Space Shuttle Endeavour in VAB for Final Lift and Mate to Rocket Boosters. Endeavour was attached for the last time to External fuel tank and Solid Rocket Boosters that will power her last ascent to space on the STS-134 mission in April 2011. Then she will be retired from active duty service and sit in a museum yet to be chosen. All the orbiters could be usefully flown for many more years but for lack of money from the US Federal Government. Credit: Ken Kremer
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For the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, I was privileged to be one of the lucky few to be an eyewitness to how the orbiter was hoisted and attached for the last time to the External fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters that will power her last ascent to space on the STS-134 mission . Thereafter she will be retired from active duty service.
“Lift and Mate” is the formal name for the nearly day and a half long intricate process to join Endeavour to the fuel tank and rocket boosters and took place after the orbiter was hauled inside the 52 story Vehicle Assembly Building atop a 76 wheeled transporter on Feb. 28.
Workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) secure yellow metal sling to Endeavour prior to lift from the VAB transfer aisle into High Bay 3 on 1 March 2011. Credit: Ken Kremer
Lift and Mate is a jaw dropping and unforgettable experience because you see the orbiter suspended in mid air as though it was flying in space. While hanging in the air by thin cables, the 100 ton orbiter is reminiscent to me of what astronauts on the International Space Station surely see as the shuttle approaches for docking.
Following the shuttles rollover to the VAB on top on the transporter, technicians initially attached a large yellow, metal sling to Endeavour in the center area of the VAB – known as the transfer aisle.
Endeavour was then slowly and methodically hoisted on pulleys and chains into the vertical position. The tail came to rest just a few meters from the hard and unforgiving concrete floor. The orbiter was then lifted up to the VAB ceiling and carefully moved over walkways into High Bay 3. Media including myself watched this entire process in total awe from several different levels inside the VAB as Endeavour was lifted past us from just a few meters away.
The final step was to lower Endeavour into position for mating to the fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already awaiting her arrival.
Its hard to believe I was really an eyewitness to this majestic event and also sadly realize it will never happen again.
“The orbiter has a lot of life left in her,” said a top shuttle manager to me. “The shuttle could fly many more missions.”
Large yellow sling set to be attached to Endeavour. Credit: Ken Kremer
NASA will rollout Endeavour to Launch Pad 39 A on March 9 following the landing of Space Shuttle Discovery.
The STS-134 mission will be the 25th and final flight for shuttle Endeavour. Launch is set for April 19. Endeavour will haul the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to orbit and attach it to the ISS. AMS will search for dark matter and seek to determine the origin of the universe.
Check out the majestic views of “Lift and Mate” for Space Shuttle Endeavour in my photo album herein
Final “Lift and Mate” of Space Shuttle Endeavour. Photos by Ken Kremer
Space Shuttle Endeavour in VAB for Lift and Mate. Credit: Ken KremerOverhead view of Space Shuttle Endeavour in VAB for Lift and Mate. Credit: Ken KremerOverhead view of Space Shuttle Endeavour in VAB for Lift and Mate from Level 16. Credit: Ken KremerBelly view of Space Shuttle Endeavour coated with thousands of heat shield tiles. Two rectangular attach points hold left and right side main separation bolts from ET Credit: Ken KremerLifting Endeavour. Credit: Ken KremerBelly view of Space Shuttle Endeavour and heat shield tiles. Credit: Ken KremerEndeavour goes Vertical. Credit: Ken KremerRotating Vertical Endeavour. Credit: Ken KremerLowering Endeavour to Solid Rocket Boosters and External fuel tank inside VAB. Credit: Ken KremerLowering Endeavour in High Bay 3 to SRBs and ET inside VAB. Credit: Ken KremerLowering Endeavour to SRB’s and ET inside VAB. Credit: Ken KremerLowering Endeavour to SRB’s and ET inside VAB. Credit: Ken KremerEndeavour disappears behind scaffolding while it is lowered to SRB’s and ET inside VAB. Credit: Ken KremerEndeavour disappears behind scaffolding while it is lowered to SRB’s and ET inside VAB. Tip of ET visible here above nose of Endeavour. Credit: Ken KremerKen Kremer and Space Shuttle Endeavour in the VAB for Lift and Mate to Booster rocket
Discovery and ISS pass over the UK on March 7, 2011, captured by Will Gater.
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UPDATE: We’ve already got a sighting! The image above was taken this evening in the UK by science writer Will Gater.
Space shuttle Discovery undocked from the ISS on early Monday, March 7, and depending where you live, you might have an opportunity to see the two spaceships flying in tandem. This is an incredible sight, and will be the last opportunity to see Discovery in orbit, as she will be retired after she lands and completes the STS-133 mission. Spaceweather.com reports that the station and shuttle will be flying over parts of the United States and Europe Monday and Tuesday, appearing in the night sky as a closely-spaced pair of bright lights. The ISS is bigger, so will appear as the brighter object trailing the smaller Discovery as they move across the sky.
To find out if you’ll be able to see the two spaceships in your area, there are a few different sites to check out:
NASA has a Skywatch page where you can find your specific city to look for satellite sighting info.
Spaceweather.com, has a Satellite Tracker Tool. Just put in your zip code (good for the US and Canada) to find out what satellites will be flying over your house.
Heaven’s Above also has a city search, but also you can input your exact latitude and longitude for exact sighting information, helpful if you live out in the country.
Seeing the two spacecraft flying closely in tandem is a very unique and thrilling sight. Good luck!
Below, watch some of the incredible views as Discovery performed the fly-around maneuver of the ISS early Monday.
Freedom Star tows Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) from Discovery’s last llight. NASA’s Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ship - Freedom Star - tows one of Discovery’s booster from the Atlantic Ocean into the entrance of Port Canaveral on its journey to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Seagulls help guide NASA’s Navy into port. Credit: Ken Kremer
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As the Space Shuttle program quickly winds down, one of the lesser known facts is that the public can get a free bird’s eye view of the ocean retrieval of the mighty Solid Rocket Boosters which power the orbiters majestic climb to space. All you have to do is stand along the canal of Port Canaveral, Florida as the rockets float by on their journey to a processing hanger at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
And if you own a boat you can sail right along side for the thrilling ride as the boosters are towed by ship from the Atlantic Ocean into the entrance of Port Canaveral. It’s the same route traveled by the humongous cruise ships setting sail for distant ports on Earth.
The two SRB’s and associated flight hardware are retrieved after they splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean following every shuttle launch by the NASA owed ships named Freedom Star and Liberty Star.
Discovery SRB in tow in the Atlantic Ocean by Freedom Star Retrieval Ship. Credit: Ken Kremer
Freedom Star and Liberty Star are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. The ships then sail to the SRB splashdown point and divers are deployed to attach tow lines, haul in the parachutes used to slow the descent and install dewatering equipment.
Each vessel tows one SRB all the way from the Atlantic Ocean into Port Canaveral and then through the locks to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After the spent segments are decontaminated and cleaned, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed. Discovery SRB in tow past a flock of birds at Atlantic Ocean entrance to Port Canaveral. Credit: Ken Kremer
The unique ships were specifically designed and constructed to recover the SRB’s. The SRB’s separate from the orbiter about two minutes after liftoff. They impact in the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and some 100 nautical miles downrange from the launch pad off the Florida coastline.
The STS-133 mission was launched from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 24 on Discovery’s 39th and last space flight. Landing is slated for March 8 at 11:36 a.m. at KSC.
The all veteran six person crew has successfully attached the Leonardo storage module and completed two space walks. Leonardo is packed with the R2 humanoid robot and tons of science gear, spare parts, food and water.
Photo album: Recovery and Retrieval of Solid Rocket Boosters from Space Shuttle Discovery’s final flight to space on STS-133 mission.
Close up of forward segments of SRB in tow minus the nose cap which separates at 2.5 nautical miles altitude and releases a parachute. Lighthouse in the background. Credit: Ken KremerFreedom Star - NASA’s Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ship. Credit: Ken KremerPleasure boats navigate for birds eye view alongside water retrieval of the shuttles Solid Rocket Boosters in Port Canaveral. Credit: Ken KremerRear view to SRB Aft Skirt from the Jetty Park Pier at Port Canaveral. Credit: Ken Kremer Onlookers fish from rocky outcrops as SRB’s - which generate 3 million pounds of liftoff thrust - float by on a gorgeous afternoon in sunny Florida. What an incredible sight ! Credit: Ken Kremer Liberty Star with SRB alongside in hip tow position in Port Canaveral. Frustrum of a forward aft skirt assembly is visible on deck of Liberty Star at left. Credit: Ken KremerClose up of Frustrum of a forward aft skirt SRB assembly on deck of Liberty Star in Port Canaveral. Credit: Ken KremerNASA’s Freedom Star and Liberty Star Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ships
docked in Port Canaveral. Both of NASA’s SRB retrieval ships are pictured here with boosters alongside. Credit: Ken KremerKen Kremer at tow back of Discovery’s SRB’s by NASA’s Retrieval Ship Freedom Star. Credit: Urijan Poerink
The ISS and shuttle Discovery as captured -- and annotated -- by Thierry Legault
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Run — don’t walk — to astrophotographer Thierry Legault’s website to see his latest incredible video of the International Space Station and a docked space shuttle Discovery. He sent us a note that he had great “seeing” from Weimar, Germany on Monday evening, where he has set up shop in order to capture the orbiting spacecraft as many times as possible during the STS-133 mission. The detail is stunning, — more detail even than his previous video from last weekend — as evidenced in the annotated image above. Legault has even created a 3-D movie — no special 3-D glasses required. He has instructions on his website of how to cross your eyes and squint to get the 3-D effect. “This method may require a bit of training if you are not used to squinting but it gives a very realistic view,” Legault explained. See the videos and find out how he creates these amazing views on his website.
It may seem illogical, but boiling is a very efficient way to cool engineering components and systems used in the extreme environments of space.
An experiment to gain a basic understanding of this phenomena launched to the International Space Station on space shuttle Discovery Feb. 24. The Nucleate Pool Boiling Experiment, or NPBX, is one of two experiments in the new Boiling eXperiment Facility, or BXF.
Nucleate boiling is bubble growth from a heated surface and the subsequent detachment of the bubble to a cooler surrounding liquid. As a result, these bubbles can efficiently transfer energy from the boiling surface into the surrounding fluid. This investigation provides an understanding of heat transfer and vapor removal processes that happen during nucleate boiling in microgravity. Researchers will glean information to better design and operate space systems that use boiling for efficient heat removal.
Bubbles in microgravity grow to different sizes than on Earth. This experiment will focus on the dynamics of single and multiple bubbles and the associated heat transfer.
NPBX uses a polished aluminum wafer, powered by heaters bonded to its backside, and five fabricated cavities that can be controlled individually. The experiment will study single and/or multiple bubbles generated at these cavities. It will measure the power supplied to each heater group, and cameras will record the bubble dynamics. Analysis of the heater power data and recorded images will allow investigators to determine how bubble dynamics and heat transfer differ in microgravity.
“With boiling, the size and weight of heat exchange equipment used in space systems can be significantly reduced,” said Vijay Dhir, the experiment’s principal investigator at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Boiling and multiphase heat transfer is an enabling technology for space exploration missions including storage and handling of cryogenic, or extremely low temperature liquids, life support systems, power generation and thermal management.”
“The cost of transporting equipment to space depends on the size and weight of the equipment,” added David Chao, the project scientist from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “The knowledge base that will be developed through the experiment will give us the capability to achieve cooling of various components and systems used in space in an efficient manner and could lead to smaller and lighter spacecraft.”
Discovery docked at the ISS for the STS-133 mission, with the robotic Dextre system in the foreground. Credit: NASA
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The international partners have decided against an historic ‘fly-about’ of the International Space Station, which would have provided one-of-a-kind images of the nearly completed ISS with space shuttle Discovery and an assortment of vehicles from the different participating space agencies docked to the station.
“This morning, our Russian colleagues, after doing their own independent review processes … have determined that they are not in position to recommend doing the fly about, because this particular vehicle is what they consider a new vehicle, the Series 700 vehicle, which is in its maiden flight,” said Kenneth Todd, a manager for Mission Integration and Operations at NASA, speaking at a mission briefing this morning.
The Russians felt they didn’t have the time or opportunity to fully understand, review and work through all the risks of the request of flying the Soyuz around the ISS, an idea which was presented only recently, and after the new Soyuz had already launched to orbit.
“From a MMT perspective, we knew it was critical for all partners to go through their processes,” Todd said. “It wasn’t necessarily what we were hoping to get back, but at the same point I applaud the Russians for doing the right thing, for not disregarding their own processes and making sure they do their own due diligence the way they should. I accepted the recommendation.”
Mission Control in Houston radioed up to ISS commander Scott Kelly and STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey that the possible Soyuz fly about was a no-go, even though mission managers had already approved an extra day extension of the shuttle mission.
“We’ll now use that extra day for transfer work between the PMM (Permanent Multipurpose Module) and the ISS, to leave the station and crew in the best possible shape when Discovery undocks.” said Capcom Stan Love. “The fly about will not happen during this flight.”
The fly-about –- only proposed about two weeks ago — would have had cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka along with Kelly to undock from the Russian Poisk module in the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft, back away from the ISS so they could show the ISS in its nearly completed configuration, with the shuttle attached, along with the Russian Progress and Soyuz, the European ATV and the Japanese HTV-1.
Todd said the images would not only be historic from an aesthetic perspective, but also provide valuable engineering views and data.
“There are multiple reasons this was going to be a good thing, to do this photo documentation,” he said. “Everytime we do one of these things we learn a lot, and we get a lot of good data about our ability to do this type of function, not just on our side but on the Russian side. I don’t see our review of this as wasted time or effort, and if we ever need to do this in the future, we will have to assess that at the time.”
Todd added that they should be able to get most of the images and data they were hoping for when the shuttle undocks and departs from the ISS next week – save for the historic aspect of having a shuttle docked to the station, along with all the other visiting vehicles.
Image above: In between the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft and the space shuttle Discovery, the Permanent Multipurpose Module, attached to the station's robotic arm, is installed to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module. Image credit: NASA TV
Earlier today, the crews of STS-133 and the space station successfully installed the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, essentially storage space (a “float-in” closet – which has also been referred to as a potential Man-cave) which includes supplies. Also tucked inside is Robonaut-2, the first human-like robot to serve on board the space station.
Discovery’s landing is currently set for 11:36 am EST on Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
Endeavour was rolled a few hundred yards from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 28. Credit: Alan Walters - awaltersphoto.com
[/caption]NASA’s Space Shuttle Program is inexorably and swiftly headed towards its finale.
With shuttle Discovery orbiting some 200 miles overhead on her final flight, launch preparations for the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour moved into high gear.
Endeavour was rolled a few hundred yards from her processing hanger at the Kennedy Space Center to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where she will be attached to the external fuel tank (ET) and twin solid rocket boosters (SRB) which will power her final trip to space. See photo album below from Alan Walters and Ken Kremer.
NASA plans to transport Endeavour to Launch Pad 39 A on March 9 for the STS-134 missionand her 25th and final flight. Launch is set for April 19.
Rollover of Endeavour. Credit: Alan Walters - awaltersphoto.com
Endeavour and her six person crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a $1.5 Billion particle physics detector designed to search for dark matter and determine the origin of the Universe. The crew will also deliver a platform that carries spare parts platform parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired later this year.
The quarter mile trip on a 76 wheeled transporter began about 7 AM this morning (Feb 28). The orbiter was backed tail first out of the processing hanger known as the Orbiter Processing Facility and then ‘rolled over’ to the VAB and parked close to the entrance doors.
Rollover marks the start of the final phase of launch preparations for the STS-134 mission. Hundreds of Shuttle workers who process the orbiters for flight were invited to witness the event and pose for photo ops with the spaceship. Most KSC employees never get the chance to glimpse the orbiters up close.
The next major milestone is for Endeavour to be hoisted and mated to the External Tank on Tuesday and prepare for rollout to the launch pad.
STS 134 astronauts pilot Gregory Johnson and Italian flight engineer Roberto Vittori watch Rollover of Endeavour on Feb 28. Credit: Ken KremerRollover of Endeavour. Credit: Alan Walters - awaltersphoto.comRollover of Endeavour. Credit: Alan Walters - awaltersphoto.comRollover of Endeavour. Credit: Alan Walters - awaltersphoto.com Rollover of Endeavour. Credit: Ken Kremer
Rollover of Endeavour. Credit: Ken Kremer Rollover of Endeavour. Credit: Ken Kremer
The International Space Station and shuttle Discovery, about 30 minutes before docking. Credit: Theirry Legault.
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Award winning photographer Theirry Legault sent us a note about some amazing new video he shot of the space shuttle Discovery getting ready to dock with the space station. Legault took the video on Saturday evening (Feb. 26, 2011) at 18:40 UT from Germany, showing Discovery and the ISS about a hundred meters apart, 30 minutes before docking. The image above is a still frame from the video, which can be seen on Legault’s website here. “It’s sunset on the ISS at the end of the video sequence,” Legault wrote. “The video is accelerated 2.5 times (acquisition at 10 fps, video at 25 fps). The altitude of the ISS is 360 km (200 miles)… and the speed of ISS is 17,000 miles per hour (27,350 kph) and its angular speed at zenith is 1.2° per second.”
Flash is required to see the video. The 900 frames of the sequence has been registered and combined by groups of 10 (processing with Prism and VirtualDub), Legault said. Find out more about Legault’s photography and tracking equipment at this page on his website.
Space Shuttle Discovery linked up to the International Space Station (ISS) today, Feb. 26, for her 13th and final time on her historic last mssion to space. Credit: NASA
The all veteran human crew is comprised of five men and one women including Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott. For the first time in the history of manned spaceflight, the humans are joined by a robotic companion named R2 or Robonaut 2. R2 is the first humanoid robot in space and will become an official member of the ISS crew.
See Discovery Launch, Docking and Robonaut photo album below.
Discovery docked at the ISS at 2:14 p.m. EST at the Harmony node while flying some 220 miles above western Australia. The shuttle arrived after a two day orbital chase that commenced with a picture perfect blast off on Feb. 24 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey manually flew Discovery to join the two ships together. They have a combined mass of over 1.2 million pounds. This was Discovery’s 13th and final docking to the orbiting outpost. Discovery also was the first shuttle to dock to the ISS on the STS-96 mission on May 29, 1999.
After allowing the relative motions between the two ships to dampen out, the vehicles were then hard mated together. Hatches between the spacecraft were opened at 4:16 p.m. EST and the six Shuttle astronauts floated through the docking tunnel and into the station. They were welcomed by the six current residents already living and working aboard the ISS and thereby doubled the ISS human population to 12.
Prior to docking, Discovery executed a spectacular head over heels “back flip” with Commander Lindsey at the controls so that ISS crew members Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman could take hundreds of high resolution photographs of the shuttles critical heat shield tiles.
Over a period of nine minutes, Discovery rotated backward through a full 360 degrees during the dramatic maneuver with Earth as the backdrop.
The fragile thermal protection system (TPS) tiles protect the orbiter from the scorching heat generated during reentry through the Earth’s atmosphere. Specialists on the ground at the Johnson Space Center will pore over the images to look for any signs of tile damage which may have occurred during launch or on orbit.
Discovery’s cargo bay is loaded with a large new pressurized storage room and critical space parts for the space station. The primary goal of the STS-133 mission is to attach the new Permanent Multipurpose Module named “Leonardo” to the ISS which will provide additional living space for the station crews.
R2 is packed inside Leonardo along with science equipment, spare parts, clothing, food and assorted gear. The robot will serve as an assistant to the ISS astronauts and conduct science experiments and maintenance chores.
The twin brother of the R2 Robonaut and their NASA/GM creators at KSC.
Robonaut 2 and the NASA/GM team of scientists and engineers watched the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery and the first joint Human-Robot crew on the STS-133 mission on Feb. 24, 2011 from the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Ken Kremer
See a stunning 360 degree panorama of Robonaut 2 at KSC from nasatech.net at this link
The twin brother of R2 eagerly watched the Feb, 24 blastoff of Discovery and crew live from nearby the famous countdown clock at the Kennedy Space Center.
The 11 day flight includes two spacewalks.
With Discovery safely docked , the ISS is now the biggest it has even been and is currently configured with all vehicles which fly to the station including the newly arrived ATV from Europe, HTV from Japan and Soyuz and Progress spacecraft from Russia.
The ATV itself arrived docked barely 4 hours before Discovery in a critical operation that paved the way for blastoff of the STS-133 mission and reflects the magnitude of the ongoing orbital traffic jam at the ISS.
If all the STS-133 work is successfully accomplished, a Soyuz will undock towards the end of the STS-133 mission and stage a station fly around to capture the ultimate ISS photo op at the biggest it will ever be.
Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Feb. 24 at 4:53 p.m.
from launch pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Ken Kremer
Photo Album: Discovery executes dramatic back flip or Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM) as it approaches and docks at the ISS on Feb. 26, 2011
Discovery launches on 39th and final flight to space on STS-133 mission. Credit: Ken KremerDiscovery’s arc to orbit on Feb. 24 with first Human-Robot crew. Credit: Ken KremerThe six person crew of Space Shuttle Discovery in their orange launch and entry flight suits
wave to large and enthusiastic crowd of space shuttle workers and media spectators before heading to the launch pad in the Astrovan for the STS-133 mission. From left are Mission Specialists Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt, Alvin Drew and Steve Bowen; Pilot Eric Boe; and Commander Steve Lindsey. Discovery will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 to the ISS. Credit: Ken Kremer
The twin brother of the R2 Robonaut awaits launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-133 mission, its 39th and final fligh to space. Credit: Ken Kremer
[/caption]Space Shuttle Discovery is unveiled for blastoff at 4:50 p.m. today, Feb. 24 from launch Pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida . This is roughly the moment when Earth’s rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the orbit of International Space Station (ISS)
The rotating service structure was retracted on Wednesday night starting around 8 p.m. Feb. 23 over about 25 minutes under a light fog.
In a major milestone, the External Fuel tank has been successfully loaded with 535,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen to power Discovery’s three main engines during the 8 1/2-minute climb into orbit. A dangerous leak of gaseous hydrogen is what caused the launch scrub last Nov. 5.
Pumps will continue to trickle propellants into the tank to replace the small amounts that evaporate during the countdown.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous day here at KSC with clear blue skies, calm winds and a crackling excitement that permeates the air for everyone here for the launch. Discovery unveiled for Feb 14 launch with 6 astronauts and R2 Robonaut on STS-133 mission.. Credit: Alan Walters, awalterphoto.com
The weather forecast has been upgraded to 90% GO from 80% yesterday which was cloudy and overcast. A few low lying clouds are the only concern.
Large public crowds have gathered at public viewing areas along Florida’s Space Coast. The hotels are full of folks excited to see the historic final launch of Discovery on its 39th and final mission.
The Johannes Kepler ATV is due to dock at the ISS at about 12 noon. A successful docking is an essential prerequisite to clear Discovery for liftoff.
The countdown clock is ticking down towards the final blastoff of Discovery.
The veteran crew of five men and one woman led by Shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey arrived on Sunday on a wave of T-38 jets.
The primary goal of the STS-133 mission is to deliver the “Leonardo” Permanent Multipurpose Module to the ISS. The R2 Robonaut is packed Inside Leonardo along with science equipment, spare parts, clothing food and assorted gear.
The twin brother of R2 is on hand at KSC to watch his brothers launch. He also sports a fancy new set of wheels patterned after the rocker bogie system of NASA’s Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
