CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off Tuesday, Oct. 23, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:38 a.m. EDT to continue construction of the International Space Station.

During the 14-day mission, designated STS-120, Discovery's crew will continue construction of the space station with the installation of the Harmony connecting module, also known as Node 2. The crew, led by Commander Pam Melroy, will conduct five spacewalks during the mission, four by shuttle crew members and one by the station's Expedition 16 crew.

Discovery is scheduled to dock to the station on Thursday, Oct. 25. The addition of the Harmony module sets the stage for the arrival of new research laboratories from the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in upcoming shuttle missions. During the mission, the STS-120 crew also will move the station's Port 6 segment of the station's backbone, or truss, and its solar arrays to a permanent position at the end of the truss' left side.

The Expedition 15 crew members have returned home.

After bidding farewell to the Expedition 16 crew Saturday night, the Expedition 15 crew, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, boarded their Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft for the return to Earth. They undocked from the station around 3:14 a.m. EDT Sunday and landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 6:36 a.m.

Joining Expedition 15 for the journey home is spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a Malaysian flying under an agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). He arrived at the station with the Expedition 16 crew, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko, on Oct 12.

NASA managers overseeing the launch preparations for STS-120 said space shuttle Discovery is ready for two weeks in space.

"All of our systems are in good shape," NASA Test Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said.

The extensive staff of engineers who conduct the countdown will report to the Launch Control Center on Saturday afternoon and the countdown will begin at 2 p.m.

The Italian-built Harmony module Discovery is carrying to the International Space Station is also in good shape, payload manager Glenn Chin said. The station segment weighs more than 31,000 pounds and will serve as a connecting point for laboratory modules from NASA and the European and Japanese space agencies.

A few days ago, two ARISS antennas have been installed on the European Space Laboratory Columbus. The module will be delivered to the International Space Station by a nearby Shuttle mission. From the beginning, there will be Amateur Radio antennas on the European segment of the ISS.

All this started five years ago, when the ARISS-Europe chairman took the initiative to submit a request for amateur radio facilities on the Columbus module to Mr Jörg Feustel-Büechl, ESA Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity:

"The ARISS international working group provides the many organizational and operational services needed to insure successful educational school contacts. All these activities are offered, free of charge, by volunteering amateur radio operators of the different countries involved.

An International Space Station Expedition 16 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Giosuè Carducci, Santa Marinella, Italy on 23 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:52 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and IZØLRI. The contact should be audible in most of Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

The GIOSUE' CARDUCCI secondary school is located in the town of Santa Marinella, 60 km northwest of Rome. The classes having the ARISS QSO are composed of students (boys and girls) aged between 12 and 15 years. The ARISS activity is well integrated into the school curriculum. The project called "Guglielmo Marconi" is about the research and experiments done by the town of Guglielmo Marconi at the National Radioelectric Centre. Marconi carried out experiments on microwaves, RADAR, radio mobile telephone and the use of the moon as a natural satellite. Marconi sent waves from Santa Marinella to the moon and received their reflections.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA will start the launch countdown for space shuttle Discovery's STS-120 mission at 2 p.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 20, at T-43 hours. The countdown includes 26 hours and 38 minutes of built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time of approximately 11:38 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 23. The launch window extends an additional five minutes.

During the 14-day mission to the International Space Station, Discovery's crew will add the Node 2 module to the expanding station. Node 2, known as Harmony, will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules to be installed later this year and early in 2008, respectively. The Discovery crew also will move the station's Port 6 segment of the station's backbone, or truss, and its solar arrays to a permanent position at the very end of the left side of the truss. The flight will include five spacewalks.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA senior managers Tuesday completed a detailed review of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight and selected Oct. 23 as the official launch date. Commander Pam Melroy and her six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 11:38 a.m. EDT on the STS-120 mission to the International Space Station.

Tuesday's meeting included a discussion about concerns raised by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center regarding the reinforced carbon carbon on three of Discovery's wing leading edge panels. This issue initially was brought before the Space Shuttle Program during a two-day, preliminary review held last week to assess preparations for Discovery's mission.

An International Space Station ARISS school contact has been planned with the last of five Malaysian Group of Schools at the National Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 20 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:50 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between and Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor - 9W2MUS and station 9M2RPN. The contact should be audible in most of Malaysia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

This will be the fifth ARISS opportunity to establish a radio link between school children and the ISS, also talking to our Malaysian Astronaut. This is going to be a most stimulating experience for school children to learn first hand something about Space and human spaceflight.

NASA managers are set to gather at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday for a final readiness review for the upcoming flight of space shuttle Discovery. The STS-120 mission to the International Space Station is currently targeted for launch on Oct. 23. Agency managers will decide on an official launch date at the conclusion of Tuesday's review.

http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/48hour/msg01138.html

An International Space Station ARISS school contact has been planned with one of five Malaysian Group of Schools at the National Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 18 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:39 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between and Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor - 9W2MUS and station 9M2RPN. The contact should be audible in most of Malaysia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

This will be the fourth ARISS opportunity to establish a radio link between school children and the ISS, also talking to our Malaysian Astronaut. This is going to be a most stimulating experience for school children to learn first hand something about Space and human spaceflight.