STS-133 press releases

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 11-047

NASA SETS LAUNCH DATE FOR SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY MISSION

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to begin
an 11-day mission to the International Space Station with a launch at
4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 24, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida. The STS-133 mission is Discovery's final scheduled
flight.

Discovery's launch date was announced Friday at the conclusion of a
flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA
and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the
mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support
systems and personnel are ready.

The six astronauts for the mission will deliver the Permanent
Multipurpose Module (PMM) to the station. The PMM was converted from
the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo and will provide
additional storage for the station crew. Experiments in such fields
as fluid physics, materials science, biology and biotechnology may be
conducted inside the module.

The PMM also carries Robonaut 2, the first human-like robot in space,
which will become a permanent resident of the station. In addition,
the flight will deliver critical spare parts and the Express
Logistics Carrier 4, an external platform that holds large equipment.

STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey and his crew are scheduled to arrive
at Kennedy on Sunday, Feb. 20, for final launch preparations. Joining
Lindsey are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve
Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott. Bowen and Drew will conduct
two spacewalks to install new components and perform maintenance.

Discovery's launch will occur six hours after the planned docking of
the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 "Johannes
Kepler" to the space station.

STS-133 is the first mission planned for 2011. It is Discovery's 39th
flight and 35th shuttle mission to the station. There are two other
flights planned before the shuttle retires this year. For the
schedule of upcoming missions to the International Space Station,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationflights

For more information about the space station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station 

Stott will send mission updates to her Twitter account:

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Nicole

For more information about the STS-133 mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle 

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-033

NASA ANNOUNCES STS-133 PRELAUNCH EVENTS AND COUNTDOWN DETAILS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- News conferences, events and operating hours
for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are set for
the final scheduled launch of space shuttle Discovery. Lift off is
targeted for 4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 24, to begin the STS-133
mission to the International Space Station.

A NASA blog will provide countdown updates beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Feb. 24. Originating from Kennedy's Launch Control Center, the blog
is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to lift
off.

During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle website can read about
the crew's progress and watch the mission's two spacewalks live. As
Discovery's flight concludes, the NASA blog will detail the
spacecraft's return to Earth. For NASA's launch blog and continuous
mission updates, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle 

Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and
participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and
media credentialing office are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news 

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the shuttle
launch countdown, mission and landing. To follow, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

Mission Specialist Nicole Stott will be tweeting about her prelaunch
preparations and is expected to provide updates to her Twitter
account during the shuttle mission. Stott can be followed at:

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Nicole

Free wireless Internet access is provided at the Kennedy Press Site
news center and annex. Instructions for wireless access will be
available at the news center.

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv 

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 11-052

PLAYSTATION(R)HOME USERS CAN WATCH NASA'S SHUTTLE LAUNCH TOGETHER

WASHINGTON -- NASA's final liftoff of space shuttle Discovery will be
available in a unique "social viewing" environment available through
Sony Computer Entertainment America's PlayStation(R)Home for
PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system.

Discovery's launch on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 4:50 p.m. EST is the first
live streaming event to be offered by Sunset Yacht, a premium
personal space from LOOT, Sony DADC's interactive entertainment
development team. Users will be able to chat via Bluetooth headsets
with others watching the launch - all from inside the PlayStation
Home social gaming environment.

"We're excited about this new way for people to experience the
exhilaration of human spaceflight as part of a larger community,"
said David Weaver, NASA associate administrator for the Office of
Communications. "In addition to the other two shuttle launches
planned for April and June, NASA looks forward to sharing more of our
endeavors with PlayStation users."

In addition to live streamed events, the Sunset Yacht's NASA TV
channel will offer hundreds of videos offering spectacular views of
the universe from past and current NASA missions. A gallery of
podcasts showcasing several missions including the Mars Science
Laboratory and Voyager spacecraft also will be available from the
agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

"The launch of the space shuttle Discovery provides a wonderful
opportunity to introduce people to the fun of social viewing," said
LOOT Managing Director David Sterling. "Users can share this
experience with their friends, regardless of where those friends
happen to be in the world."

For information about the shuttle Discovery's mission to the
International Space Station and the crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle


NASA Television also will cover shuttle Discovery's launch For NASA TV
streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


For more information about Sunset Yacht, visit:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/

"PlayStation", is a registered trademark of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.

       
-end-

[jacqmans]

STS-133  Report #01
6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON –With a new International Space Station module in its cargo bay, Discovery launched on its last mission under a blue Florida sky Thursday.

The shuttle and its crew of six launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:53 p.m. CST with the Permanent Multipurpose Module prominent in its cargo bay. The PMM is on its eighth trip to the station. Seven were as the Multipurpose Logistics Module Leonardo.

Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott are scheduled to rendezvous and dock with the station on Saturday.  During Discovery’s seven days at the station, Bowen and Drew will do two spacewalks to do maintenance work and install new components.

The reinforced and rewired Leonardo will provide 2,472 cubic feet of additional pressurized space for the station. It is scheduled to be unberthed from Discovery and connected to the station’s Unity node on Tuesday. Among its contents are Robonaut 2, the robot much like a human upper torso.

During the first 6.5 hour spacewalk on Monday, Bowen and Drew will stow a failed pump module, install an extension cable and perform other tasks. On the second spacewalk, another scheduled 6.5-hour outing on Wednesday, they’ll vent ammonia from the failed pump, install a camera on Dextre, the Canadian robotic device more formally known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, and remove insulation from it, install Crew Equipment Translation Aid lights, and troubleshoot a radiator stowage beam bracket.

Another major cargo item, the Express Logistics Carrier 4, is to be taken from Discovery’s cargo bay shortly after docking and attached to the station's starboard truss.

Aboard the station waiting to welcome Discovery and its crew are station Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly, and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka,  Alexander Kaleri, Dmitry Kondratyev,  Paolo Nespoli and  Catherine Coleman.

The launch was momentarily delayed by an issue in the range safety command computer system.

[jacqmans]

News Release Issued: February 24, 2011 5:52 PM EST

ATK's Solid Rocket Boosters Help Launch Space Shuttle Discovery
ATK's Titanium Auxiliary Power Unit Fuel Tanks Supply Orbiter's Hydraulic System
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Feb. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK's (NYSE: ATK) Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM) ignited at 4:53 p.m. EST, launching the Space Shuttle Discovery and its crew on their 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).  Since the inaugural flight of the space shuttle, 266 space shuttle solid rocket motors have been launched to date, with 53 full-scale ground tests allowing ATK and NASA to constantly improve safety, techniques and processes.

"As we near the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program, we reflect on the dedicated workforce that has provided the most reliable, human-rated propulsion system in the world for more than two decades," said Blake Larson, ATK Aerospace Systems Group President. "With the future of human space flight unfolding, it is critical to leverage proven technology to ensure a safe and robust transportation system as we explore outside of Low Earth Orbit."

The 149-foot-tall solid rocket boosters each produced more than 15 million horsepower, safely launching the shuttle to approximately 28 miles in altitude in just over two minutes. After the flight, the RSRMs were jettisoned from the orbiter and external tank by ATK's 16 Booster Separation Motors (BSMs). Each booster has eight BSMs: four on the forward skirt and four on the aft skirt. The separation motors propelled the RSRMs to a safe distance from the shuttle orbiter, enabling the spent boosters to parachute down through the Earth's atmosphere where they splashed down into the ocean for recovery.

In addition, ATK supplied the titanium hydrazine propellant tanks for the space shuttle Auxiliary Power Unit (APU). Three APU tanks house the hydrazine fuel that generates power for the shuttle's hydraulic system. These tanks have performed perfectly for each of the shuttle's three decades of operations.

While continuing to safely fly the space shuttle, ATK is making significant strides in the development of the new five-segment solid rocket motor with the successful test firing of development motor-2, or DM-2, in August.

"The tremendous success we are seeing as we develop this new motor and move toward a Critical Design Review (CDR) in fall of this year is due to the continuous improvements over the life of the Space Shuttle Program," said Charlie Precourt, ATK's vice president and general manager, Space Launch Systems. "The next motor, DM-3 has been cast and we are planning for its test fire prior to CDR."

Modifications to the motor include an added fifth segment, changes to the propellant grain, a larger nozzle opening, and an upgraded liner and insulation — all designed to meet performance requirements and increase reliability while lowering manufacturing costs.

"We were able to incorporate many design changes during the development of the five-segment motor that we identified during the shuttle program but were not able to make given the shuttle vehicle's operations tempo," said Precourt. "We also incorporated materials and streamlined processes that have been flight-proven in our commercial programs."

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 24 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally, and revenues of approximately $4.8 billion.  News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 11-055

NASA ANNOUNCES STS-133 WAKEUP SONG WINNERS; FACE IN SPACE TOTALS

HOUSTON -- Following months of public voting, NASA announced the two
winners of the "Top 40 Song Contest," which will awaken space shuttle
crew members during their ongoing mission. The agency also released
the final tally of submissions to the Space Shuttle Program's "Face
in Space" campaign. Participants cast almost 2.5 million votes for
the song contest and submitted more than 292,000 photographs for the
Face in Space campaign.

"Blue Sky" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters, the most requested song
to wake up shuttle Discovery's crew during the STS-133 mission,
collected 722,659 votes. The song received 29.3 percent of the total
votes. Finishing second was the "Theme from Star Trek" (original
series), which also will serve as a wake up song. It received 671,133
votes, or 27.2 percent of the votes. To see the results for all 40
songs, visit:



https://songcontest.nasa.gov


There were 2,463,521 votes cast during the contest that ran from Aug.
20, 2010, through Nov. 1. Participants voted from a list of 40 songs
that have previously awakened shuttle crews.

NASA's Face in Space campaign received 194,181 photos that will be
uplinked to shuttle Discovery via Mission Control at NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston. The images will return to Earth through a
data transmission, and contributors will be able to print
certificates verifying their photos flew aboard Discovery.

More than 98,000 other photos already have been submitted to fly
aboard the next shuttle mission. Shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 flight
is targeted to launch April 19. Submissions will be accepted though
the liftoff date.

To take part in the Face in Space campaign, visit:



http://faceinspace.nasa.gov 


For more information about the Space Shuttle Program and the STS-133
mission to the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle 

For more information about the space station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station 

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #04
Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 - 6:30 a.m. CST
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Space shuttle Discovery has been steadily catching up to the International Space Station overnight and will be making its final docking with the orbiting laboratory at 1:16 p.m.

Discovery’s crew was awakened to begin preparations for the rendezvous at 5:53 a.m. The day’s wake up song was “Woody’s Roundup,” performed by Riders in the Sky, which was played for Mission Specialist Alvin Drew, who is making his second trip to the space station.

The terminal initiation burn, an engine firing that will give Discovery one last big push toward the space station, is scheduled to take place at 10:33 a.m. That should bring Discovery to a point 600 feet below the space station at 12:15 p.m., at which point Commander Steve Lindsey will fly the shuttle in a back flip below the station for the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver.

 As he does so, station Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman will be stationed at the windows of the Zvezda service module, armed with 800 mm- and 400 mm-lens cameras, with which to photograph Discovery’s heat shield. The photos will be sent down to specialists on the ground for analysis.

Following the back flip, Lindsey will fly Discovery to a point 310 feet directly in front of the station, and then allow the station to catch up with it for docking. After a series of leak checks, the crews of the two vehicles should be able to open the hatches between them at 3:18 p.m.

Following a welcome ceremony and safety briefing for the stations six visitors, Discovery’s crew will get to work transferring the cargo they’re delivering. Drew, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott will use the shuttle and station robotic arms to remove the Express Logistics Carrier 4 from Discovery’s cargo bay and install it on the starboard side of the station’s truss system. There it will be used to store spare parts, including the spare radiator launched with it.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #05
5 p.m. CST Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Space shuttle Discovery docked to the International Space Station at 1:14 p.m. CST Saturday with its cargo of a new station module, equipment and supplies for the orbiting laboratory.

After a delay to let the relative motion between the two spacecraft, with a combined mass of 1.2 million pounds, dampen out, hatches separating crews were opened at 3:16 p.m. Shuttle astronauts, Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott moved into the station.

Following handshakes, hugs and a welcoming ceremony by the station crew, Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka, Alexander Kaleri, Dmitry Kondratyev, Paolo Nespoli and Catherine Coleman, Discovery astronauts received the standard station safety briefing.

The crews promptly went to work, with Barratt and Stott preparing to use the station’s robotic arm to pluck Express Logistic Carrier 4 from the shuttle cargo bay and hand it off to the shuttle’s arm, operated by Drew and Boe. After moving the base of Canadarm2, the shuttle arm was to hand ELC4 back for installation on the Earth-facing side of the station’s starboard truss. There it will be used for stowage of spare parts, including a spare radiator launched aboard Discovery.

As the shuttle slowly approached the station, with both spacecraft moving at 17,500 mph, it paused about 600 feet below it to do the standard backflip. Nespoli and Coleman used cameras with 400 mm and 800 mm lenses for a minute-and-a-half photo session, shooting numerous pictures of the shuttle’s thermal protection system. The photos will be sent down for analysis by experts to check for any damage.

After both crews focus on transfer of equipment and supplies Sunday, Drew and Bowen will do 6.5-hour spacewalks on Monday and Wednesday.  On Tuesday the station arm, again controlled by Barratt and Stott, will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module from Discovery’s cargo bay and install it on the Earth-facing port of the station’s Unity node.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #06
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 - 7:00 a.m. CST
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – With more than 2,000 pounds of supplies and hardware to deliver to the International Space Station, space shuttle Discovery’s crew has a busy day of transfer work ahead of them.

The crew’s wakeup call to begin their fourth day in space came at 6:23 a.m., giving them 30 minutes of extra sleep to make up for a later than expected bedtime on Saturday. The wakeup song for the day, “Java Jive” as performed by The Manhattan Transfer quartet, was played for Commander Steve Lindsey. STS-133 is Lindsey’s fifth shuttle mission and third visit to the space station.

In all, Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott have a combined total of 9 hours of transfer work on their schedule for the day, moving cargo brought up on the shuttle’s middeck over to the space station. Over the course of the mission, the 2,000 pounds of cargo brought up on the shuttle will be replaced by 2,600 pounds of cargo from the space station that Discovery will be returning to Earth.

When they’re not ferrying cargo across the hatches, Lindsey, Boe, Barratt and Stott will work together to move the shuttle’s orbiter boom sensor system from its perch on the edge of the shuttle’s cargo bay and into the grasp of the shuttle’s robotic arm, where it will be ready if needed for a focused inspection of Discovery’s heat shield. Due to the position of the shuttle, while docked at the station, the shuttle robotic arm isn’t able to pick the boom up on its own, and requires it to be handed off by the station’s robotic arm. The station’s robotic arm was moved into place for this activity overnight by robotics officers on the ground.

At 1:43 p.m., Discovery's crew, along with station Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Cady Coleman, will take time out of their activities to talk with reporters with The Weather Channel, WBZ Radio of Boston, WBS-TV of Atlanta, and WTVT-TV of Tampa, Fla.

Near the end of their day, the crews will get together to go over the plan for Monday’s spacewalk, the first of the mission. Afterward, spacewalkers Bowen and Drew will move into the station’s Quest airlock, where they’ll be spending the night at a lower air pressure than the rest of the station.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #07
4 p.m. CST Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Moving equipment and supplies between Discovery and the International Space Station, robotics activities and preparation for Monday’s 6.5-hour spacewalk kept shuttle astronauts busy much of Sunday.

Transfer activities began during the crews’ morning. About 2,000 pounds of cargo was brought to the station on Discovery’s mid-deck, and about 2,600 pounds is to be returned to Earth by the shuttle.

One early activity for the shuttle crew, Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott, involved robotics. The station’s Canadarm2 arm, operated by Barratt and Stott, grasped the orbiter boom sensor system from the left sill of Discovery’s cargo bay.

It handed the boom off to the shuttle’s arm, which could not reach it with the spacecraft docked at the station. The shuttle’s arm held it to await a decision on whether a focused inspection of its thermal protection system would be necessary.

It wasn’t. Experts completed their analysis of 302 photos (155 using an 800 mm lens, 147 with a 400 mm lens) of the heat shield taken by station Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman during Discovery’s backflip before docking to check for damage. The Mission Management Team met Sunday afternoon and decided that no focused inspection of the heat shield would be necessary.

Spacewalkers Drew and Bowen configured tools for their Monday spacewalk. All shuttle crew members along with station Commander Scott Kelly and Nespoli were scheduled for an hour-long procedures review. A little before 8 p.m. CST the spacewalkers will begin the standard campout in the low pressure of the station’s Quest airlock.

The shuttle crew with Kelly and Coleman also talked with media representatives during the afternoon. Asking the questions were reporters from The Weather Channel, Boston’s WBZ Radio, WSB-TV of Atlanta and WTVT-TV of Tampa, Fla.

The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wakeup or earlier if warranted. The crew is scheduled to be awakened 5:23 a.m.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #08

6 a.m. CST Monday, Feb. 28, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The first planned spacewalk of mission STS-133 is at the heart of today’s busy activities in space. The 12 crew members now aboard the space station began their day with a wake-up call at 5:23 a.m. CST.

“Oh What a Beautiful Morning” by Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam was played for Mission Specialist Nicole Stott who will choreograph the day’s spacewalk from inside the complex.

After an overnight campout in the Quest airlock of the International Space Station, space shuttle Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew will venture outside to begin the 6.5-hour spacewalk at 10:18 a.m. Bowen, the lead spacewalker,  will wear a suit with red stripes and Drew will wear an all-white spacesuit.

The first spacewalk’s objectives will be to install an extension cable, a pump module vent tool, a camera wedge and extensions to the mobile transporter rail. The pair outside the complex also will relocate a tool stanchion, store a failed pump module and participate in an experiment to be exposed to space.

The first task will involve the installation of an extension cable in preparation for the installation of the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, one of Discovery’s two key deliveries this mission. This task will be performed at the station’s Unity module.

Next the spacewalkers will finish up work started by Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Doug Wheelock moving a failed pump module to a more permanent storage location on the space station.

The spacewalkers will wrap up their excursion with several other tasks, including the Japanese “Message in a Bottle” experiment. They will expose a metal canister to capture the vacuum of space.  The spacewalk is to end at 4:48 p.m.

During the spacewalk, Pilot Eric Boe will spend a couple hours transferring more cargo that was delivered by space shuttle Discovery. Cargo transfers began almost immediately after the shuttle crew arrived at the space station and will continue throughout the docked part of the mission until complete.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #09

7 p.m. CST Monday, Feb. 28, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Discovery spacewalkers wrapped up a six-hour, 34-minute spacewalk Monday, moving a failed 800-pound ammonia pump module, installing an extension cable and extending the rail track along the station’s main truss.

Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Al Drew also moved a pump module vent tool, installed a camera wedge, relocated a tool stanchion and worked with a Japanese project to bring a bit of space back to Earth.

After the spacewalk, spacecraft communicator Stanley Love radioed the joint crew that mission managers have approved an extra day for the shuttle mission to set up the new Permanent Multipurpose Module that will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port tomorrow. The International Space Station mission management team is expected to make a decision Tuesday about a proposed Soyuz fly-about later in the mission.

Mission Specialist Nicole Stott helped coach the spacewalkers from inside the station, while Mission Specialist Michael Barratt and station Commander Scott Kelly operated the station’s Canadarm2 for the spacewalk. Astronaut Tim Kopra, who had been scheduled to be one of the spacewalkers himself before being hurt in a bicycle accident weeks before launch, joined Love on console in the station flight control room.

The excursion began at 9:46 a.m. CST when the spacewalkers switched their suits to battery power. The first task was to install the extension cable between the Unity and Tranquility nodes. That included work in an area that will be inaccessible after the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module is in place.

Drew then retrieved a tool to be used on Wednesday’s spacewalk to remove ammonia from the failed pump. Bowen installed a foot restraint on the station arm to get ready for the module’s move from the arm’s mobile base to a more permanent position on an external stowage platform near the airlock. The work was delayed slightly by a problem with the robotic arm controls in the cupola, but Barratt and Kelly moved to a duplicate control center in the Destiny Laboratory to complete their work with Canadarm2.

The astronauts then removed tether and cart stoppers along the railway of the mobile transporter, and lengthened the track with an extension on each rail.

Near the end of the spacewalk both astronauts worked with the Japanese “Message in a Bottle.” They opened a metal canister, autographed by astronauts, to capture a bit of the vacuum of space, then sealed it. The canister will return on Discovery for display.

The spacewalk was the sixth for Bowen and the first for Drew. On leaving the airlock, Drew became the 200th human to walk in space.

Inside the shuttle and station, transfer of equipment continued between the docked spacecraft. The extra day will allow more time to transfer supplies and leave the station in the best possible posture.

With the one-day extension in place, the winners of the "Top 40 Song Contest" now are set to be played early next week. On Monday, March 7, the "Theme from Star Trek," which finished second in the contest, will serve as a wake-up song for the shuttle crew. On Tuesday, March 8, "Blue Sky" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters will be played as the most requested song to wake up shuttle Discovery's crew.

For the planned wakeup times, reference the mission television schedule:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttletv


For daily STS-133 mission recap videos, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/video

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #10

5:30 a.m. CST Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – By the end of the day, the International Space Station will have an extra 2,472 cubic feet of storage space, following the installation of the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module.

Discovery’s crew members got their wake-up call to begin flight day 6 at 4:57 a.m. CST, to the tune of “Happy Together” by The Turtles. The song was played for Mission Specialist Steve Bowen, who completed his sixth spacewalk on Monday.

Preparations for the second spacewalk of the mission will occupy several hours of Bowen’s and fellow spacewalker Alvin Drew’s time, culminating with a crew-wide procedure review and another overnight campout inside the Quest airlock.

But first, Mission Specialists Mike Barratt and Nicole Stott will use the station’s 58-foot robotic arm to remove the Leonardo module from Discovery’s cargo bay and fly it to an installation on the Earth-facing port of the Unity node. That work is scheduled to begin just after 7 a.m. and wrap up by 9:38 a.m.

With the decision that a focused inspection of Discovery’s heat shield won’t be necessary, extra space opened up in the crew’s day. As a result, they’re now scheduled to enter Leonardo for the first time today. Pilot Eric Boe is scheduled to be the first to float in, just before 6 p.m.

Barratt and Stott, along with Commander Steve Lindsey and station Commander Scott Kelly, will also take time out of their duties to talk with reporters back on Earth 3:23 p.m. They’ll be interviewed by KTRK-TV of Houston, and KING-TV and KOMO-TV, of Washington, Barratt’s home state.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #11

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - 5:30 p.m. CST
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The International Space Station has a new room, filled with equipment, supplies and a new device that could be a precursor of spacewalking robots. The room was christened at 5:17 pm when the hatch was opened and Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly was first to enter.

The Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo was installed on the Earth-facing port of the station’s Unity node Tuesday at 9:05 a.m. If it had windows, it would be a room with a heck of a view.

The PMM adds 2,472 cubic feet of pressurized storage space to the station. It also brings to the station, in addition to a humanoid robot called Robonaut 2, a payload of about 28,000 pounds. It includes an express rack capable of housing a variety of scientific experiments, five resupply stowage racks, six resupply stowage platforms and two integrated stowage platforms.

The new module was unberthed from Discovery’s cargo bay at 7:26 a.m. by the station’s arm. Mission Specialists Michael Barrett and Nicole Stott used arm controls in the station’s cupola. The module had made seven previous visits as a cargo carrier.

One of three such carriers built in Italy under contract to the Italian Space Agency, its conversion to a permanent module included adding shielding and rewiring.

Preparations for Wednesday’s spacewalk by Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Al Drew included tool configuration and a spacewalk procedures review by eight of the shuttle and station crew members. The spacewalkers were to begin the standard campout in the Quest airlock at 6:48 p.m.

Barratt, Stott, shuttle Commander Steve Lindsey and station Commander Scott Kelly talked with media representatives from KTRK-TV of Houston and KING-TV and KOMO-TV, both of Seattle, at 3:23 p.m.

Commanders of both spacecraft were told about 10:15 a.m. that a proposed Soyuz flight at the station would not take place. Discovery will still get an extra day at the station, to be used for PMM outfitting. Landing is now scheduled for 10:36 a.m. Tuesday, March 8. Transfer work continued Tuesday, and is now about 60 percent complete.

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-044

NASA SETS NEWS CONFERENCE WITH SHUTTLE AND SPACE STATION CREWS

HOUSTON -- The 12 crew members aboard space shuttle Discovery and the
International Space Station will hold a news conference starting at
10:48 a.m. EST on Friday, March 4. Reporters may ask questions in
person from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Kennedy Space
Center in Florida and agency headquarters in Washington.

To participate, U.S. journalists must call the public affairs office
at one of the three venues by 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 3. Reporters
at Johnson, not already credentialed for the STS-133 mission, must
request access badges by March 3. Reporters must be in place at least
20 minutes before the news conference.

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 40-minute news
conference. Part of the conference will be for European Space Agency
media outlets in native languages. An interpreted replay will air on
NASA TV at noon. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video
information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Discovery's mission includes two spacewalks, delivery of equipment,
supplies and the final U.S. module for the station. For more
information about the mission and crews, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

and

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[jacqmans]

STS-133Report #12

5:30 a.m. Wednesdsay, March 2, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
 
HOUSTON – After a campout in the International Space Station’s Quest airlock, Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew will suit up for the second spacewalk of the STS-133 mission. The spacewalk is scheduled to start at 9:18 a.m. CST.

With a call from Mission Control Houston, space shuttle Discovery’s crew was awakened at 4:23 a.m. by the song, “The Speed of Sound” by Coldplay. It was played for Pilot Eric Boe. 

Mission Specialist Nicole Stott will choreograph the spacewalk as the intravechicular officer while Mission Specialist Mike Barratt and station Commander Scott Kelly operate the Canadarm2 from the robotic workstation in the station’s cupola.

The spacewalkers will perform several tasks during their excursion, including venting ammonia from the failed pump module they moved to a storage location on Monday’s spacewalk. They’ll also remove a lightweight adapter plate previously used to attach experiments to the exterior of the Columbus laboratory and remove insulation from the Tranquility node and the newly installed Express Logistics Carrier 4.

The spacewalkers also will install a light on one of the crew equipment and translation aid – or CETA – carts, install a light, pan and tilt assembly on Dextre, the space station’s Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, and troubleshoot a loose radiator grapple fixture stowage beam, which would be used if a radiator ever needed to be replaced.

The spacewalk is expected to last 6 hours and 30 minutes.

Meanwhile crew members inside the complex will continue transferring more cargo from Discovery and loading trash into the Japanese Kounotouri2 H-II Transfer Vehicle for eventual disposal.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #13
7 p.m. CST Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Discovery astronauts wrapped up a six-hour, 14-minute spacewalk Wednesday, draining ammonia from an 800-pound pump module, working with the Canadian robotic device Dextre and completing a variety of other tasks.

The spacewalkers, Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew, spent most of their time outside working separately. The start of the spacewalk, which began when the crew members switched their spacesuits to battery power at 9:42 a.m. CST, had been delayed 24 minutes to replace an O-ring on the lithium hydroxide canister of Bowen’s suit to fix a minor leak.

Bowen began by setting up the station’s Canadarm2, operated by Mission Specialist Michael Barratt and station Commander Scott Kelly. He moved on to retrieve a lightweight adapter plate assembly, an experiment holder, from the outer end of the Columbus module and installed it in Discovery’s cargo bay for return to Earth.

Drew started with the relocated pump module for the station’s external ammonia cooling system, using a device he had installed on Monday’s spacewalk to vent the remaining coolant from the pump. He subsequently removed the device for return to the airlock.

Coaching the spacewalkers was Mission Specialist Nicole Stott inside the station. Astronaut Tim Kopra, who had been scheduled to be one of the spacewalkers but was hurt in a bicycle accident weeks before launch, also helped advise the crew from the station flight control room.

Bowen spent about an hour working on Dextre, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, installing a camera light pan and tilt assembly and removing some insulation. Meanwhile, Drew removed and jettisoned insulation and repositioned a slipped sunshade on a nearby camera. He then installed a light on one of the small handcars, a crew and equipment translation aid. The astronauts use the carts, mounted on the station’s truss rails, to move objects.

After doing some cleanup, Bowen installed a camera lens cover on the arm’s elbow and relocated a foot restraint and a Russian cargo arm adapter. Drew moved on to the port truss to repair insulation on a radiator beam valve module. He also secured a grapple fixture stowage beam.

Near the end of the spacewalk, Drew’s helmet light set came loose from his suit. Attempts by Bowen to reinstall it were unsuccessful so they attached a tether to take it back to the airlock.

This was the final STS-133 spacewalk, the 244th by U.S. astronauts. It was the seventh for Bowen totaling 47 hours, 18 minutes, and places him sixth on the all-time list of most time spent by U.S. spacewalking astronauts. It was the second spacewalk for Drew, who now has a total of 12 hours, 48 minutes. It was the 155th spacewalk in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance, totaling 973 hours, 53 minutes, which is the equivalent of 40 full days of spacewalking.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #14
6:30 a.m. CST Thursday, March 3, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Discovery and the International Space Station crews will get a special call Thursday from the White House. President Obama will be calling up to space to talk with all 12 crew members at 4:03 p.m. CST. The call will be aired live on NASA Television.

To kick off Discovery’s eighth day in space, the shuttle and station crews were awakened at 4:05 a.m. by “City of Blinding Lights” by U2. It was for all the crew members.

After a full day of a successful final planned spacewalk of Discovery’s final mission, the crew will enjoy a well-deserved half-day off. The first part of the day, however, will involve more cargo transfers from both Discovery and the International Space Station. To date, 76 percent of all cargo transfers have been completed.

The crews also will participate in two media interview sessions. The first is to take place at 7:08 a.m. Reporters from CNN; WTTG-TV, Washington, D.C.;  WSTP-TV, Tampa, Fla.; and KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, will talk with members of the shuttle crew.

The second is scheduled to take place at 9:33 a.m. Discovery’s Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Mike Barratt and Nicole Stott will talk with reporters from MSNBC; WXIA-TV, Atlanta; and Fox News Radio.

Meanwhile, Station Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Cady Coleman will do maintenance work on the carbon dioxide removal assembly on the U.S. side of the station. The CDRA removes carbon dioxide from the station’s air. The Russian Vozdukh, which also removes carbon dioxide, has been down for repair but is scheduled to be operational again today.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #15
5:30 p.m. CST Thursday, March 3, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – President Barack Obama made a long-distance call to the dozen members of the Discovery and International Space Station crews a little after 4 p.m. CST.

“We are always inspired by the images of you guys at work as you work to put some of the final pieces in place to make the ISS fully operational,” Obama told the space fliers, traveling five miles a second 221 miles above the Earth. “You are setting such a great example with your dedication, your courage, your commitment to exploration. Col. Lindsey, it must be a great honor to be the last commander of Discovery.”

“On behalf of the crew, it’s a real privilege for us to get to fly Discovery on her final mission. We think that when we land, Discovery will have flown in space for 365 days,” said Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey.

The crew members also discussed with the president the delivery of the humanoid Robonaut 2 and international cooperation, exhibited by the presence of vehicles and components from all of the program’s partners.

To watch and listen to the Presidential call, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=68599191

Space shuttle and International Space Station managers decided today to extend the STS-133 mission by an additional day, providing more time for the shuttle crew to help unpack and outfit the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module and fill the Japanese Konotouri2 H-II Transfer Vehicle with trash before its planned late-March undocking. Discovery’s landing is now scheduled for 10:58 a.m. CST Wednesday.

The crews’ day included continued transfer of equipment and supplies between the station and shuttle, stowage of spacewalk equipment, exercise and maintenance. Lindsey and Pilot Eric Boe were on the flight deck for a morning reboost of the docked spacecraft. The 26-minute firing of Discovery’s small attitude control jets raised the orbit by about a mile.

Crew members had two interview sessions with news media. The first was about 7 a.m. when the six shuttle crew members spoke with reporters from CNN, WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., WTSPP-TV of Tampa, Fla., and KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.

In the second round about 9:30 a.m., three members of the shuttle crew, Boe and Mission Specialists Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott, fielded questions. They talked with reporters from MSNBC, WXIA-TV in Atlanta and Fox News Radio. Later, the astronauts enjoyed much of their afternoon off.

[jacqmans]

STS-133 Report #16
6 a.m. CST Friday, March 4, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Space shuttle Discovery’s crew will be getting in some extra work inside the new Leonardo module Friday in the first of two days that have been added to the STS-133 mission.

The day started at 3:23 a.m., when the day’s wake-up song, “The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah,” from volume two of “Star Trek: The Original Television Soundtrack” – better known as the Star Trek fight song – was played for the crew. The song was chosen by the crew’s training team.

The additional days are to allow Discovery’s crew more time to help the International Space Station crew members get the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module unpacked and set up for permanent life in orbit and to help with equipment repair.

That work begins today just after 6:30 a.m. Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Nicole Stott and Michael Barratt, and station Flight Engineers Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will spend much of their day working on various Leonardo-related tasks. They’ll be installing fixtures inside the module, unpacking items sent up inside and removing the Express Rack 8 for installation in the Destiny laboratory.

They will, however, find some time amidst all that work to talk with students and reporters on the ground.

At 6:08 a.m., the NASA Educational Technology services team and student interns at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be posing to the crew questions selected by students through the NASA education Taking Up Space blog. The entire shuttle crew, along with Coleman and station Commander Scott Kelly, will be participating in that event.

That blog can be found at:
http://www.nasa.gov/education/takingupspace

Then, at 9:48 a.m., all 12 members of the two crews will come together to answer questions from reporters during the Joint Crew News Conference.