STS-121
The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the Columbia disaster of February 2003 as well as to deliver supplies, equipment and German European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter to the ISS.British-born astronaut Piers Sellers replaced Carlos Noriega who was originally scheduled to be on the STS-121 mission NASA announced on Thursday, July 15, 2004.The launch of the STS-121 mission was delayed until July 2006 as well, due to an unresolved foam debris and the Engine Cut Off (ECO) sensor issue from STS-114.On May 12, 2006, Discovery was moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it was mated to its External Tank and SRBs.For much of the time the shuttle was at the ISS the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo was mated and accessible to the crew for the transfer of equipment, supplies, returned experiments and trash.If we scrub today due to weather, mission managers will meet later to decide if they want to make a third consecutive launch attempt or stand down for one day and try again on Tuesday."The shuttle's fuel cells were replenished to improve the chances of having enough electrical power on orbit to enable the third planned space walk to take place.At 08:35 the backup circuit breaker controlling the primary heaters on the segment joints of both solid rocket boosters were noticed to have failed.The orbital maneuvering system thruster in which a heater failed prior to launch (see Pre-launch concerns) was warmed by pointing it at the sun, enabling it to be used during ISS rendezvous docking operations.En route to the ISS, the 50-foot (15 m)-long Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) tipped with two types of lasers and a high-resolution television camera was used to inspect the underside of the shuttle for damage.The post mission management team briefing after flight day 2 revealed that the inspections had found that a gap filler was protruding on the port side lower wing, not a location of particular concern.The results of analysis of data collected by the wing leading edge sensors were discussed in the post mission management meeting briefing at the conclusion of flight day 4.First Piers Sellers worked alone; then Mike Fossum joined him – when both are on the arm they attempted increasingly vigorous operations that simulate various potential repair scenarios.Initial reports from Michael Fossum and Piers Sellers suggested that the boom was damping out motion rapidly, making it a good work platform.They deployed a spare pump module and replaced a reel of umbilical cable carrying power, data and video for operating the station's Mobile Transporter rail car.Leonardo will be returned Friday to the payload bay packed with more than 4,300 pounds of science experiment results, unneeded items and trash.At 10:35 EDT, President George W. Bush had a private telephone conversation with the crew, during which he told the astronauts that they represent the best of service and exploration, and thanked them for the job they are doing.[11] Pilot Mark Kelly suggested during an on-orbit press conference that the wake-up songs should be made known to the crew before they are woken up by them when he said: Sometimes we know ahead of time what the music is going to be and who it's for, other times it's a complete surprise and you just get woken up by it and have to scrabble around thinking of something profound to say about it.A third and final spacewalk to demonstrate shuttle repair techniques was carried out by Sellers and Fossum.Repairs were done on pre-damaged samples of heat shield materials brought into space on a special pallet in the payload bay of the shuttle.The repairs were expected to work best when the material has been warm and is cooling, so the actions were carefully coordinated by mission control with regard to exposure of the samples to sunlight.Expedition 13 crewmember Jeffrey Williams confirmed steps and final procedures for closeout of the MPLM which will be relocated from the International Space Station to Discovery's payload bay.Ultimately, tests performed after ISS undocking increased confidence in the integrity of the APU to the point where mission controllers decided to use the unit as normal for the re-entry.CAPCOM – those responsible for speaking on the radio to the Shuttle from mission control were: Steve Frick / Rick Sturckow During Ascent/Descent; Rick Mastracchio / Lee Archambault while in Orbit; Julie Payette for ISS Operations The launch director was Michael D. Leinbach; the flight director's position in mission control was held by Steve Stich during launch and re-entry and by Tony Ceccacci / Norm Knight during orbital operations.[19] One of the contingency plans most likely to be put into action was a landing at alternate site (primarily Dryden Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base) in the event of bad weather at KSC.The crew for this mission was a 4-person subset of the full STS-121 crew:[20] Following the flight readiness review meeting which concluded on June 17, 2006, NASA's Chief Engineer Christopher Scolese and Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer Bryan O'Connor, who served as pilot on STS-61-B and commanded STS-40, decided that from their point of view they were going to recommend that the shuttle not be flown.O'Connor later expanded this to explain that this is due to the potential for the loss of the vehicle; he supported the collective decision to fly, however, especially given the option for the crew to stay on the ISS and await rescue if the shuttle is unable to return to earth.The Flight Readiness Review board and the administrator have heard all the different engineering positions, including ours, and have made an informed decision and the agency is accepting this risk with its eyes wide open.NASA's public affairs office had said following the flight readiness review that O'Connor and Scolese would not talk to the media about their objections.On the morning of the first launch attempt, on July 1, concerns included weather, external fuel tank foam, and a thruster failure.The thruster failure was detected via abnormally low thermostat readings in one of the left Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods.
Space Transportation SystemCOSPAR IDSATCAT no.Space ShuttleDiscoverySteven LindseyMark KellyMichael E. FossumLisa NowakStephanie WilsonPiers SellersThomas ReiterKennedyLC-39BSLF Runway 15GeocentricLow EarthPerigee altitudeApogee altitudeInclinationPeriodWilsonFossumLindseySellersReiterSpace Shuttle programSTS-114STS-115International Space StationColumbia disasterEuropean Space AgencyIndependence DayColumbia Accident Investigation BoardPositionExpedition 13Sergey VolkovCarlos NoriegaColumbiathermal protection systemColumbia accidentSTS-118International Space Station flightEndeavourHubble Space TelescopeSTS-120September 2005August 2006Orbiter Processing FacilityVehicle Assembly BuildingExternal Tanklaunch windowMulti Purpose Logistics ModuleMinus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISSincubatorcentrifugesAmes Research CenterproposedElektronZvezdaDestiny Laboratory ModuleIntegrated Cargo CarrierTimeline of STS-121Multi-Purpose Logistics Modulespacewalksturkey vultureroadkillfuel cellssolid rocket boostersSpace Shuttle DiscoveryCape CanaveralOrbiter Boom Sensor Systembird droppingsrendezvous pitch maneuverSoyuz spacecraftspace station'sUnity moduleShuttle's CanadarmCanadarm2spacesuitPresidentGeorge W. BushoffgassingRick PerryTexas A&M UniversityFox News LiveJeffrey Williamsauxiliary power unitAtmospheric reentryKennedy Space CenterShuttle Landing FacilitySTS-116Pavel VinogradovCAPCOMmission controlSteve FrickRick SturckowRick MastracchioLee ArchambaultJulie Payetteflight director'sGeminiLift Every Voice and SingDanielElton JohnGood Day SunshineThe BeatlesMarc ByrdSteve HindalongMike FossumI Have a DreamClocksColdplayAll StarSmash MouthI Believe I Can FlyR. KellyCharlie's AngelsThe Texas Aggie War HymnTexas AggieBeautiful DayGabby GiffordsJust Like HeavenThe CureSomething Corporateabort modes