Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:35:49 PM CDT

Teams at Kennedy Space Center have completed a portion of the testing of a liquid hydrogen fill and drain valve in space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system. The valve opened and closed when commanded five different times with no issues. This "cycle testing" of Discovery began at 6:28 p.m. EDT and finished at 6:59 p.m.

Teams are now performing a pressure test of the propulsion system, and recording the leak rate of small amounts of liquid hydrogen. Data from tonight's tests will be brought to tomorrow's mission management team for evaluation at the noon meeting.

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:23:35 PM CDT

NASA is targeting space shuttle Discovery for a launch attempt Friday morning at 12:22 a.m., mission management team Chairman Mike Moses said. Engineers will evaluate a liquid hydrogen valve that developed problems during tanking operations Tuesday evening. Detailed test data about the valve will be examined before Discovery's fuel tank is loaded with propellant ahead of Friday morning's launch attempt.

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:57:53 AM CDT

Launch of space shuttle Discovery was postponed early this morning due to lingering thunderstorms in the vicinity of the launch pad. Launch has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 1:10 a.m. EDT.

The mission management team will meet at 3 p.m. today to give the "go- no go" for tanking operations. The current STS-128 launch day weather forecast is 70 percent favorable conditions for tanking and launch. The primary concern is cumulus clouds and showers within 20 nautical miles of the shuttle landing facility at the time of launch.

Launch commen

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:04:08 PM CDT

The STS-128 crew arrived Wednesday evening at Kennedy Space Center for their final prelaunch preparation. Pausing for a brief moment to talk with media, Commander Sturckow said, "It's great to be here for the launch. We've been studying and training hard, and we're ready to go accomplish this mission."

Earlier in the day, the Flight Readiness Review for space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission concluded, setting the launch date for Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 1:36 a.m. EDT.

"I can't say enough about the quality of the review we had over the past day and a half," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, during a post-FRR news conference Wednesday morning. "It was a very effective review; I think we're ready to go fly. It's a real tribute to be here with the team that's done a great job with engineering, the (Kennedy) team that's gotten us this far in processing."

NASA astronaut Patrick Forrester, whose hometown is Springfield, Va., will make his third journey into orbit on space shuttle Discovery's next mission to the International Space Station.

Discovery is targeted to launch at 1:36 a.m. EDT, Aug. 25, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. To cover the launch on-site, U.S. reporters must request Kennedy credentials online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Forrester is one of seven astronauts who will fly on Discovery's STS-128 mission. The 13-day flight will deliver science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. The name Colbert received the most entries in NASA's online poll to name the station's Node 3. NASA named the node Tranquility.

NASA astronaut Danny Olivas, born and raised in El Paso, Texas, will conduct three spacewalks during the upcoming space shuttle mission to the International Space Station. This is the first shuttle flight to feature two Latino astronauts, Olivas and Jose Hernandez who are both of Mexican descent.

Discovery is targeted to launch at 1:36 a.m. EDT, Aug. 25, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. To cover the launch on-site, U.S. reporters must request Kennedy credentials online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Olivas is one of seven astronauts who will fly on Discovery's STS-128 mission. The 13-day flight will deliver science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. The name Colbert received the most entries in NASA's online poll to name the station's Node 3. NASA named the node Tranquility.

NASA has assigned the crew for space shuttle mission STS-134 to the International Space Station. The flight will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, to the station. The AMS is a state-of-the-art cosmic ray particle physics detector designed to examine fundamental issues about matter and the origin and structure of the universe.

Navy Capt. Mark Kelly will command the STS-134 mission. Retired Air Force Col. Gregory H. Johnson will serve as the pilot. Mission Specialists are Air Force Col. Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel. European Space Agency astronaut and Italian Air Force Col. Roberto Vittori also will serve as a mission specialist.

NASA astronaut Patrick Forrester, who was born in El Paso, Texas, will make his third journey into orbit on space shuttle Discovery's next mission to the International Space Station.

Discovery is targeted to launch at 1:36 a.m. EDT, Aug. 25, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. To cover the launch on-site, U.S. reporters must request Kennedy credentials online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Forrester is one of seven astronauts who will fly on Discovery's STS-128 mission. The 13-day flight will deliver science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. The name Colbert received the most entries in NASA's online poll to name the station's Node 3. NASA named the node Tranquility.

NASA's next space shuttle mission will carry two California- born astronauts into orbit.

Veteran space flier Rick Sturckow, from Lakeside, Calif., will command shuttle Discovery's mission to the International Space Station. Jose Hernandez, who considers Stockton, Calif., his hometown, will make his first trip to space.

Discovery, with its crew of seven astronauts, is targeted to launch at 1:36 a.m. EDT Aug. 25 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. To cover the launch on-site, U.S. reporters must request Kennedy credentials online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Before undocking from the International Space Station Tuesday, the crew aboard the shuttle Endeavour transferred nearly 1,200 pounds of water to the orbiting outpost. But one crewmember kept a small, but very special, set of water samples for the ride home.

Mission specialist Julie Payette, who together with space station flight engineer Bob Thirsk set a record for the first time two Canadians have been in space at the same time, launched with the water to symbolize the partnership that humans share with planet Earth. Endeavour is due to land in Florida Friday at 10:48 am. EDT (1448 GMT).