Collins Eileen

Kelly

Noguchi

Robinson

Thomas Andrew

Lawrence

Camarda

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STS-114

26 July 2005 14:39 GMT. Landing Date: 2005-08-09 12:11:00 PM. Flight Time: 13.90 days. Flight Up: STS-114. Flight Back: STS-114. Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Collins Eileen, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson, Thomas Andrew, Lawrence, Camarda. Program: ISS. The STS-114 mission's primary objective was to verify fixes made to the space shuttle external tank to prevent foam and ice shedding during launch that resulted heat shield damage and the subsequent death of the STS-107 crew. A final main objective was to resupply the International Space Station, which had to rely on smaller Progress supply vessels while the shuttle was grounded. However significant foam was shed again during the launch. The heat shield was undamaged, but the shuttle crew was considered in deadly peril, at least by the press. They returned safely to earth, having to land at Edwards Air Force Base after two cancelled landings at the Kennedy Space Center due to rain. The shuttle was however again grounded, and even its continued use was questioned. The next ISS crew, launched a month later, faced a six-month stay without visits or resupply from the shuttle.

STS-114

The flight had originally been scheduled for March 2003 with the crew of Collins Eileen, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson, Malenchenko, Kaleri, and Lu. Instead the flight was delayed for over two years by the Columbia disaster. STS-114 was originally to have been the seventeenth station flight (ULF1). It would have carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and carried out a crew rotation (replacing the ISS EO-6 crew of Bowersox, Budarin, and Pettit with the Malenchenko, Kaleri, and Lu. Instead the EO-6 crew would return in May aboard the Soyuz TMA-1 lifeboat already docked to the station, being replaced by a new two-man emergency crew of Malenchenko and Lu (launched aboard Soyuz TMA-2 instead of the shuttle).

Crew Members: Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly, Mission Specialists Charles Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi, Stephen Robinson and Andrew Thomas.

Launch: July 26, 2005 at 10:39 a.m. EDT. A liquid hydrogen tank low-level fuel cut-off sensor failed a routine prelaunch check during the launch countdown July 13, causing mission managers to scrub Discovery's first launch attempt. Members of an engineering team met to review data and possible troubleshooting plans. Some of the troubleshooting included conducting electromagnetic interference and ground resistance testing on wiring in the aft engine compartment. On July 26, the countdown was flawless and liftoff occurred on time.

Landing: Waved off 4 landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center due to weather. Landed on first opportunity at Edwards Air Force Base, marking the 6th night landing at Edwards and the 50th shuttle landing in California.

Kennedy Space Center was beset with weather issues starting Aug. 8, the original landing date. Two landing opportunities at Kennedy were waved off Aug. 8 and two more again Aug. 9. Edwards was chosen as the preferred landing site following wave-off at Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 9. Discovery was ferried back to Kennedy Space Center Aug. 20, 2005, atop a modified Boeing 747 aircraft.

STS-114 Credit- www.spacefacts.de

Mission Highlights:

STS-114 was the first Return to Flight mission since the tragic loss of Columbia Feb. 1, 2003. Two and a half years were spent researching and implementing safety improvements for orbiters and external tanks. They included greater in-depth examination of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels that are used on the wing leading edges, plus replacing bolts and new foam applications on the tanks.

Discovery's climb to orbit was extensively documented through a system of new and upgraded ground-based cameras, radar systems and airborne cameras aboard high altitude aircraft. The imagery captured of Discovery's launch, and additional imagery from laser systems on Discovery's new Orbiter Boom Sensor System laser-scanner as well as data from sensors embedded in the shuttle's wings, helped mission managers determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system. When Discovery neared the International Space Station early July 28, Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips used digital cameras and high-powered 800-mm and 400-mm lenses to photograph Discovery's thermal protective tiles and key areas around its main and nose landing gear doors. All imagery was downlinked to a team of 200 to analyze.

Before docking with the space station, Commander Eileen Collins performed the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver about 600 feet below the station. The motion flipped the shuttle end over end at 3/4 degree per second, allowing Expedition 11 crew members to photograph the underside of Discovery and its heat-resistant tiles in detail.

Imagery during launch showed a piece of foam being shed from the external tank, as well as smaller tile and foam dings. Imagery of the tiles showed two areas where gap fillers were protruding. Mission managers spent several days to determine if any action would be required of the crew.

It was decided to allow Robinson the attempt to pull out the protruding gap fillers with his hand or with forceps, or remove the protrusions with a hacksaw. The astronauts reviewed training on using the robotic arm and worked on assembling a hacksaw if they should need it.

A puffed out piece of thermal blanket near the cockpit was also identified in the imagery and became another area of concern. Tunnel tests at NASA's Ames Research Center in California and further engineering analysis showed there was little reason to be concerned about debris release during re-entry.

Prior to the first spacewalk, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Pilot James Kelly guided the station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, to lift the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello from Discovery's Cargo Bay for attachment to the Unity module. More inspections of Discovery were conducted by Mission Specialist Charles Camarda and Kelly.

During the mission, astronauts tested and examined tiles in demonstration of repair techniques. Other time was spent transferring equipment and supplies on the station as well as removing and stowing the same on the MPLM Raffaello for return to Earth.

Three spacewalks were planned and conducted, including an add-on task for the gap filler removal:

EVA No. 1 -- 6 hours, 50 minutes, July 30. Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi worked with tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon intentionally damaged on the ground and brought into space in Discovery's cargo bay. They tested an Emittance Wash Applicator for tile repair and Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental for the reinforced carbon-carbon samples. They also installed a base and cabling for a stowage platform and rerouted power to Control Moment Gyroscope-2, one of four 600-pound gyroscopes that control the orientation of the station in orbit.

EVA No. 2 — 7 hours, 14 minutes, Aug. 1. Noguchi and Robinson removed the failed CMG-1 and stowed it. They moved the new CMG from the payload bay and installed it. Four functioning CMGs now serve the space station.

EVA No. 3 — 6 hours, 1 minute, Aug. 3. Attached to the Canadarm2, Robinson was moved to the site on Discovery's underside where he gently pulled the two protruding gap fillers from between thermal protection tiles. Other events were installing an external stowage platform outside the station to house spare parts and installing a fifth Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). MISSE 5 exposes samples of various materials to the harsh space environment for several months. Mission managers added one more day to the mission, to follow the third spacewalk. Both the Discovery crew and Expedition 11 crew paid tribute to the Columbia crew and other astronauts and cosmonauts who have lost their lives in the human exploration of space.

The MPLM was unberthed from the Unity node using the station robotic arm and placed back in Discovery's cargo bay. Discovery and the MPLM carried 7,055 pounds of unneeded equipment and trash. The OBSS was berthed back in the cargo bay by the shuttle robot arm after a handoff of the boom from the station's arm.

To verify the changes to the shuttle, the crew was to inspect all of the reinforced carbon-carbon heat protection material on Discovery's wing leading edge panels and to downlink data from the 176 wireless impact sensors mounted inside the wing panels for evaluation on the ground. The on-orbit inspections was carried out using a variety of methods, including umbilical well and hand-held photography of the external tank after it was jettisoned, and an Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) with cameras and lasers. The OBSS would also inspect of all of the Shuttle's silicon-based heat-shield tiles for damage. Other mission objectives included, in detail:

• Test Orbiter Thermal Protection System Repair Techniques on two spacewalks
• Transfer critical middeck items from the Space Shuttle to the Space Station
• Perform removal and replacement of the Control Moment Gyro-1 (CMG-1) using the Station arm
• Return the failed CMG-1 to the Lightweight Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) using the Station arm
• Berth the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello to the Station's Unity module using the Station arm; activate and check out the MPLM
• Transfer critical supplies and equipment from the MPLM to the Station. Transfer from the station to Raffaello failed and surplus equipment, experimental data, and garbage.
• Return the MPLM to Discovery's payload bay using the Station arm
• Install the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2)
• Transfer and install the Human Research Facility-2 rack in the Station's Destiny lab
• Transfer mandatory cargo
• Transfer required cargo
• Remove and replace Hyzod cover on Node 1 nadir hatch window Figure 3 Space Shuttle Discovery prepares to dock with International Space Station
• Remove and replace S0 Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna No. 2
• Install Video Stanchion Support Assembly (VSSA) at the external camera port No. 9 location
• Install the external television camera group No. 3 to the VSSA on camera port No. 9
• Perform Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Passive Experiment Container (PEC) 5 deployment
• Perform MISSE PEC 1 and 2 retrieval
• Perform orbiter middeck payload operation activities to support powered payload daily status checks
• Perform critical U.S. and Russian daily Space Station payload activities as required to prevent loss of science
• Remove the ESP-2 Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF) and return in the Starboard Tool Stowage Assembly (may be deferred if the spacewalk is behind schedule)
• Perform Joint Airlock flush with scrubber/filter
• Transfer remaining cargo
• Perform middeck sortie payload activities
• Reboost the Space Station with the Shuttle to no more than 357 kilometers average orbital altitude
• Perform spacewalk "get-ahead" tasks in preparation for future missions
• Perform U.S./Russian payload research operations
• Perform Space Station Structural Life Validation and Extension
• Rotate Resupply Stowage Platform to evaluate the redesigned drive pins and verify the ease of on-orbit rack tilting (only if crew time available)
• Perform imagery survey of the Space Station exterior during the Shuttle fly-around after undocking

• 2005 Feb 4 - International Space Station Status Report #05-6 

  The Expedition 10 crew turned its attention to the Space Shuttle's return to flight this week, spending several days pre-packing International Space Station items destined for return to Earth aboard Discovery.

  Commander Leroy Chiao began the effort Feb. 1 and reported Friday that he has completed pre-packing all U.S. hardware identified for return, and that he and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov are working together to do the same for the appropriate Russian hardware. Chiao also completed an inventory of food supplies.

  Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips will be on board the Station when Discovery arrives in May, and will work with the STS-114 crew to stow the return items after supplies and equipment being delivered have been transferred. The Expedition 10 crew's pre-packing efforts will help ensure that the limited amount of transfer time available during Discovery's visit is used efficiently.

  Scientific research also highlighted the week, with Sharipov conducting three runs with the Russian Plasma-Crystal experiment, while Chiao worked with two student experiments. "Plazmennyi Kristall" is studying how plasma-dust crystals and fluids behave in microgravity when excited by radio waves. Sharipov set up the experiment, installing specimens and pumping the atmosphere out of its vacuum chamber so that telescience specialists on the ground could command its operations. Chiao installed the EarthKAM experiment on a bracket in one of the Station's windows for its final Expedition 10 session. Students at 160 middle schools around the world have snapped more than 900 Earth observation images by remote control so far. Chiao also worked with the Space Experiment Module-Satchel experiment, which contains 11 sample vials, one each from schools around the United States, that are exposed to microgravity for three to six months. This is the first flight of the satchel carrier, which was delivered to the Station by the Progress 16 resupply ship.

  Chiao also spent several hours working to restore the Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System (SIGI) to full functionality. The system, which supplies Global Positioning Satellite navigation information to a Station guidance and navigation computer, was working normally again after Chiao rotated out one of the Destiny Laboratory's systems racks to gain access and update the system's firmware programming.

  The crew will have the usual light-duty weekend with cleaning and exercise on tap. Chiao, who is the NASA ISS Science Officer, can also choose from various research activities for his optional Saturday Morning Science session.

• 2005 Feb 25 - International Space Station Status Report #05-9 

  The crew members aboard the International Space Station are winding down a week that saw them preparing for the arrival of a new cargo spacecraft and helping achieve a milestone in Station robotics operations, which has the potential for long-term exploration applications.

  Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Station Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov spent part of the week packing the Russian Progress supply spacecraft with trash and other items no longer needed on the Station. They closed the hatch between Progress and the Zvezda Service Module this morning in advance of the ship's undocking Sunday.

  The unpiloted spacecraft will be undocked Sunday at 11:06 a.m. EST. A pair of engine firings will place the vehicle in an orbit a safe distance away from the Station to allow Russian flight controllers to conduct engineering tests before it is commanded to reenter the Earth's atmosphere on March 9 and burn up. The Progress arrived at the Station in December, bringing food and supplies to Chiao and Sharipov.

  The next Progress that will be sent to the Station, will be moved to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan tomorrow for final preparations for its liftoff Monday at 2:09 p.m. EST. After a two-day journey, docking is scheduled on Wednesday, March 2, at 3:15 p.m. EST. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the docking beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST. This will be the 17th Progress to dock with the Station.

  The new Progress is loaded with more than two tons of supplies and food, including 2,932 pounds of spare parts, equipment, experiment hardware and life support system gear, 386 pounds of propellent, 242 pounds of oxygen and air, and 1,071 pounds of water. Eighty six food containers are also loaded into the Progress, good for more than 160 days of additional provisions in the Station's pantry above what is already on board.

  Among the other key U.S. items being carried to the Station on the supply ship is a new heat exchanger device for the cooling of U.S. spacesuits in the Quest Airlock. It will replace a heat exchanger that introduced rust in the suits last year, canceling Station spacewalks out of the U.S. segment. The new component will be installed by Chiao next month and checked out by the next crew, Expedition 11, to permit the airlock to be used again this summer. Also being delivered are digital cameras and lenses that the Expedition 11 crew will use to collect imagery of the heat-protective tiles of the Shuttle Discovery during its approach to the Station during this spring's Return to Flight mission, STS-114, prior to docking. That imagery will assist in helping mission managers determine whether Discovery's thermal protection system is intact and able to support a safe return to Earth.

  Earlier today, engineers completed a two-day test of new software that was loaded into the Canadarm2 robotic arm last month to allow remote control operation of the space crane from Mission Control, rather than by the crew on board. The test was declared a success.

  Chiao stood by at the robotic work station in the Destiny laboratory, ready to take over manual operation of the arm if necessary, but the automated commands loaded into the arm enabled Canadarm2 to move effortlessly throughout the demonstration. Its shoulder and wrist joints and its latching end effector were all exercised, verifying a new capability that may yield valuable data for designers of more complex robotic hardware for spacecraft that will support the Vision for Space Exploration.

  Chiao also installed a rotor pump in one of the U.S. space suits on the Station today to configure it properly for its return to Earth on the STS-121 Shuttle mission to the outpost targeted for mid-July.

  On the research front, Chiao conducted a session this week with the Dust and Aerosol Measurement Feasibility Test, or DAFT. The experiment, developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is designed to test the effectiveness of a device that counts ultra-fine dust particles in a microgravity environment. This is a precursor to the next generation of fire detection equipment for space exploration vehicles.

  The device, called a P-Trak®, counts the dust particles by passing dust-laden air through a chamber of vaporous isopropyl alcohol. When a droplet of alcohol condenses over an ultra-fine dust particle, the particle becomes large enough to break the light beam and be counted. NASA's payload operations team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center coordinates science activities on Space Station.

• 2005 Feb 28 - International Space Station Status Report #05-10 

  Carrying more than two tons of supplies, a Russian cargo spacecraft began a two-day trip to the International Space Station today after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The ISS Progress 17 resupply ship launched at 1:09 p.m. CST. Less than 10 minutes later, it settled into orbit and automatic commands deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas.

  As the Progress launched, Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Station Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov were wrapping up their work day. The Station was flying over the southern Atlantic Ocean west of Cape Town, South Africa at an altitude of 225 statute miles at the time of liftoff.

  Engine firings are scheduled later today and tomorrow to raise and refine the Progress' orbit and its path to the Station for an automated docking at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. CST. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the linkup beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST.

  The Progress is carrying more than 2 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water, spare parts and personal items for the crew. It is filled with 386 pounds of propellant, 242 pounds of oxygen and air, 1071 pounds of water, and more than 2932 pounds of spare parts, life support system components and experiment hardware. The manifest also includes an additional six-month supply of food in 86 containers to replenish the Station pantry. Among the items being carried on the Progress is a new heat exchanger device to replace a faulty component in the U.S. airlock that is needed for the resumption of spacewalks in U.S. space suits this summer.

  Also in the Progress are cameras and lenses that will be used by the Expedition 11 crew to capture digital images of the thermal protection system on the Shuttle Discovery during its approach to the Station for docking during the STS-114 mission in May. The photos will be part of the imagery-gathering effort for Return to Flight to insure that the Shuttle has incurred no threatening damage to its tiles or the reinforced carbon-carbon coating on its wings during ascent.

  Chiao and Sharipov are scheduled to open the hatch to the Progress a few hours after docking Wednesday to begin unloading its contents.

  The Progress spacecraft that had been at the Station since Christmas night was undocked yesterday at 10:06 a.m. CST as the two vehicles flew over eastern Asia. Filled with discarded items, the ship fired its engines after undocking to move to a safe distance away from the Station for 10 days of engineering tests by Russian flight controllers. It will be deorbited on March 9 and will burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

• 2005 Mar 2 - International Space Station Status Report #05-11 

  An unpiloted Russian cargo ship linked up to the International Space Station today to deliver more than 2 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water, supplies and spare parts.

  The ISS Progress 17 craft automatically docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 2:10 p.m. CST as the Station flew 225 statute miles over the equator west of Africa. Within minutes, hooks and latches between the two ships engaged, forming a tight seal. The flawless docking completed a two-day journey for the cargo ship since its liftoff Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

  As the Progress approached the Station, Expedition 10 Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov was at the controls of a manual docking system in Zvezda, ready to take over the final approach in the unlikely event its automated docking system encountered a problem. Station Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao took video and still photos of the arrival.

  The Progress is loaded with 386 pounds of propellant, 242 pounds of oxygen and air, 1,071 pounds of water and more than 2,900 pounds of spare parts, life support system components and experiment hardware. The manifest also includes 86 containers of food, about a six-month supply to supplement the food already in the Station's pantry. The crew will open the Progress hatch later today.

  Among the items on the Progress is a new heat exchanger device to replace a faulty component in the U.S. airlock needed for the resumption of spacewalks in U.S. space suits this summer. Also aboard are cameras and lenses to be used by the Expedition 11 crew to capture images of the thermal protection system on the Shuttle Discovery during its approach to the Station during the STS-114 mission in May. The photos are part of the imagery-gathering effort to ensure that the Shuttle has no threatening damage to its heat shielding.

• 2005 Mar 18 - International Space Station Status Report #05-14 

  The crew aboard the International Space Station turned its attention to spacewalks this week with repair and preparatory work in two airlocks.

  Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao spent the beginning of the week installing a new heat exchanger in Quest, the U.S. airlock. Working meticulously with stubborn bolts and attachments, Chiao swapped out the faulty heat exchanger with a new unit delivered earlier this month.

  The job sets the stage to restore use of Quest as a base for spacewalks using U.S. spacesuits. The heat exchanger unit provides cooling for the U.S. spacesuits while they are connected to the airlock. Chiao finished the repair ahead of schedule and had spare time to work on several other tasks around the Station, such as replacing a hard drive in a laptop computer.

  Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov began preparing the Russian Pirs Docking Compartment, which also serves as a Russian airlock, for the second and final spacewalk the pair will conduct. Chiao assisted by gathering U.S. tools, such as helmet lights and a tool caddy, which they will use in conjunction with the Russian equipment. They also gathered antennas and cabling they will install during the spacewalk. Sharipov and Chiao are scheduled to step outside March 28 for nearly six hours to continue the external outfitting of the Space Station and deploy a Russian satellite experiment.

  Sharipov did further troubleshooting on the Elektron oxygen-generating system, which ran intermittently throughout the week. Its periodic shutdowns have caused no concern for the replenishment of oxygen in the Station cabin. Russian experts will continue to monitor its condition. The Elektron, which converts water into oxygen, is one of several methods that can be used to provide oxygen in the Station cabin.

  Two control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) are maintaining the Station's orientation after a third gyroscope lost power on Wednesday. A circuit breaker, called a Remote Power Controller, failed and removed power from that gyroscope. Attempts to reset the breaker were unsuccessful. There is no impact to current Station activities. Two gyros are adequate to maintain the orientation of the complex.

  Specialists are continuing to evaluate the condition of the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker could be replaced by conducting a spacewalk to perform that work, but the plans and timing of that activity remain to be determined. A fourth gyroscope that failed in June 2002 is set to be replaced on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission, STS-114, this spring.

  Also this week, the Station crew slid into their seats inside the attached Soyuz spacecraft to check their fit. The Soyuz seats are outfitted with customized cushions to protect the riders during landing. The fit of the cushions is checked periodically throughout the mission to ensure a comfortable and safe seat home for the crew. Chiao and Sharipov have about five weeks remaining until their return to Earth, with their undocking and landing in Kazakhstan scheduled for April 25.

• 2005 Mar 25 - International Space Station Status Report #05-15 

  Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov completed preparations for a Monday spacewalk this week and rested to prepare for the excursion.

  Sharipov and Chiao are set to step outside early Monday for nearly six hours to continue the external outfitting of the Station with antennas for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). They also will deploy a small Russian technology satellite, Nanosatellite, to test control techniques.

  NASA Television will broadcast the spacewalk live beginning at 11 p.m. CST Sunday. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at about 12:25 a.m. CST Monday.

  It is planned to be the second and final planned spacewalk of the expedition. They began preparations last Friday with a spacewalk timeline review. They also gathered tools they will use to install the antennas on the exterior of the Station's Zvezda living quarters module. On Monday, the crew worked out on a stationary bicycle while doctors on the ground monitored their health and they were pronounced physically fit for the spacewalk. The crew also checked the health of the breadbox-sized satellite, finding it in good order.

  The spacewalkers will install the fourth, fifth and sixth in a series of communications antennas for the European ATV. They also will install a Global Positioning System antenna on Zvezda and inspect and photograph the large "Lira" antenna on Zvezda to insure it is in the correct position.

  Early today, a thermal control loop panel in Zvezda that provides cooling to the Pirs airlock failed, and its backup system was activated to provide the necessary cooling. There are two circulating pumps associated with each panel. Both pump panels are needed to provide adequate backup capability for the spacewalk. The crew will troubleshoot the pump panel early Saturday, and replace one or both of the pumps in the degraded panel.

  The crew will close hatches between the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station at 4:55 p.m. Sunday, deactivate nonessential systems on the Station at 5:30 p.m. and perform preliminary spacesuit tests at 7 p.m. Airlock systems checks are set for 9:20 p.m., and final suit checks at 9:50 p.m.

  Chiao and Sharipov will climb into their Orlan suits at 10:10 p.m. Sunday and will begin depressurizing the airlock at 10:40 p.m. The spacewalk will officially begin when they open the Pirs hatch about 12:25 a.m. CST Monday.

  Also this week, the crew repressurized the Station using oxygen from tanks on the attached Progress supply ship. Mission managers elected to postpone any further troubleshooting of the balky Elektron oxygen-generating system until after the spacewalk. The Elektron, which converts water into oxygen, is one of several methods that can be used to provide oxygen.

  Ground controllers powered up the Mobile Servicing System on Wednesday and confirmed software was working properly after an update last week. The Canadarm2 robotic arm is in position for its cameras to provide television views of the spacewalk.

  Russian flight controllers commanded Station thrusters to fire and increase the altitude of the complex by about 1.8 statute miles. The reboost places the Station at the correct altitude and trajectory for the launch of the next crew, Expedition 11, and a European Space Agency astronaut on April 15.

  On Thursday, managers approved a plan to make connections that will bypass a failed circuit breaker, called a Remote Power Controller, on the first spacewalk to be conducted during Shuttle mission STS-114. The job is planned to be a five-minute task on that spacewalk, the first of three to be conducted by the Shuttle Return-to- Flight crew while Discovery is docked to the Station. STS-114 spacewalker Steve Robinson will reconfigure power cables to bypass that circuit breaker, providing power to restart a Station Control Moment Gyroscope. Power was removed from that gyroscope last week when the circuit breaker failed.

  Later on the Shuttle mission, Robinson and fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi will replace another gyroscope that failed in June 2002. Once complete, the work will restore the Station to four operating gyroscopes. The Station's orientation is being maintained well now by only two gyroscopes, but more will be needed as assembly of the complex resumes and its size increases.

• 2005 Apr 1 - International Space Station Status Report #05-17 

  Following their second spacewalk and nearing the end of a six-month flight, Expedition 10 crew members conducted science experiments, prepared for the arrival of their replacements and readied the Station for the first post-Columbia Shuttle mission.

  Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov also spent much of the latter part of the week stowing tools used during the spacewalk, cleaning and stowing their Russian Orlan spacesuits and reconfiguring the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. The crew installed antennas that will be used by a new automated European supply craft and released a small Russian technology satellite during the 4-hour, 30-minute spacewalk.

  Chiao and Sharipov began preparing the Station for the first visit by a Space Shuttle mission since the Columbia accident. The Shuttle Discovery is targeted for launch on mission STS-114 in a planning window that begins May 15 and ends June 3. The crew began packing gear that will be returned on the Shuttle and they checked out cameras that the upcoming Station crew will use to photograph the Shuttle's heat shield. Chiao conducted some troubleshooting on one of those digital cameras that is experiencing intermittent card reading errors during downloads. Other cameras are available if needed.

  The crew also continued work with the Station's Elektron oxygen generation system. The system has operated intermittently over the past few weeks. Additional troubleshooting was conducted this week by Sharipov while Russian technicians continued to study repair options. Multiple alternate sources of oxygen are available and the Elektron problems have not significantly impacted activities.

  Chiao and Sharipov participated in a question and answer session with students at the Sheridan Middle School in New Haven, CT Thursday and an amateur radio session with the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas.

  Two of the Station's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) continue to perform well, controlling the Station's orientation. A brief, unusual vibration was detected on one of them, CMG 3, just after the end of the spacewalk on Monday. Engineers are continuing to evaluate the indication. Two additional gyroscopes are not operating. One of them is planned to be repowered during a spacewalk on the upcoming Shuttle mission and another will be replaced at that time. Two gyroscopes are sufficient for control of the current Station, but additional gyroscopes will be needed as assembly resumes and the size of the complex increases.

  The next Station crew continued training this week at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori, completed final exams and certification for launch. They will travel to the launch site, the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, this weekend and conduct a check of their Soyuz spacecraft on Monday. Vittori will spend eight days on the Station under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Krikalev and Phillips will spend six months aloft.

• 2005 Apr 14 - International Space Station Status Report #05-19 

  The 11th crew of the International Space Station rocketed into space tonight, beginning a six-month mission.

  The ISS Soyuz 10 spacecraft carried Station Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips to orbit along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori.

  The Soyuz launched at 7:46 p.m. CDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. At the time, the Station was flying in a northeasterly direction about 230 miles above the South Atlantic Ocean. With Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz is on course to catch up and dock with the Station at 9:19 p.m. Saturday, April 16.

  The hatches between the arriving Soyuz 10 spacecraft and the Station will be opened at about 12:05 a.m. Sunday. Live NASA Television coverage of the docking and hatch opening will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday.

  Krikalev and Phillips will stay aboard the Station until October, while Vittori will spend eight days there conducting experiments. The Station residents will open the door for the Space Shuttle Discovery's crew on their STS-114 mission to ISS in May or June.

  Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov have been doing research and maintaining Station systems since October. With Vittori, they will undock from the Station and return to Earth April 24.

• 2005 Apr 16 - International Space Station Status Report #05-20 

  New residents arrived at the International Space Station tonight to begin a six-month mission and to prepare for the arrival of the first Space Shuttle crew to visit the complex since November 2002.

  With Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 9:20 p.m. CDT as the Soyuz and the Station flew over eastern Asia. Within minutes, hooks and latches between the two vehicles joined together to form a tight seal.

  Aboard the Soyuz with Krikalev were NASA Expedition 11 Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips and European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy.

  Hatches between the Soyuz and the Station were opened at 11:45 p.m. Saturday. The two crews greeted one another with handshakes and hugs. The first activity scheduled for the five crewmembers was a safety briefing to familiarize the newly arrived trio with emergency escape procedures.

  Krikalev and Phillips will remain on board the Station until October. Vittori will return to Earth next week after eight days of scientific experiments on the complex under a commercial agreement between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. The trio launched at dawn Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for their two-day journey to the outpost.

  Aboard the Station at the time of docking were Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, who are wrapping up their six-month mission and who will ride home on their Soyuz TMA-5 capsule with Vittori on April 25 for a pre-dawn landing in central Kazakhstan. Saturday marked the 185th day in space for Chiao and Sharipov and their 183rd day on the Station.

  Krikalev and Phillips will relocate the new Soyuz from Pirs to the Zarya module docking port this summer.

  On hand for the docking activities at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow were NASA Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Craig Steidle and ISS Program Manager William Gerstenmaier along with Russian and European space officials.

  On Sunday before they begin an extended sleep period, the new crew will transfer their custom-made Soyuz seatliners as well as cargo carried aloft on the Soyuz for the complex. Later in the day, initial briefings on the handover from the current residents to their replacements will be conducted and the new Soyuz' systems will be deactivated.

  Over the next week, Krikalev and Phillips will familiarize themselves with Station systems and stowed equipment, conduct robotics training with the Canadarm2 robot arm, and receive detailed briefings on scientific payloads. Phillips and Chiao will also continue the maintenance and repair work on the cooling systems in the U.S. airlock Quest for the resumption of spacewalk capability from the Station this summer.

  In addition, they will pack discarded gear and equipment for return to Earth on the Raffaello cargo module that will be brought to the Station on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission, STS-114, targeted to arrive next month on the Shuttle Discovery.

• 2005 Apr 22 - International Space Station Status Report #05-21 

  Aboard the International Space Station this week, one crew counted down its final days in space, headed toward a return to Earth on Sunday, while another crew began a six-month journey in orbit.

  The five crewmembers aboard the Station had a busy week of briefings for the new crew, preparations for the old crew's departure and preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-114, the Shuttle's Return to Flight targeted for next month.

  The 11th Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, docked to the Station at 9:20 p.m. CDT Saturday. With them was European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy. He is spending almost eight days on the Station working through 22 scientific experiments and activities.

  Vittori is to return to Earth on Sunday with the two members of the Expedition 10 crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. They are scheduled to leave the Station at 1:41 p.m. CDT Sunday and to land in Kazakhstan at 5:08 p.m. Chiao and Sharipov will then travel to Kustanai, Kazakhstan, and on to Star City, Russia, about eight hours after their return to Earth, where they will be reunited with family.

  The landing is about two hours before local sunrise. The area weather forecast calls for a chance of rain with near-freezing temperatures.

  Sharipov will undock the Soyuz manually as a precautionary measure to conserve energy. Although the Soyuz' backup battery charge is thought to be adequate if it were required for the undocking, that battery has shown signs of a reduced charge since the Soyuz was relocated among Station docking ports in November 2004. The primary battery is healthy.

  The manual undocking is a practiced backup procedure for Soyuz operations, and is being done to ensure adequate backup battery power is available if it were needed for deorbit and landing. The manual procedures allow Sharipov to reduce the amount of time the Soyuz is on internal power before undocking. The undocking is routinely performed automatically by the onboard computer. Landing will occur as is normal on the second orbit after undocking.

  Extensive briefings by Chiao and Sharipov helped settle Krikalev, who was a member of the first station crew launched in late 2000, and Phillips, who visited the Station as a Shuttle crewmember in April 2001, in their new home. They also trained on the Canadarm2, the Station's robotic arm, and were briefed on science activities as well as locations of equipment and supplies.

  On Monday, Phillips trained with the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity experiment. He conducted his first experiment with the equipment on Thursday.

  Tuesday the crew activated the Microgravity Science Glovebox and later in the week certified its readiness for use. Wednesday's focus was the U.S. airlock Quest, with crewmembers flushing a cooling system and replacing a service and cooling umbilical, restoring the airlock to usable condition. Chiao and Phillips were back in the airlock on Thursday, resizing spacesuits to make sure the right equipment will remain aboard the Station after Discovery's departure from its future mission.

  A three-hour Soyuz descent training session kept Chiao, Sharipov and Vittori busy on Friday. All five crewmembers later participated in a change of command ceremony that formally passed command of the outpost from Chiao to Krikalev.

• 2005 Apr 29 - International Space Station Status Report #05-23 

  The new crew members of the International Space Station completed their first full work week today as they conducted routine maintenance, continued to settle in and practiced photography to be used when the Space Shuttle returns to flight.

  Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were given time each day to orient themselves with the Station and where items are stowed. They also completed an emergency evacuation drill, a standard procedure for all new crews. The practice helps them learn the location of emergency equipment and departure routes.

  Both crewmembers kept busy with Station maintenance and upkeep. Krikalev conducted troubleshooting of the Russian Elektron oxygen generation system and the condensate removal system. The Elektron remains off-line, with oxygen being supplied from tanks in the Progress cargo ship, one of several oxygen supplies available. The next infusion of oxygen into the Station's atmosphere from Progress will take place early next week.

  Krikalev also completed the transfer of water from the Progress cargo ship to storage tanks in the Zvezda module. Phillips updated the Station's computer system with software specifically designed for this crew's mission. He also installed a remote-controlled camera at the Destiny Lab's Earth-facing window for a week's worth of imagery from the EarthKAM experiment, which enables middle-school students around the world to take photos of selected sites on Earth. Thousands of students from more than 100 schools took part in this week's operations.

  Early today Krikalev and Phillips were informed that NASA managers rescheduled the launch of the Shuttle Discovery to no earlier than July 13 on the STS-114 Return to Flight mission. The additional time is needed to complete a thorough analysis of the potential risks posed by several areas of possible ice debris from the Shuttle's external fuel tank as well as an evaluation of several concerns found during recent launch preparations.

  Today the crewmembers practiced with digital cameras the photographs they will take of Discovery as it approaches the Station for docking on the third day of the STS-114 mission. Phillips and Krikalev will have about 93 seconds of time available to use the cameras and high-power lenses to capture two sets of images of the Shuttle's heat shield. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will guide the Shuttle through a slow back flip to allow the Station crew to image both the top and bottom of the vehicle. The images will be quickly transmitted to the ground for analysis.

  Krikalev and Phillips performed another step in preparations for the Shuttle visit this week as they cleared cargo from a hatch in the Unity module where a cargo container will be attached during that mission. The Station crew also conferred via space to ground communications with Discovery's crew about the planned transfer and stowing of supplies.

  Meanwhile, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy, arrived at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia Monday morning. They rested, reunited with their families and went through medical tests following their landing in a Soyuz spacecraft. Chiao and Sharipov are expected to return to Houston in mid-May.

• 2005 May 27 - International Space Station Status Report #05-27 

  The Expedition 11 crew entered its seventh week in space today, wrapping up a week highlighted by research, maintenance and training for photography tasks to be done during the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission in July. Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips spent several days conducting examinations of each other using an ultrasound device that provides data on the ability of crewmembers to conduct detailed medical exams in space. The experiment could have future applications for telemedicine or rural health care.

  Phillips also conducted work with a viscosity measurement experiment that collects information on the behavior of liquids in microgravity that have different thickness, or viscosity. The experiment may provide insight to researchers designing new hardware for space travel and could have industrial applications on Earth.

  Phillips and Krikalev spent part of Tuesday practicing photography techniques with digital cameras in the Zvezda Service Module. The techniques will be used to capture high resolution imagery of the condition of Discovery's heat shield at a distance of 600 feet as the Shuttle approaches for docking on the third day of the STS-114 mission.

  The crewmembers will use 400 millimeter and 800 millimeter lenses from two windows in Zvezda to focus on Discovery's thermal protection tiles and the reinforced carbon-carbon shield.

  Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will fly Discovery through a backflip as it approaches the Station, allowing Krikalev and Phillips to document all sides of the vehicle. They will shoot as many frames as possible during the minute and a half Shuttle flip. Those images will be transmitted to the ground for analysis.

  For the second week, the crew activated solid fuel oxygen generating canisters in Zvezda to replenish the cabin atmosphere. The canisters, one of multiple oxygen supplies that remain available onboard, are being used following the depletion of oxygen reserves in tanks in the Progress cargo vehicle and in the absence of an operating Elektron oxygen-generation system.

  The next Progress cargo ship to launch to the Station in mid-June will carry new supplies of oxygen tanks and solid fuel canisters as well as electronic components for the Elektron. Oxygen supplies onboard and those on upcoming cargo vehicles can accommodate the crew into next year.

  Earlier today, Krikalev tested the voltage of some of the Elektron's existing components to help Russian specialists in their ongoing troubleshooting efforts. Krikalev confirmed that the electrolyzer unit, part of a system that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, showed no voltage readings and is presumed to have failed.

  Krikalev also worked on a procedure to bypass one of the cables in the Russian segment condensate removal system that has developed a blockage.

  The crew is scheduled for a light duty weekend, including routine housekeeping tasks and family conferences.

• 2005 Jun 17 - International Space Station Status Report #05-31 

  After a busy week of preparations, the Expedition 11 crew on the International Space Station is ready for Saturday's arrival of a Progress cargo craft bearing more than two tons of supplies and equipment.

  Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips spent the week packing up and disposing of the previous cargo ship and making room for the new ISS Progress 18 spacecraft, scheduled to dock with the Station at 7:44 p.m. CDT on Saturday. It will dock at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module.

• 2005 Jun 24 - International Space Station Status Report #05-33 

  The International Space Station crew spent much of the week unpacking and using supplies from the newly docked Progress cargo craft.

  The crew members also began preparing the Station for a visit by the Space Shuttle on its Return to Flight mission that is targeted to launch in a window that opens in less than three weeks.

  Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev completed integrating the systems of a new Progress supply ship into those of the Russian section of Space Station. Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips also unpacked portions of the more than two tons of supplies on the cargo craft. The craft docked to the Station Saturday evening.

  Along with food, fuel, clothing and new hardware, the Progress contained about 80 days worth of oxygen in tanks and solid fuel oxygen generators, plus supplies for further repair efforts on the Elektron oxygen generation system. The Elektron, one of multiple sources of oxygen available on the Station, derives oxygen from water. The system has been inoperable for a few months.

  This week, Krikalev installed a new supply of electrolyte in the Elektron's liquids unit and a new set of aerosol filters. During initial test activation, the unit started up but immediately shut down. After a second activation it operated for less than half an hour before shutting down once again. Russian specialists at Mission Control Moscow are evaluating further troubleshooting. With the Progress oxygen supply and other supplies aboard the Station, enough oxygen is available to supply the crew for at least the remainder of this year without an operating Elektron unit. A new Elektron liquids unit also is planned to be shipped to the Station later this year.

  The Station's Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 was opened for the first time in four years this week to be used as storage space. The operation is part of the effort to prepare for cargo transfer operations during the Space Shuttle's return to the complex. The Return to Flight Space Shuttle mission, STS-114, remains on track for launch in a window that extends from July 13-31. The Flight Readiness Review for STS-114 is set for June 29-30 at the Kennedy Space Center, and will conclude with the establishment of a target launch date.

  One priority for the mission on Discovery is the delivery of supplies and removal of material that has accumulated on the Station since the grounding of the Shuttle fleet more than two years ago. The majority of that material will be moved on and off of the Station in a pressurized cargo module that will be docked to the nadir side of the Unity connecting module. This week, the Station crew verified the proper operation of the berthing mechanism at that docking port, which had not been operated in two and a half years. Phillips also began installation of a camera in the window of that docking port that is used to align the cargo module when the Shuttle is docked. Phillips halted the camera installation, however, when a circuit breaker tripped. Flight controllers have postponed his completion of the task pending further evaluation.

• 2005 Jul 1 - International Space Station Status Report #05-34 

  The residents of the International Space Station were informed today that they may welcome visitors arriving on a Space Shuttle in two weeks.

  Senior NASA managers yesterday set a July 13 launch date for the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight, a mission that will see the Shuttle Discovery fly to the Station. Commander Eileen Collins and her crew are scheduled to lift off at 2:51 p.m. CDT on the first U.S. space flight since the February 2003 loss of the Shuttle Columbia. Discovery will dock to the Space Station two days later, July 15 at 11:27 a.m. CDT.

  The Space Station's Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips spent time this week preparing the outpost for the first joint Shuttle and Station mission since Endeavour departed in December 2002.

  In preparation for docking, Phillips continued installation of a camera used to align the Shuttle and Station during the link up. A circuit breaker had tripped during an installation attempt last Friday. Engineers determined a power supply was at fault. Once the power supply was replaced, Phillips completed the installation and checkout procedure Tuesday.

  Krikalev and Phillips also practiced taking photographs from windows in the Zvezda living quarters module in preparation for Discovery's arrival. In two weeks, they will use two digital cameras with high-powered lenses to shoot the thermal tiles on the orbiter during its approach. The pictures will be sent to Mission Control to help engineers assess the health of Discovery's heat shield.

  The crew also operated the Station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, as a checkout before Discovery arrives. In addition to verifying the system's operation, the activity served as training for Krikalev and Phillips. The arm was commanded to walk off the Destiny lab's operating base to the Mobile Base System (MBS) on the truss Wednesday, and then back again Thursday. A similar procedure will be done during the Shuttle mission.

  The arm will be positioned on Destiny's base to observe the arrival of Discovery, for installation of the Rafaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and to support three spacewalks by the Shuttle crew. From the MBS operating position, cameras on the arm will be used for situational awareness during potential protective tile inspections the day after docking.

  Phillips also prepared for Discovery's arrival by consolidating equipment to make room for the nine-person joint crew and packing equipment for return to Earth on Discovery.

  This week Krikalev installed and tested equipment for another visiting vehicle. When the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) arrives next year, it will use Proximity Communications Equipment (PCE), or space-to-space communications, to rendezvous and dock to the Station's Russian segment. The ATV has the capability to bring more than eight tons of equipment and supplies to the crew.

  The current cargo spacecraft docked to the Station, a Russian Progress vehicle, was used Wednesday to raise the Station's altitude. The vehicle's engines burned for five minutes, 18 seconds to raise the Station's orbit to 221.5 by 215.9 statute miles. The boost began the adjustments needed for rendezvous with Space Shuttle Discovery. Another burn is scheduled for July 6 at 9:58 a.m. CDT to enhance the rendezvous opportunities during the Shuttle's July launch window that extends from July 13 to July 31.

  The Progress also was used to pressurize the Station's cabin atmosphere with additional oxygen. Each day it was required, Tuesday and Friday, eleven pounds of oxygen were added to the atmosphere in the absence of continual oxygen generation by the Elektron system, which is not currently operating. Other supplies aboard the Station could support the crew for the rest of this year, if needed. Additional supplies and a replacement liquids unit, the heart of the Elektron, are scheduled to arrive later this year.

  Phillips, serving as NASA's Station Science Officer, conducted a physiological experiment Wednesday. For the experiment, Phillips wore a special pair of Lycra cycling tights equipped with sensors to study his movements. The sensors will gather data to help researchers better understand how arms and legs are used differently in space. This information could lead to enhanced countermeasures to help astronauts better maintain bone density and muscle mass during long duration spaceflights.

  He also wrote in a journal and filled out a questionnaire for the Journals experiment. With this experiment, researchers hope to improve equipment and procedures to help astronauts cope with the isolation encountered during long duration spaceflight.

  Monday, Phillips performed a training procedure and used a voice operated computer system for the first time on Station. Called Clarissa, the system was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in an effort to ease astronaut workload. Clarissa is 'hands-free' and responds to astronauts' voice commands, reading procedure steps out loud as they work, helping keep track of which steps have been completed, and supporting flexible voice-activated alarms and timers.

• 2005 Jul 15 - International Space Station Status Report #05-36 

  The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew worked this week on final preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its STS-114 Return to Flight mission, now on hold.

  Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips worked to wrap up packing of items to be returned to Earth on Discovery, while continuing their scientific experiments, physical exercises and routine Station maintenance.

  On Friday, the crew tested their Soyuz capsule's motion control system. The test was in preparation for a relocation of the Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz is the crew's lifeboat in the event an evacuation of the Station is needed and is the crew's ride home at the end of its six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.

  With Discovery's launch delayed, managers now plan to have the crew move the Soyuz next Tuesday from the Pirs Docking Compartment to the Zarya module to clear the way for a spacewalk planned in August. The move, originally planned to take place after Discovery's mission, will free up the Pirs airlock for use by Krikalev and Phillips during that spacewalk.

  Krikalev continued to use oxygen from the tanks of the unpiloted Progress cargo craft docked at the rear of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station's atmosphere. He also completed transfer to the Station of fuel from the Progress for thrusters of the Russian attitude control system. On Monday the crew held a radio tagup with Discovery's crew, and continued packing items for return on the Shuttle, an activity that continued throughout the week. On Tuesday Krikalev and Phillips performed routine smoke detector inspections and on Wednesday made preparations for their Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM) photography. They will take pictures of the orbiter's thermal protection system as Discovery does a slow back flip about 600 feet below the Station.

  On Thursday Krikalev and Phillips enjoyed a relatively light day. Duties included configuring cameras for the RPM maneuver.

• 2005 Jul 26 - STS-114  Crew: Collins Eileen, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson, Thomas Andrew, Lawrence, Camarda. Spacecraft: Discovery. Payload: Discovery F31 / Raffaello. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. Duration: 13.90 days. Perigee: 313 km (194 mi). Apogee: 350 km (210 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.20 min.

  Return to flight after loss of Columbia. Delayed extensively as NASA attempted to fix the external tank foam-shedding problem that resulted in the loss of Columbia (first planned for September 12, 2004, the launch slipped to March; May 14, 15 and 22; July 13, 2005). Discovery safely reached orbit at a total mass of 121,485 kg, but extensive video coverage detected external tank foam shedding during ascent. Discovery docked at the Pirs module of the ISS on 28 July 28 at 11:18 GMT. Following replenishment of the station (using the Raffaello MPLM-6 module with 8240 kg of supplies), a series of spacewalks verified the integrity of the shuttle's heat shield and tested repair techniques, Discovery undocked from the ISS at 07:24 GMT on 6 August and landed safely on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base at 12:11 GMT on 9 August. However the shuttle fleet was immediately grounded again while NASA attempted to find a permanent fix to the external tank foam woes.

• 2005 Jul 26 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #01 

  Discovery launched into a clear Florida sky this morning, returning the Shuttle fleet to space and beginning a journey of exploration to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

  Discovery lifted off at 9:39 a.m. central time today following a flawless countdown. Over the next 11 days, Discovery's seven person crew will demonstrate techniques for inspecting and protecting the Shuttle's thermal protection system and continue assembly of the International Space Station. Today's launch was the first for a Shuttle since the loss of Columbia and its crew in February 2003.

  Discovery's climb to orbit was extensively documented through a system of new and upgraded ground-based cameras, radar systems and airborne cameras aboard high altitude aircraft. The imagery captured of Discovery's launch, and additional imagery from laser systems on a new boom extension for the Shuttle's robot arm as well as data from sensors embedded in the Shuttle's wings, will help mission managers determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next several days prior to its scheduled Aug. 7 landing.

  Less than nine minutes after launch, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda were in orbit and ready to open the payload bay doors and unstow their gear in the crew compartment. Moments after main engine cutoff, Noguchi and Thomas used handheld video and digital still cameras to document the external tank after it separated from the Shuttle. That imagery, and imagery from cameras in the Shuttle's umbilical well where the tank was connected, will also be downlinked for review by mission managers and engineers in the ongoing analysis of the tank's condition following ascent.

  The crew plans to unberth and test Discovery's robot arm today before beginning an eight-hour sleep period at shortly before 4 p.m. CDT. The arm will be used today to collect imagery of the clearances between the Shuttle's Ku-band dish antenna that provides high data rate telemetry and television, and the end of a new 50-foot boom moored to the starboard sill of the spaceship that will be used tomorrow while grappled to the robot arm for a day-long inspection of the leading edges of Discovery's wings. That survey will help to insure that the wings did not incur any damage during launch.

  At the time of launch, the International Space Station was 225 miles above the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia as Discovery began its chase for a docking at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday. Aboard the Station, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips were completing preparations for the arrival of the first Shuttle since Nov. 25, 2002.

  When Discovery nears the Station early Thursday morning, Krikalev and Phillips will use digital cameras and high-powered 800MM and 400MM lenses to photograph Discovery's thermal protective tiles and key areas around its main and nose landing gear doors.

  Housed in the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module in Discovery's cargo bay is 15 tons of hardware and supplies that will be transferred to the Station after the Shuttle docks to the complex.

  The astronauts will be awakened late tonight at 11:39 p.m. CDT to begin their first full day in orbit.

• 2005 Jul 27 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #02 

  The crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery has awakened to its first full day in space. Today it will focus on thermal protection system inspections, preparing for docking to the International Space Station and getting spacesuits ready for three spacewalks.

  Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda received a wakeup call at 11:39 p.m. CDT. The song played for the crew was music from the movie "Groundhog Day," which was for the entire crew to commemorate its first day out of quarantine.

  For most of the day, Thomas, Camarda and Kelly will work together on Discovery's aft flight deck to inspect key components of the orbiter's heat shield. For the majority of the inspections the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner will be used. The Shuttle's robotic Canadarm will be used to maneuver the 50-foot boom extension after checkout of the system is completed.

  In its debut performance, the boom will be used to methodically inspect the leading edges of Discovery's wings and the orbiter's nose cap to insure that they did not incur any damage during launch. The Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) on the boom will provide two-and three-dimensional imagery. The data will be downlinked to the ground for engineering evaluation.

  After those surveys are complete the boom will be placed back on the starboard sill of the payload bay. The Shuttle robotic arm and its cameras will then be used to survey Discovery's crew cabin. Additionally, using handheld digital cameras the crew will photograph tiles on the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods and the orbiter's tail.

  During Tuesday's ascent to orbit, the enhanced imaging capability gave flight controllers and mission managers views of the Shuttle Orbiter never seen before. With this heightened ability, engineers were able to see two so-called "debris events." A camera mounted on the external tank caught what appeared to be a small fragment of tile coming from Discovery's underside on or near the nose gear doors. A later image about the time of Solid Rocket Booster separation showed an unidentified piece departing from the tank and exiting away, apparently not striking the orbiter. The crew was notified of these observations and told that imaging experts would be analyzing the pictures.

  Mission managers will review the information gathered yesterday and today, including imaging and sensor data, to help determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next four days before it is cleared for landing later in the flight. Data from the new wing leading edge sensors was downlinked overnight to Mission Control for assessment.

  Flight Day Four has time reserved for additional surveys, if required, using the OBSS, either to complete parts of the survey that time would not allow today, or to supplement the survey with "stop-and-stare" scans of sites of potential interest.

  Meanwhile, on the middeck, spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson, assisted by Lawrence, will check out the airlock, spacesuits and tools they will begin using on Saturday. They will also prepare Shuttle systems for docking to the Space Station.

  Today Collins will fire Discovery's thrusters twice to refine its approach to the Station. At about midnight, Discovery was trailing the Station by 6,516 statute miles. The two are scheduled to link up at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday.

  Today the Space Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will prepare the complex for Discovery's arrival. They will configure the digital cameras they will use during Discovery's approach, gathering additional imagery of the Shuttle's heat shield. They also will pressurize the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) that Discovery will dock to Thursday.

• 2005 Jul 27 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #03 

  Discovery crewmembers completed a camera survey of the heat shields of the leading edges of the orbiter's wings and its nose cone Wednesday. They also began preparations for Thursday's docking with the International Space Station and the mission's spacewalks.

  Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda downlinked imagery taken of the External Tank after launch. The crew also photographed the Orbital Maneuvering System pod tile areas and sent down those files. Most of the heat shield survey, taking a close look at the reinforced carbon-carbon of Discovery's wings and nose was sent down live. The rest was sent down before the crew went to bed about 2:40 p.m. CDT.

  The data was gathered by the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner. Kelly, Thomas and Camarda, with some help from other crewmembers, operated the Discovery's Canadarm and the 50-foot boom extension at its end for the survey. The OBSS was reberthed and Canadarm and its cameras were used to survey the tile area around the crew cabin.

  Preparations for docking included a checkout of rendezvous tools, and the extension of the Orbiter Docking System ring that will make first contact with the Station. The approach will include the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, a slow back flip by Discovery about 600 feet below the Station immediately before the 6:18 a.m. CDT docking.

  The maneuver will allow Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips to photograph Discovery's thermal protection system with 400mm and 800mm lenses. The images, taken through windows in the Station's Zvezda Service Module, are expected to be downlinked before hatches between Discovery and the Station are opened.

  Today's imagery and laser scans will be compiled with other imagery taken during launch, and with data collected by wireless impact sensors in each panel of the wings' leading edges. Downlink of both preliminary and raw data from the sensors also was completed today. A team of about 200 people across the country are working to analyze imagery from the early part of Discovery's mission, the most photographed Shuttle flight in history.

  The crew also completed the checkout of tools and two spacesuits to be used during the mission's three spacewalks. Two suits were also prepared for delivery to the Station for future Quest airlock spacewalks.

• 2005 Jul 27 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #04 

  Visitors on a Space Shuttle will arrive at the International Space Station for the first time in over two years today. The Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to catch up and dock to the Station at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday.

  During Discovery's approach to the Station, Commander Eileen Collins will pause with the orbiter 600 feet below the Station and perform the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver. The motion will flip the Shuttle end over end at three quarters of a degree per second as the Station residents look on with digital cameras at the ready. The flip will provide Expedition 11 crewmembers, Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips, about 93 seconds to photograph the underside of Discovery and its heat-resistant tiles in detail.

  The images from Station will be downlinked and added to the host of imagery and data obtained during Discovery's launch and Wednesday's robotic surveys that engineers are analyzing. Imagery released Wednesday showed a piece of foam being shed from the external tank during Discovery's ascent. Other photos showed a variety of smaller tile and foam dings that will be reviewed over the next several days. The crew will also downlink the video taken of the External Tank as it fell away from Discovery on Tuesday and video of the clearance between the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the Ku-band antenna for review.

  Once Discovery's crew has had a safety briefing from the Space Station crew, both crews get to work with more robotic operations to prepare for additional surveys. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, with assistance from Phillips, will operate the Space Station robotic arm, Canadarm2, from inside the Destiny Lab. They will use the arm to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the payload bay sill and hand it over to the Shuttle arm. Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas will operate the Shuttle arm. Clearance restraints around the Shuttle's docking mechanism do not allow the Shuttle arm to grapple the boom on its own.

  Spacewalkers Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi have two hours to prepare their tools and equipment for their three spacewalks. Among other things, the first spacewalk Saturday will test thermal protection system repair techniques. Two other spacewalks will repair and install critical hardware outside the Station.

  Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by "It's a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong for Camarda. The Station crew was awakened at the same time by a tone onboard.

• 2005 Jul 28 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #05 

  The Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station smoothly and right on time Thursday morning, after doing a planned back flip so Station crewmembers could photograph its thermal protection system.

  Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly flew Discovery through the rendezvous pitch maneuver about 600 feet below the Station about an hour before docking. The photos taken by Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were transmitted to the ground before docking occurred at 6:18 a.m. CDT.

  Discovery, the first Shuttle to visit the Station since late 2002, and the orbiting laboratory linked up over the southern Pacific Ocean west of the South American coast. The photos from Discovery's approach and many others from ground, aircraft and Shuttle and Station cameras are being carefully analyzed by a team of about 200 people to ensure Discovery's thermal protection system is safe for re-entry.

  After the initial hugs and handshakes Krikalev gave a safety briefing for the new arrivals, Collins, Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda.

  Among early tasks for the joint crews was preparation for additional robotic arm surveys of the orbiter. Tomorrow's schedule includes time for additional focused inspections.

  Kelly and Lawrence, with help from Phillips, used the Station's Canadarm2 to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from Discovery and hand it to the Shuttle arm. Camarda and Thomas steered the Shuttle arm, which cannot grasp the boom directly with the Station in the way.

  Robinson and Noguchi, who will make three spacewalks at the Station, spent about an hour and a half getting equipment ready.

  Tasks on the spacewalks Saturday, Monday and Tuesday include testing thermal protection system repair techniques, replacement of one of four Station control gyros (which control the orbiting laboratory's orientation in space) and restoration of power to another. The spacewalkers also will install an external spare parts carrier on the outside of the Station's Quest airlock.

  Crewmembers were briefed on the loss of a piece of foam insulation from the external tank shortly after launch. The foam, seen by a camera on the tank making the first Shuttle flight in that position, did not appear to touch the orbiter. Shuttle managers determined that the cause of the foam loss needs to be understood and the problem fixed before Shuttle launches can resume.

  Discovery and Station crewmembers began scheduled sleep periods about 2:40 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Jul 28 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #06 

  The first full day of joint Space Shuttle and International Space Station operations will be highlighted by installation of a cargo transportation module, additional orbiter heat shield inspections and spacewalk preparations.

  Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by the song "Vertigo" by U2 played for Pilot Jim Kelly. Capcom Shannon Lucid noted during the wakeup call that Kelly, whose nickname is "Vegas," was promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Air Force recently. The Station crew was awakened at 11:09 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

  In this upcoming flight day, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Kelly will guide the Station's robot arm, Canadarm2, to pluck the Multi Purpose Logistics Module from Discovery's cargo bay and install it on the Station. The MPLM, called Raffaello, will be attached to the Station's Unity module. While the crew was asleep, the Station flight control team verified Unity's attach mechanism is ready for the addition.

  Kelly and Station Flight Engineer John Phillips will walk Canadarm2 off of the Destiny lab beginning at 4:39 a.m. CDT., onto the Mobile Base System for situational awareness views from its cameras for the survey. Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda and Kelly will begin additional focused inspections of Discovery's heat shield using the Shuttle arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System shortly after 6 a.m. Central time.

  Once the MPLM is in place, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Station Commander Sergei Krikalev will begin activation of the module about 7:49 a.m. CDT and will enter about two hours later, at 9:49 a.m. CDT.

  Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will participate in interviews with the Associated Press Radio Network, National Public Radio and the CBS Radio Network at 5:19 a.m. CDT.

  Additional preparations for Saturday's first spacewalk of the mission by Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will continue during the day with a review of EVA procedures and a checkout of a small rescue device known as SAFER, for Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, designed to allow an astronaut outside a spacecraft to return safety if they become untethered and separated from the spacecraft. Hatches between Discovery and Station will be closed as the Shuttle's cabin pressure is reduced to 10.2 psi for the pre-breathe period, during which spacewalkers will become gradually acclimated to the lower pressures of spacesuits.

  The crews of Discovery and the Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:39 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Jul 29 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #07 

  Space Shuttle and International Space Station crewmembers installed the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and began unloading the pressurized cargo carrier Friday. They also carried out a survey of selected areas of Discovery's thermal protection system and continued preparations for Saturday's spacewalk.

  Engineering analysis continues on the imagery collected so far, but no apparently serious problems with Discovery's heat shield have been noted. Mission Manager Wayne Hale said in a Friday afternoon press conference, "We're feeling very good about Discovery coming home."

  It was a very busy day for the crewmembers, Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, and the Station's commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips.

  Raffaello was unberthed from Discovery's cargo bay just before 1 a.m. CDT Friday by the Station's Canadarm2, operated by Lawrence and Kelly and attached to the Station's Unity Node. Hatches were opened a little after 10 a.m. Transfer of its cargo to the Station began soon thereafter. Crewmembers had begun transferring Station equipment and supplies from the Shuttle's mid-deck earlier.

  Preparations for the targeted survey of Discovery's thermal protection system began with Kelly and Phillips attaching the end of Canadarm2 to the Station's Mobile Base System. They subsequently detached the other end from the Destiny Laboratory so the arm could be used in its new position to provide situational awareness views of the survey with its cameras.

  Camarda and Kelly used the Shuttle's robot arm and the 50-foot Orbiter Boom Sensor System to look at six areas to determine if they had sustained damage. Mission managers said there was no indication of serious damage in early looks at downlink from that survey and earlier images. Detailed analysis of images starting with Discovery's Tuesday launch and continuing through Friday's survey was continuing.

  Noguchi and Robinson will make three spacewalks at the Station, and today they continued preparations for the first, scheduled to begin at 3:44 a.m. Saturday. They reviewed spacewalk procedures and checked out the SAFER, or Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, a rescue device to help a spacewalker who goes adrift return to the spacecraft.

  Hatches between Discovery and Station were closed as the Shuttle's cabin pressure was reduced to 10.2 psi for the pre-breathe period, during which spacewalkers became gradually acclimated to the lower pressures of space suits to avoid formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood. The excess air from the Shuttle was transferred to the Station to replenish its atmosphere.

  Collins and Thomas talked with reporters from the Associated Press Radio Network, National Public Radio and the CBS Radio Network beginning a little after 5:20 a.m. CDT.

• 2005 Jul 29 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #08 

  Astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will step outside for their first spacewalk, and the first of this mission, early Saturday. The six and a half hour spacewalk is scheduled to begin from Discovery's airlock at 3:44 a.m. CDT.

  Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:43 p.m. CDT by the Japanese song "Sanpo," sung by a group of children, including Noguchi's. The Station crew was awakened at 11:09 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

  Noguchi and Robinson's spacewalk preparations, including a pure oxygen pre-breathe and exercise procedure, will get underway at 12:39 a.m. CDT, with Intravehicular (IV) crewmember Andy Thomas' assistance. The procedure will purge the spacewalkers' blood of nitrogen to prevent the painful symptoms of "the bends" while wearing their low-pressure spacesuits.

  About the same time, Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will maneuver the Station's robotic arm into a position to support the spacewalk. At 12:55 a.m. CDT the pair will "walk off" Canadarm2 from the Mobile Base System to the Destiny lab and change its operating base. The arm will be operated by Shuttle Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence during the spacewalk to help install the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2) Attachment Device (ESPAD) onto Station.

  After the excursion begins and the spacewalkers have completed about an hour of tool setup, the first task is to test thermal protection system repair techniques. Noguchi and Robinson will work side-by-side in Discovery's cargo bay at a pallet of purposely damaged orbiter heat shield samples. They will practice the Emittance Wash Applicator (EWA) repair of tile samples and the NOAX (Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental) repair of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon samples.

  After the testing is complete, the pair will move on to their Station assembly tasks. They will install the ESPAD and associated cabling on the Station's Quest airlock so that the ESP-2 can be installed on top during the third spacewalk.

  Next, Noguchi will replace a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna on the Station's truss structure. At the same time, Robinson will retrieve tools for the second spacewalk's Control Moment Gyroscope-1 replacement and swap connectors to restore power to the Station's CMG-2. The last job will be for both crewmembers to route cabling for the ESP-2 installation on the third spacewalk.

  Once the spacewalk has begun and the Station's airlock's hatch is opened as an emergency door, the hatches between Discovery and Station will be re-opened so the crews can work together to support the spacewalk and continue transfer work. Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, Krikalev, Phillips and Lawrence will continue transferring water and other equipment to the Station from Discovery and the Raffaello cargo module. The hatches will be closed before the end of the spacewalk again to allow the crew to re-enter the Shuttle airlock. Once the crew is inside and the Shuttle's airlock is repressurized, the hatches will be re-opened.

  At 8:09 a.m. CDT, Kelly and Camarda are scheduled to perform additional surveys of Discovery's wing leading edge Reinforced Carbon-Carbon with the Shuttle arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System. They will use the sensors to focus on seven areas of interest along the port wing.

  The crews of Discovery and the Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:39 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Jul 30 - EVA STS-114-1  Crew: Robinson, Noguchi. EVA Type: Extra-Vehicular Activity. EVA Duration: 0.28 days.

  Robinson and Noguchi demonstrated Shuttle thermal protection repair techniques in the Shuttle bay. They also installed a stowage platform and rerouted power to ISS Control Moment Gyroscope-2 (CMG-2). They also brought into the station two materials exposure experiments.

• 2005 Jul 30 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #09 

  Space Shuttle Discovery's heat protective tiles and thermal blankets have been pronounced fit for entry after engineers reviewed the imagery and other data to judge their health. Analysis remains on the reinforced carbon-carbon wing leading edges and the protruding gap fillers identified earlier. Aerodynamics experts are evaluating the effect on surface heating that the gap fillers may cause to decide whether any work is necessary to reduce their size.

  Mission managers today also decided to extend Discovery's mission by one day to spend more time docked with the International Space Station. Astronauts are busy transferring more water and supplies to the ISS in case the next Shuttle mission is delayed. An additional 10 gallons of water was transferred along with a pair of laptop computers and other supplies.

  Astronauts Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency wrapped up a successful 6-hour, 50-minute spacewalk at 11:36 a.m. Saturday, completing a demonstration of Shuttle thermal protection repair techniques and enhancements to the Station's attitude control system.

  For the repair demonstration, they worked with tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon intentionally damaged on the ground and brought into space in Discovery's cargo bay. They tested an Emittance Wash Applicator for tile repair and Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental (NOAX) for the reinforced carbon-carbon samples.

  Helped by Astronaut Andy Thomas, who served as a coach and monitor from Shuttle's aft flight deck, they also installed a base and cabling for a stowage platform and rerouted power to Control Moment Gyroscope-2 (CMG-2), one of four 600-pound gyroscopes that control the orientation of the Station in orbit.

  CMG-2 has been healthy, but a faulty circuit breaker interrupted its power supply in March. Since that time the Station had operated successfully on two CMGs. About 9:20 a.m. Mission Control told the astronauts they saw power again flowing to CMG-2. Plans call for it to be spun up to its 6,600 rpm operating speed over the next several hours and subsequently put back into the attitude control mix. Another gyroscope, CMG-1 which failed in 2002, is to be replaced Monday on the second of three spacewalks. They also replaced a faulty global positioning system antenna on the Station.

  The spacewalk began at 4:46 a.m., after deliberate preparations delayed the planned start. The Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, had moved the orbiting laboratory's Canadarm2 into position to help Noguchi and Robinson's work. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence ran the arm, helping the spacewalkers install the stowage platform base.

  The spacewalkers had time for some get-ahead tasks near the end of their spacewalk, bringing in two experiments that exposed a variety of materials samples to the harsh vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. Noguchi also photographed some insulation on the port side of Discovery's cabin.

  Hatches between the Station and Discovery had been closed in preparation for the spacewalk. Once hatches were reopened, remaining crewmembers, Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, went about other tasks, including transfer of cargo from the Shuttle to the Station.

  Among those tasks was another survey of parts of Discovery's thermal protection system by the Shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Kelly and Camarda, operating the arm, focused their attention on seven areas of interest along the leading edge of Discovery's port wing.

  After analysis of many images taken of Discovery during and after its launch, including information from previous surveys like the one done Saturday, no damage that would threaten a safe landing by the Shuttle has been identified. About 25 dings have been seen on Discovery, compared to a mission average of 145 in missions before Columbia's loss.

• 2005 Jul 30 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #10 

  Transfers of additional water and supplies to the International Space Station will continue Sunday as the crew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery begins Flight Day 6. The STS-114 mission was formally extended by one day as mission managers Saturday decided to spend one more day docked to the ISS.

  Two additional collapsible water containers holding more than 10 gallons each are expected to be added to the cargo transfer list before the Shuttle leaves, bringing to 17 the number that will be left behind, a substantial increase in the amount of available water.

  ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier said in a Saturday news conference that the program was very happy to have the additional supplies and that the station's consumables status had improved considerably with Discovery's visit.

  Mission Manager Wayne Hale said Saturday that the added mission day will be added to the crew's schedule after the third spacewalk day.

  Hale also noted Saturday that Discovery's protective tiles and thermal blankets passed review and are cleared for entry. Analysis continues on the reinforced carbon-carbon areas and two protruding gap fillers.

  Also Sunday, astronauts will make preparations for the second spacewalk of the mission scheduled for Monday. Discovery's cabin pressure will be reduced to 10.2 psi to prepare Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for their work outside the spacecraft.

  Space Shuttle and Space Station crewmembers will participate in two separate in-flight interviews. Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda will talk to reporters with ABC News, Fox News and NBC's "Meet the Press" at 5:49 a.m. CDT. Collins, Robinson, Noguchi and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips will speak with CBS News, CNN and Discovery Channel reporters at 7:39 a.m.

  Discovery's crew was awakened at 11:11 p.m. CDT by the song "I'm Goin' Up," by Claire Lynch for Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. The Space Station crew was awakened about the same time by a tone onboard.

  The crews of Discovery and the Space Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Jul 31 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #11 

  The transfer of equipment and supplies from Discovery to the International Space Station and preparations for Monday's planned spacewalk by Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson were the focus of today's activities in space.

  Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Robinson, along with remaining Discovery crewmembers, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, worked on moving items from the Shuttle to the Station. They were helped by International Space Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips.

  Approximately six tons of hardware and equipment, including the 600-pound Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that will be installed on the exterior of the Station during Monday's spacewalk, will be moved from Discovery to the Station. Just over three and a half tons of material, including the replaced CMG, will return to Earth aboard Discovery.

  Noguchi, Robinson and Thomas prepared for Monday's spacewalk by setting up some of the tools they will use to install the new CMG outside the Station. Thomas will once again serve as coach and monitor inside Discovery during the spacewalk. Working from aboard the Station, Kelly and Lawrence will use the Station's Canadarm2 to maneuver Noguchi between the two spacecraft during the removal and installation of the CMGs. In preparation for that activity, Kelly and Lawrence "walked" the Station arm into position on the Destiny Laboratory. All nine crewmembers also participated in a review of spacewalk activities near the end of their working day.

  Collins, Kelly and Camarda talked with reporters from ABC News, Fox News and NBC at about 5:40 a.m. CDT. About 7:25 a.m. Collins, Noguchi, Robinson and Phillips talked with CBS News, CNN and Discovery Channel.

  Engineers and mission managers continued to analyze information about Discovery's thermal protection system. They have cleared the orbiter's tiles and a decision was expected later today on the analysis of reinforced carbon-carbon protection for the nose cone and wing leading edges.

  Mission managers continue to look at two gap-filler areas. These coated-fiber gap fillers are used to keep hot gas from flowing into gaps in the thermal protection, in these two cases, in tile-protected areas. Two gap fillers are protruding, and teams are working to determine whether any action is required by the crew.

• 2005 Jul 31 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #12 

  Now spacewalk veterans, Astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will step outside for the second of three planned spacewalks today at 3:14 a.m. CDT. The sole objective of the 6 ˝-hour excursion is to replace a failed International Space Station attitude control gyroscope.

  The pair will have about an hour of setup time after exiting Space Shuttle Discovery's airlock and positioning themselves at the Station's Z1 truss segment. Mission Control will shut down the failed Control Moment Gyroscope 1 (CMG1) about 4:09 a.m. CDT and then give a go for the spacewalkers to start removing it about 15 minutes later. Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will choreograph the activities from inside and relay information from Mission Control to the spacewalkers.

  Noguchi will take the failed CMG to Discovery's cargo bay while riding the Station's robot arm. He will temporarily store it until the new gyro is removed and the old one can be placed in its carrier with Robinson's help. Noguchi will then carry the new gyro at the end of the robot arm to the Z1 truss. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will operate Canadarm2 for the spacewalk.

  After it is installed, Station flight controllers will power up and check out the new gyroscope about 8:14 a.m. CDT and start it up at 8:39 a.m. CDT. With CMG1 replaced, the full complement of four gyroscopes will be available for Station operations. CMG2 has operated well since the spacewalkers restored power to it in the first spacewalk Saturday.

  Inside the orbiting complex, Station residents Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips and Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda will continue transferring equipment and supplies between the two vehicles. Collins will focus on collecting byproduct water from Discovery's power generation system for transfer to Station.

  Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:09 p.m. CDT by the song "Walk of Life," by Dire Straits for Robinson. The Space Station crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

  The crews of Discovery and the Space Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Aug 1 - EVA STS-114-2  Crew: Robinson, Noguchi. EVA Type: Extra-Vehicular Activity. EVA Duration: 0.30 days.

  Robinson and Noguchi replaced ISS Control Moment Gyroscope-1, leaving the Station with four functioning CMG's.

• 2005 Aug 1 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #13 

  STS-114 mission managers Monday gave the go-ahead for astronauts to remove two protruding gap fillers in Discovery's heat shield during a Wednesday space walk. Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will attempt to simply pull the thin fabric fillers from between tiles in the forward area of the orbiter's underside. If the pull method is unsuccessful, the two will have tools to cut the material flush with the surface.

  Spacewalk experts presented a plan to mission managers in Monday's Mission Management Team meeting. Space Shuttle Deputy Program Manager Wayne Hale, in a Monday afternoon briefing, said that with the level of uncertainty involved in flying a reentry with protruding gap fillers it was an easy decision to move ahead with a well-understood process for removing them.

  Early Monday, Robinson and Noguchi replaced a 600-pound gyroscope on the International Space Station, leaving the orbiting laboratory with a complete functional set of four. Called control moment gyros, or CMGs, the 600-pound devices maintain the Station's orientation in space, the way it is pointed and which part faces the Earth as it orbits the planet.

  The 7-hour, 14-minute spacewalk began at 3:42 a.m CDT. After leaving the Discovery airlock, Noguchi and Robinson made their way hand-over-hand to the Station's Z1 Truss, atop the Unity Node where the four CMGs are housed. There Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, attached himself to a foot platform at the end of the Station's Canadarm2, operated by Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence.

  Coached and monitored by Mission Specialist Andy Thomas on Discovery's aft flight deck, the spacewalkers removed CMG-1, which had failed in June 2002. Noguchi held it as the arm took him back to the rear of Discovery's cargo bay, where he and Robinson, who had moved back on his own, temporarily stowed it. They then took the new CMG from its cradle, and Noguchi held it while the arm moved him back to the Z1 Truss.

  There he and Robinson installed it in the space vacated by the failed device. That completed, flight controllers began the hours-long process of checking out the new CMG-1 and spinning it up to its 6,600 rpm operating speed.

  On the mission's first spacewalk on Saturday, Noguchi and Robinson had rerouted CMG-2's power supply. A faulty circuit breaker had interrupted that power supply in March. The two spacewalks leave the Station with four functioning CMG's. The station can hold its attitude on two, but more will be required as it grows.

  Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, along with the Station's Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, worked Monday on transferring cargo to and from the Station. The 3,768 pounds of up-bound cargo from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, which came to the Station in Discovery's cargo bay and then was attached to a docking port on the Unity Node, has been transferred to the Station. Work continues to stow it and to reload Raffaello with equipment and trash to be returned to Earth.

• 2005 Aug 1 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #14 

  The Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews will continue transferring equipment and supplies between the two vehicles today. They will also review updated tasks for the third planned spacewalk of the mission.

  Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:09 p.m. CDT by the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain," by Harry McClintock for Mission Specialist Andy Thomas. The Space Station crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

  Mission managers decided to remove two gap fillers that are protruding from areas between heat-shielding tile on the Shuttle's underbelly. It is a relatively simple process that can be accomplished as an add-on task to Wednesday's spacewalk.

  During the spacewalk, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will venture under the Space Shuttle on the tip of the Station's robotic arm, locate the protrusions and gently tug until they come out. If that does not work, Robinson will have tools to cut off the protrusions.

  Robinson, fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi and spacewalk choreographer Andy Thomas will spend time Tuesday assembling a hack saw for the removal job and reviewing the new procedure.

  All of the Shuttle and Station crewmembers will participate in a news conference at 4:59 a.m. CDT. Krikalev and Phillips will be interviewed by reporters at Mission Control Moscow at 5:45 a.m. CDT. It will be replayed with translation on NASA TV at 6:15 a.m. CDT.

  At 6:39 a.m. CDT Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will grapple the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2) and unberth it from Discovery's payload bay. This is in preparation for the hardware's installation at the beginning of Wednesday's spacewalk. Preparing the ESP-2 Tuesday provides the extra time for the tile gap filler task during the spacewalk.

  Before the Shuttle and Station crews go to sleep, the hatch will be closed between the two vehicles and the Shuttle's cabin will be depressurized to 10.2 psi on the eve of the last spacewalk. The crews are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Aug 2 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #15 

  Space Shuttle mission managers Tuesday cleared Discovery's wing leading edge heat shield for re-entry as they methodically deal with concerns over the protruding tile gap fillers. The mission management team also discussed a "puffed out" insulating blanket outside the commander's cockpit window and has decided it poses no risk of overheating during entry. Engineers will continue to analyze whether it could pose a debris problem if it came loose during aerodynamic flight.

  Discovery's astronauts worked much of today on preparations for Wednesday's gap filler repair spacewalk. Transfer of materials to and from the International Space Station continued with crewmembers of both spacecraft making good progress.

  Spacewalkers Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson spent an hour this morning beginning about 2:40 a.m. CDT with Mission Specialists Andy Thomas and Wendy Lawrence, and Pilot Jim Kelly on a review of spacewalk procedures. Thomas, as the intravehicular crewmember, will coach and monitor the spacewalkers, while Lawrence and Kelly will operate the Station's Canadarm2.

  That robotic arm will carry Robinson to the repair sites on the underside of the forward part of Discovery where he will either gently pull out the protruding gap fillers with his hand or with forceps, or remove the protrusions with a hacksaw.

  After the procedure review, Lawrence and Kelly spent the subsequent 45 minutes in computer training for the arm tasks, using the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics program, or DOUG. Meanwhile, the spacewalkers and Thomas worked on assembly of the hacksaw that would be used if other methods do not work.

  About 7:40 a.m. Lawrence and Kelly, using Canadarm2, unberthed External Stowage Platform 2 from Discovery's cargo bay. Noguchi and Robinson installed the platform's attachment device on the mission's first spacewalk on Saturday, and the platform itself is to be installed on the attachment device during Wednesday's spacewalk.

  After lunch on board, Noguchi, Robinson and Thomas worked on spacewalk tool configuration. Near the end of their work day, all nine crewmembers on board, including Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, did a spacewalk review.

  The spacewalkers began a prebreathe of pure oxygen about 10:50 a.m., a little more than an hour before hatches linking Discovery and the Station were closed so the Shuttle could be depressurized to 10.2 psi. Both the prebreathe and the depressurization were aimed at reducing the nitrogen content of the spacewalkers' blood to reduce the possibility of nitrogen bubble formation in their bloodstreams during the spacewalk. Wednesday's spacewalk is scheduled to begin at about 3:14 a.m. CDT.

  Late in the crew day Tuesday, astronauts received a phone call from President George Bush. The President thanked the crew for taking risks for the sake of exploration and wished them well in the remainder of their mission.

• 2005 Aug 2 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #16 

  The Space Shuttle Discovery crew begins their ninth day in space with preparations for the third spacewalk of the mission. This extravehicular activity (EVA) was a preplanned activity for the mission, but now includes a new task -- repair of two protruding gap fillers between tiles on the bottom the Shuttle.

  The crew began the day waking up at 10:09 p.m. CDT to "Where My Heart Will Take Me," the theme song from Star Trek: Enterprise. The song, composed by Dennis McCarthy, was selected for the crew as a surprise dedication from the Deputy Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale. The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew of Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips woke 30 minutes later.

  Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi are scheduled to begin their third spacewalk at 3:14 a.m. CDT as they exit out of the Space Shuttle airlock. The two will be assisted by Andy Thomas, serving as the intravehicular officer overseeing the spacewalk from inside, as well as Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda who will be supporting various robotic arm activities throughout the day.

  The spacewalk is scheduled to last about 7 hours. The first task entails Kelly and Lawrence maneuvering the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2), via the Station's robotic arm, which they pulled from Discovery's payload bay earlier today, onto the Station. As the ESP-2 reaches its final position, Robinson and Noguchi will guide the structure and secure it into place. With that task complete, Lawrence and Kelly will conduct a "walk off" maneuver of the Station robotic arm, by attaching the "free" end to the Mobile Base System and releasing the other end from the Destiny Laboratory module to where it will be needed as a platform for Robinson later in the EVA.

  The two spacewalkers will move on to individual tasks, with Noguchi installing the Materials International Space Station Experiment-5 (MISSE-5), a materials experiment that will study the degradation of solar cell samples in the space environment. He'll then remove the Rotary Joint Motor Controller from the Space Station truss before proceeding to a support position to assist Robinson in his final tasks.

  Meanwhile, Kelly will work with Camarda, using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to inspect repair demonstration tiles inside the Shuttle's payload bay. Later, Camarda will also work with Krikalev and Phillips to continue stowing supplies and equipment inside Discovery and the Station. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will monitor and supervise all the activities.

  Robinson, now attached to the Station robotic arm, will attempt to repair two tile gap filler protrusions located on the underside of Discovery. He will first try to gently pull out the protruding material, and if need be, remove by trimming with a hacksaw.

  Gap fillers are used in areas to restrict the flow of hot gas into the gaps between Thermal Protection System components. They consist of a layer of coated Nextel fabric and are normally about 0.020-inch thick. These protrusions were identified from photos taken during the rendezvous pitch maneuver conducted on flight day three, as Discovery approached the orbiting Space Station.

  The crews are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Aug 3 - EVA STS-114-3  Crew: Robinson, Noguchi. EVA Type: Extra-Vehicular Activity. EVA Duration: 0.25 days.

  Robinson pulled two protruding gap fillers from between thermal protection tiles on Discovery's underside. Robinson and Noguchi also installed an external spare parts stowage platform outside the station and a materials exposure experiment.

• 2005 Aug 3 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #17 

  Despite days of anticipation and intense planning, space-walking astronaut Steve Robinson made it look easy as he gently pulled two protruding gap fillers from between thermal protection tiles on Discovery's underside Wednesday morning.

  "It looks like this big patient is cured," Robinson told delighted flight controllers.

  Fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency helped Robinson with preparations, and from a perch near the end of a Space Station truss acted as observer and communication relay station between Robinson and astronaut Andy Thomas aboard Discovery. Thomas was the onboard coach and monitor for Robinson and Noguchi throughout the 6-hour 1-minute spacewalk. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence operated the Station's Canadarm2, which moved Robinson to and from the worksite. Today's spacewalk, the third of the mission, began at 3:48 a.m. CDT and concluded at 9:49 a.m.

  Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, in Wednesday's afternoon briefing, said "The crew demonstrated consummate professionalism and coolness beyond belief. They [the gap fillers] came out just as we thought they would. It looked easy but was not, which is a tribute to the crew and the team on the ground that planned it, so we're proud of that."

  Gap fillers like those Robinson removed today are thin, coated Nextel fabric. The protruding gap fillers were identified in photos taken by Station crewmembers using telephoto lenses as Discovery did a slow back flip about 600 feet below before docking.

  During the spacewalk Noguchi and Robinson, helped by the Station's robotic arm, installed an external stowage platform outside the station that will be used to house spare parts. Noguchi also installed another Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). Like its predecessors, MISSE 5 exposes samples of various materials to the harsh space environment for several months.

  In other activities, Kelly worked with Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda on an inspection of the repair demonstration tiles in Discovery's cargo bay. Using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, they looked at tiles brought up for an experimental repair by Robinson and Noguchi on the mission's first spacewalk Saturday.

  Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, continued to stow equipment and supplies on the Station and Shuttle. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins operated shuttle systems and supervised activities.

  Hale also said the only part of Discovery's heat shield not yet cleared for entry is a bulging thermal blanket below the Shuttle commander's window. Managers will meet Thursday morning to review tests to help determine whether the blanket might pose a concern for entry.

• 2005 Aug 3 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #18 

  After an eventful day supporting the third spacewalk of the mission, a light duty day of transfer activities, special events and time off lies ahead for the Space Shuttle Discovery crew as they begin their tenth day in space.

  The seven-member Shuttle crew awoke to the well-known country song "Amarillo by Morning," performed by George Strait, at 10:09 p.m. CDT. Their Station counterparts, the Expedition 11 crew of Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, woke up 30 minutes later.

  The morning includes an in-flight media interview for Commander Eileen Collins, and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Charlie Camarda. Elsewhere on the complex, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will be performing a few robotic arm operations, as they release the Station's Canadarm2 from the Mobile Base System and attach it to the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). That task is being done in preparation for return of the MPLM to Discovery's payload bay.

  Midway through the crew day, at about 4:19 a.m. CDT, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Collins will participate in a special video conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi; and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nariaki Nakayama. JAXA Astronaut Dr. Mamoru Mohri and several Japanese students and citizens will also participate in the call.

  Later, Robinson, Camarda and Noguchi will continue stowage of equipment and supplies in the MPLM on the Shuttle and Space Station. Phillips and Krikalev will help with that activity as well before all of the crewmembers stop to share a special evening meal together.

  About an hour later, at 7:04 a.m. CDT, the joint crews have planned a commemorative in-flight event paying tribute to the STS-107 Columbia crew. That event will air on NASA TV. The remainder of the day will be off-duty time for the Shuttle crew as they prepare for the final days of their mission.

  Phillips and Krikalev will spend about two hours configuring the Common Berthing Mechanism for the MPLM removal before ending their workday with routine daily planning conference with ground controllers.

• 2005 Aug 4 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #19 

  Space Shuttle Discovery's heat shield is cleared for the return to Earth early Monday after mission managers decided today that a fourth spacewalk to deal with a puffed out thermal blanket is unnecessary. Wind tunnel tests overnight at NASA's Ames Research Center in California showed little chance of any significant debris coming from the blanket at supersonic speeds. Further engineering analysis showed any debris released from the blanket was unlikely to hit structures on Discovery.

  Thursday's Mission Management Team decision put to rest the work that was being done to assess the health of the thermal protection system. The tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon on Discovery's wings and nose were cleared earlier for entry.

  Discovery and International Space Station crewmembers Thursday delivered a moving tribute to members of the Columbia crew and others, astronauts and cosmonauts, who lost their lives in the human exploration of space.

  Each crewmember, in red shirt with Columbia's STS-107 mission patch spoke during the tribute as the docked spacecraft flew over the southern Indian Ocean approaching a sunset. Station Science Officer John Phillips said: "To the crew of Columbia, as well as the crews of Challenger, Apollo 1, Soyuz 1 and 11, and to those who have courageously given so much, we now offer our enduring thanks."

  Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency repeated Phillips' words in Japanese during the tribute, and Station Commander Sergei Krikalev spoke them in Russian.

  After their successful Wednesday spacewalk, Discovery and Station crewmembers continued transfer activities, mostly packing the Multi-Purpose Logistic Module Raffaello with items from the Station. The pressurized cargo carrier is to be unberthed Friday from the Station's Unity Node and returned to Discovery's cargo bay for the trip back to Earth.

  Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence attached the Station's Canadarm2 to Raffaello in preparation for its unberthing.

  Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, spacewalking Mission Specialist Steve Robinson and Mission Specialist Charlie Carmada talked with reporters from the Associated Press and NBC. A little later Collins and Noguchi spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri and others, including Japanese students.

  Crewmembers had an hour together for a common meal, then the seven Discovery astronauts had the afternoon off. The Station crew spent about two hours preparing equipment for the unberthing of Raffaello.

• 2005 Aug 4 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #20 

  Now in their eleventh day of the mission and with three successful spacewalks behind them, the STS-114 crew of Space Shuttle Discovery is slated to begin preparations for undocking and the final day with their International Space Station counterparts. Their activities for the day include final equipment transfers, stowage and return of the robotic arm, boom and cargo container to the Shuttle payload bay.

  "Anchors Aweigh" was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for the day, played at 9:15 p.m. CDT. The song was dedicated to Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence at the request of Commander Eileen Collins. Space Station Expedition 11 crewmates John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev woke 30 minutes later.

  The first tasks of the day center on preparation of the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) for its berthing back into Discovery's cargo bay. That module was removed from Discovery on Flight Day 4, mated to the Station and unloaded. Discovery and the MPLM are now loaded with 7,055 lbs. of unneeded equipment and trash for return to Earth.

  Pilot Jim Kelly and Lawrence will operate the Station robotic arm later in the day to move Raffaello from the Station and gently place it back into Discovery's cargo bay at 6:34 a.m. CDT. Then, joined by Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas, the four will use the Shuttle arm to return the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to its secured position on the sill of the payload bay for the ride back to Earth.

  Throughout the day, the on-orbit team will continue with stowing equipment on Discovery's middeck and configurations for undocking, including Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson and Thomas making final configurations and stowage of the spacesuits.

  Both crews are scheduled for sleep at 1:09 p.m. CDT Friday with hatch closing and undocking scheduled early Saturday morning.

• 2005 Aug 5 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #21 

  Discovery astronauts and their hosts on the International Space Station undocked the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the Station's Unity Node Friday and reberthed it in the Shuttle's cargo bay.

  Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, also made preparations for Saturday's undocking of the orbiter. Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, helped.

  Raffaello is loaded with more than 5,000 pounds of items bound for Earth, including equipment, experiment results and even personal gear of crewmembers dating back to Expedition 6, which left the Station in May 2003. Items for return to Earth have accumulated aboard the orbiting laboratory since the last Shuttle visit in December 2002.

  Lawrence and Kelly used the station arm to unberth the module and return it to Discovery. The berthing was completed at 9:03 a.m. CDT. Raffaello, one of three pressurized cargo carrying modules built in Italy for use aboard the Shuttle, brought 3,768 pounds of equipment and supplies to the Station.

  After Raffaello was secured in Discovery's cargo bay, Camarda and Thomas used the Shuttle arm to hand off the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to the Station arm. Lawrence and Kelly reberthed the OBSS in its position on the starboard sill of the cargo bay.

  After that operation, Lawrence radioed congratulations to those on the ground for the performance of the Canadian-built OBSS and robotic arms. She and Kelly radioed down the Halleluiah Chorus from Handel's Messiah to emphasize those congratulatory words.

  Discovery is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday. Landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for 3:46 a.m. CDT Monday.

• 2005 Aug 6 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #22 

  After more than a week of working together in space, the Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews bid each other farewell tonight.

  Following a crew farewell ceremony at 11:36 p.m. CDT, hatches between the spacecraft were closed at 12:14 a.m. CDT, with Discovery's undocking planned for 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday morning.

  "The Air Force Song" was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for the day, played at 9:09 p.m. CDT. The song was dedicated to Pilot Jim Kelly, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, at the request of Commander Eileen Collins. Space Station Expedition 11 crewmates John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev woke 30 minutes later.

  After Discovery undocks from the Station, with Kelly at the controls, the Shuttle will fly around the Space Station about 400 feet away to allow the Shuttle crew to take photographs of the complex.

  The flyaround maneuver will begin at 2:54 a.m. CDT, and Discovery's final separation from the Station begins with an engine firing at 4:09 a.m. CDT.

  The majority of the rest of the day will be free time for Discovery and the Station crew.

  Discovery's crew, including Collins, Kelly and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Soichi Noguchi, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, is scheduled for sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT Saturday.

  The Station crew, which will soon begin working back toward its normal workday hours, is scheduled to sleep at 1:09 p.m. CDT.

• 2005 Aug 6 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #23 

  Discovery is flying solo today, following its early morning departure from the International Space Station, concluding nine days of cooperative work between the two crews.

  Pilot Jim Kelly was at the controls as latches between the two vehicles were released and Discovery began to back gently away from the Station. Undocking occurred at 2:24 a.m. CD