Graphic on Japan's Kibo space research module. (AFP/Graphic)
Posted on 05/31/2008 5:28:12 AM PDT by KevinDavis
This will be the official thread for the launching of the Space Shuttle Discovery..
spaceflightnow.com
1620 GMT (12:20 p.m. EDT)
The countdown is proceeding smoothly with no significant technical issues. The weather predictions still look good for the 5:02 p.m. EDT launch of Discovery.
1635 GMT (12:35 p.m. EDT)
Commander Mark Kelly, pilot Ken Ham and flight engineer Ron Garan have received a weather briefing on conditions at the Kennedy Space Center and the primary abort landing sites. Weather is not expected to be a constraint to launching on time today.
As good as it is to be working again, I sure miss these launches and the threads here when they happen in the middle of the week.
spaceflightnow.com
1645 GMT (12:45 p.m. EDT)
The crew has donned the day-glow orange launch and entry partial pressure spacesuits. After final adjustments and pressure checks, the astronauts will depart the suitup room and take the elevator down to the ground level of the Operations and Checkout Building to board the AstroVan for the trip to launch pad 39A around 1:12 p.m.
1707 GMT (1:07 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 hours and counting. The countdown clocks are ticking again after the planned two-and-a-half hour built-in hold. Clocks will proceed to T-minus 20 minutes when the next hold is scheduled. A final hold occurs at the T-minus 9 minute mark to synch up with the 5:02 p.m. EDT launch time.
Graphic on Japan's Kibo space research module. (AFP/Graphic)
The sun sets behind the space shuttle Discovery on pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30. NASA has begun pumping fuel into Discovery's external tank, a key step toward launching the shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS), officials said. (AFP/Stan Honda)
A military helicopter surveys the area around the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Saturday, May 31, 2008. Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off Saturday afternoon with a seven member crew on a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This is the second piece of Kibo to be launched. Maybe they can get this ISS science thing going after all, although a permanent crew size of 6 seems to be out of the question.
spaceflightnow.com
1712 GMT (1:12 p.m. EDT)
Commander Mark Kelly, pilot Ken Ham, mission specialists Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Akihiko Hoshide and station-bound astronaut Greg Chamitoff just departed the Kennedy Space Center crew quarters to board the AstroVan for the 20-minute ride from the Industrial Area to launch pad 39A on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
They have a salmonella vaccine experiment onboard this trip also, here’s hoping it comes a cropper.
spaceflightnow.com
1731 GMT (1:31 p.m. EDT)
Discovery’s crew arrived at launch pad 39A at 10:56 p.m. The AstroVan came to a stop on the pad surface near the Fixed Service Structure tower elevator that will take the seven-man crew to the 195-foot level to begin boarding the shuttle.
spaceflightnow.com
1742 GMT (1:42 p.m. EDT)
Station-bound crewmember Greg Chamitoff, a rookie NASA astronaut, has boarded Discovery to take the middeck’s right-side seat. He will move aboard the station for an extended stay as part of the Expedition crew, replacing astronaut Garret Reisman.
. . .
1738 GMT (1:38 p.m. EDT)
Commander Mark Kelly is the first astronaut to board the shuttle. He is taking the forward-left seat on the flight deck.
. . .
1811 GMT (2:11 p.m. EDT)
Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide serves as mission specialist No. 4 on Discovery’s STS-124 flight. He just entered the orbiter to take the center seat on the middeck.
1808 GMT (2:08 p.m. EDT)
Rookie astronaut Karen Nyberg is mission specialist No. 1 for Discovery. She is climbing to the flight deck’s aft-right seat.
1802 GMT (2:02 p.m. EDT)
Three hours and counting until liftoff time.
1755 GMT (1:55 p.m. EDT)
Mission specialist No. 3 for STS-124, Mike Fossum, just entered the orbiter to take the middeck’s left seat.
1752 GMT (1:52 p.m. EDT)
Ken Ham, the pilot of Discovery, is making his way to the flight deck’s front-right seat.
1742 GMT (1:42 p.m. EDT)
Station-bound crewmember Greg Chamitoff, a rookie NASA astronaut, has boarded Discovery to take the middeck’s right-side seat. He will move aboard the station for an extended stay as part of the Expedition crew, replacing astronaut Garret Reisman.
spaceflightnow.com
1821 GMT (2:21 p.m. EDT)
The final crewmember just boarded Discovery. Ron Garan serves as mission specialist No. 2 and the flight engineer on STS-124. He will ride in the flight deck’s aft-center seat.
Back now.. I had to run usual Sat errands..
spaceflightnow.com
1928 GMT (3:28 p.m. EDT)
The ground pyro initiator controllers (PICs) are scheduled to be powered up around this time in the countdown. They are used to fire the solid rocket hold-down posts, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tail service mast and external tank vent arm system pyros at liftoff and the space shuttle main engine hydrogen gas burn system prior to engine ignition.
The shuttle’s two Master Events Controllers are being tested. They relay the commands from the shuttle’s computers to ignite, and then separate the boosters and external tank during launch.
1947 GMT (3:47 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 20 minutes and holding. The countdown has paused for a 10-minute built-in hold. Launch is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. EDT. Everything is going smoothly with the countdown and current weather conditions are beautiful.
During this built-in hold, all computer programs in Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center will be verified to ensure that the proper programs are available for the countdown; the landing convoy status will be verified and the landing sites will be checked to support an abort landing during launch today; the Inertial Measurement Unit preflight alignment will be verified completed; and preparations are made to transition the orbiter onboard computers to Major Mode 101 upon coming out of the hold. This configures the computer memory to a terminal countdown configuration.
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