Crews Focusing on Logistics Module Transfer

 

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:40:17 PM UTC+0200

 

Gloria Estefan’s “Mi Tierra” was played for space shuttle Discovery Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Discovery and International Space Station crew members will focus on the transfer of the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from Discovery’s payload bay to the station’s Harmony node. Later, the crew will open Leonardo’s hatch and move the new life support and science research racks into the space station.

At 4 p.m., NASA television will air a post-Mission Management Team news briefing with Space Shuttle Program Deputy Manager and MMT Chairman LeRoy Cain.

Crews Moving Cargo Module, Preparing for Spacewalk

The combined crews of space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station are starting the first of eight days of joint operations. With the successful docking last night, the crews will focus on transfer work and spacewalks.

Pilot Kevin Ford and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will use the station robotic arm to move the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) from Discovery’s payload bay to the Earth-facing port on the station’s Harmony module. They’re expected to start the nearly three-hour maneuver just after 3:30 p.m. EDT. Mission specialists Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency and Tim Kopra will assist with the attachment and activation activity. After leak checks and pressurization, the teams are expected to open the hatches to the cargo module at 1:34 a.m. Tuesday.

The MPLM is carrying 15,000 pounds of supplies and equipment for use on the station, including more science facilities. The crew will spend the next several days unloading the hardware.

Meanwhile, transfer of equipment from the shuttle’s middeck will get under way. Mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez and Danny Olivas will carry over items from the shuttle to the station, including the spacesuits to be used in the upcoming spacewalks. Shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow will assist with transfer as well as monitor shuttle systems.

Flight Engineer Nicole Stott, whose rotation with Kopra on the station crew was made official yesterday, will conduct some transfer work and familiarization of her new home in space. She will join Olivas to set up their tools for tomorrow’s spacewalk. The two will be joined later by all of the U.S. crew members and station Commander Gennady Padalka for a procedures review for that spacewalk.

Source: NASA