or expeditions, from 2000 to 2008. Results of some of the summarized investigations are complete. Preliminary results are available from other continuing investigations.

NASA's research activities on the station span several scientific areas, including exploration technology development; microgravity research in the physical and biological sciences; human physiology research; Earth science and education.

The report details 22 different technology demonstrations; 33 physical science experiments; 27 biological experiments; 32 experiments focused on the human body; Earth observations and educational activities. In addition to science important to long-duration human spaceflights, most findings also offer new understanding of
methods or applications relevant to life on Earth.

In 2008, station laboratory space and research facilities tripled with the addition of the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's three Kibo scientific modules, adding to the capabilities already provided in NASA's Destiny Laboratory. In 2009, the number of crew members increased from three to six, greatly increasing crew time available for research.

The stage is set for increased station scientific return when assembly and outfitting of the research facility is completed in 2010 and its full potential as a national and international laboratory is realized. Engineers and scientists from around the world are working together to refine operational relationships and build on experiences to ensure maximum use of the expanded capabilities.

The International Space Station Program Scientist Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center published the report. A link to the full NASA Technical Publication, which provides an archival record of U.S.-sponsored research through Expedition 15, is available at:

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For more information about
the space station, visit:

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SOURCE NASA

PR Newswire

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Et une autre photo extraordinaire

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Le statut report 22, date du 8 septembre 09 de la Nasa :

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After closing the hatches between the two spacecraft last night, the two crews aboard space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station prepare to undock today.

The wakeup song, “Beautiful Day” by U2, was played at 10 a.m. CDT for the shuttle’s newest crew member, Mission Specialist Tim Kopra. Kopra is returning to Earth with the STS-128 crew after 44 days on the space station as a member of the Expedition 20 crew.

Kopra, joined by shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas, and Christer Fuglesang, will focus on preparations for the undocking from the station.

They are scheduled to undock from the station at 2:26 p.m. Once safely separated from the orbiting complex by about 450 feet, Ford will conduct a flyaround of the space station. The maneuver provides an opportunity to get video of the station that can be used to inspect for damage or general condition of the vehicle’s exterior. A final separation burn is expected at 4:09 p.m.

Later, the shuttle crew will again engage the shuttle robotic arm, its extension boom and cameras for a last look at the thermal protection system to check for any damage. Once complete, they will stow the arm back on the payload
bay sill.

The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

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Et vendredi :

STS-128 landing moves to Friday – Vernier Thrusters recovery options outlined

September 10th, 2009 by Chris Gebhardt

STS-128 Status:

As Discovery entered what was expected to be her final day on orbit, Mission Controllers continued to revel in the extremely clean nature of Discovery and her various systems.

“The mission is proceeding nominally and per the timeline. Landing is scheduled for today at 1905L at KSC,” notes this morning NTD report on L2.

TPS (Thermal Protection System) late-inspections are complete and there are no concerns for reentry.

All Flight Control System (FCS) and Reaction Control System (RCS) checkouts were completed without issue on Wednesday and pre-landing cabin configurations on FD-13 (Flight Day 13) are complete.

Furthermore, the Wing Leading Edge sensor system – the WLE IDS (Impact Detection System) was deactivated for landing on Wednesday and the Ku-Band communications antenna was successfully stowed as well.

Thursday operations saw the crew carry out the required preps for landing, as controllers left it to the last moment in the hope the weather would clear.

Discovery’s Payload Bay doors were closed for entry at 3:19P.M. EDT and Mission Control gave a “GO” for the transition to Ops 3 software at 3:29P.M. Commander CJ Sturckow, and Pilot Kevin Ford, will strap into their seats on the Flight Deck just before 5P.M. and will perform an OMS engine gimbal check at 5:16P.M.

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