CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. â€" NASA's space shuttle Discovery is on track to launch Saturday to deliver the space station's largest laboratory and some spare parts for the outpost's commode, mission managers said today.

Discovery and its seven-astronaut crew have an 80 percent chance of good weather for their planned 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT) liftoff, mission managers said today here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The STS-124 astronauts are slated to install the tour bus-sized Japanese Kibo laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery's crew, commanded by veteran spaceflyer Mark Kelly, flew in to sunny skies here at the Florida spaceport today. They arrived on T-38 jets from Houston around 12:00 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT).

Astronauts living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) need help from an orbital plumber to fix their troublesome space commode.

The solitary Russian-built toilet inside the station's Zvezda service module began acting up last week, forcing U.S. astronaut Garrett Reisman and his two Russian crewmates to use facilities aboard their docked Soyuz spacecraft before restoring the commode to partial service. Spare parts for the balky space toilet are set to launch aboard NASA's shuttle Discovery on Saturday.

"We are working with the Russians to see what spare parts they'd like us to launch," space station flight director Annette Hasbrook told SPACE.com.

HOUSTON -- NASA Thursday adjusted the target launch dates for two space shuttle missions in 2008. Shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is now targeted for Oct. 8, and Endeavour's STS-126 supply mission to the International Space Station has moved from Oct. 16 to Nov. 10.

The final servicing mission to Hubble was moved from Aug. 28 due to a delay in deliveries of components, including the external fuel tanks, and the need to prepare Endeavour for a possible rescue mission approximately two weeks after STS-125 launches.

Flights beyond STS-126 will be assessed and coordinated with NASA's international partners at a later date. Both shuttle and station program officials will continue to consider options for the remainder of the shuttle flights, with those target launch dates being subject to change.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- News conferences, events and operating hours for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are set for the upcoming launch of space shuttle Discovery. Shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to lift off at 5:02 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 31.

On Wednesday, May 28, Discovery's seven crew members are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy at 11:30 a.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage as Commander Mark Kelly makes a brief statement to media. Badged journalists planning to cover the event must be at Kennedy's news center by 10 a.m. for transportation to the Shuttle Landing Facility.

NASA will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. EDT, Friday, May 30, to discuss new opportunities to use the International Space Station's unique research environment. The briefing will originate from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and be broadcast live on NASA Television.

As part of an initiative to use the space station as a national laboratory, NASA is partnering with other government agencies and the commercial sector to utilize the U.S. segment for research that is not directly applicable to NASA's mission. NASA signed agreements with the University of Colorado's Bioserve Center of Boulder on May 9 and with SPACEHAB of Webster, Tx., and Zero Gravity Inc. of Las Vegas on May 27.

Topics in this report:
1. Delta Researchers School Contact Successful
2. ARISS Delegate Receives CQ's Radio Hall of Fame Award
3. ARRL QST Articles on ARISS Activities
4. ARISS International Team Meeting Held

1. Delta Researchers School Contact Successful
On Friday, May 23, Delta Researchers Schools 2008 Space Expo in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. Garrett Reisman, KE5HAE, answered 15 questions posed to him by children from twelve Dutch primary schools. The audio for this event was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT (101 377) and JK1ZRW (277 208) servers. Photos and audio will be posted on the ARISS-Europe Web site when available.

An International Space Station Expedition 17 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at the Delta Researchers Schools 2008, Space Expo, Noordwijk, the Netherlands on 23 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 13:59 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and WH6PN. The contact should be audible over Hawaii. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English. Audio from the QSO is planned to be fed into the EchoLink *AMSAT* (101 377) and *JK1ZRW* (277 208) servers during the contact.

WASHINGTON -- If you've never seen the International Space Station flying 220 miles overhead, this is the week to do so. The station will be in almost constant sunlight from Wednesday through Friday, offering an incredible view to sky gazers across the country.

In order to find out when the station will be visible over your city, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/sightings

The International Space Station, a unique partnership between the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Construction began in 1998 and will be completed in 2010. Seventeen crews have lived aboard the orbiting complex since 2000, including the current crew of three. Station residents have conducted important scientific experiments and gathered data to help assist future missions to the moon and Mars.

WASHINGTON -- NASA will honor the late astronaut John "Jack" L. Swigert, Jr., with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his involvement in the U.S. space program. During a ceremony with Apollo 13 spacecraft commander James Lovell on Friday, May 23, Swigert's sister Virginia will accept the award at and present it for display to the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver, Colo. The award presentation will highlight the opening of the museum's new exhibit on Colorado's Astronauts.

NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite and mounted for public display. The rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during the six Apollo expeditions from 1969 to 1972.

CQ magazine today announced its 2008 Hall of Fame inductees, welcoming 14 new members into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame, three new members of the CQ DX Hall of Fame and two new members of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio; and those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to amateur radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame honor those amateurs who not only excel in personal performance in these major areas of amateur radio but who also "give back" to Amateur Radio in outstanding ways.