The crew of space shuttle Discovery is slated to leave the International Space Station today.

The STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews will bid one another farewell and close the hatches between the two spacecraft at 12:53 p.m. EDT. Discovery is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 3:53 p.m.

STS-119 arrived at the station March 17, delivering the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and truss element to the station.

In addition, the STS-119 astronauts delivered Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata, who replaced Sandra Magnus, now a mission specialist returning to Earth aboard Discovery.

STS-119 Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold are slated to work outside the station today for the third planned spacewalk of the mission. Their tasks will include the relocation of a crew and equipment translation aid cart, the lubrication of the Canadarm2 end effector, and several tasks on the starboard and port truss segments.

Acaba and Arnold are scheduled to leave the station at 11:43 a.m. EDT. The excursion is expected to last 6.5 hours.

The STS-119 crew's stay at the station will end when Discovery undocks March 25.

For the latest news and information on the STS-119 mission, visit the main shuttle page. › Read more at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Joseph Acaba are slated to exit the International Space Station on the second STS-119 spacewalk at 12:43 p.m. EDT.

The spacewalkers will prepare batteries on the Port 6 truss segment for replacement on a later mission. They also will prepare an unpressurized cargo carrier attachment and a payload attachment system for use. Swanson will install a GPS antenna on the exterior of the Japanese logistics module, and Acaba will photograph the radiators on the first port and starboard truss segments

For the latest news and information on the STS-119 mission, visit the main shuttle page. › Read more at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

In addition to a new crew member, space shuttle Discovery brought the S6 truss segment to the International Space Station Tuesday. The delivery and installation of the station's final, major U.S. truss segment will bring the orbiting laboratory up to full power and double its capacity to perform science.

The STS-119 and Expedition 18 crew members will spend the day moving the S6 truss to its installation site and preparing for the first spacewalk of the mission. Mission specialists Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold are scheduled to perform that spacewalk Thursday.

For the latest news and information on the STS-119 mission, visit the main shuttle page.

The Expedition 18 crew members aboard the International Space Station received an all-clear from Mission Control at 12:45 p.m. EDT Thursday after moving to the shelter of their Soyuz landing craft when a piece of space debris was expected to pass close to the station.

MCC-Houston CAPCOM Kathy Bolt spoke with Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke about the possible conjunction of an estimated 13-centimeter-diameter piece of space debris with the station. Listen to an edited clip of the highlights of the conversation including the first notification that went to the crew and the all-clear notification.

[img]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160328main_420x287.jpg[/img] Image above: Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus takes a moment for a photo while working with the LOH- RadGene experiment at the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA The Expedition 18 crew aboard the International Space Station focused on spacewalk preparations Thursday. They also conducted a training exercise for the upcoming STS-119 mission. Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov completed a variety of tasks in anticipation of next Tuesday's spacewalk including resizing spacesuits, conducting routine spacesuit maintenance and configuring spacewalk tools and equipment. They also tested a pressure equalization valve in the Pirs docking compartment.

The Expedition 18 crew readied for future spacewalks Friday as it wrapped up a busy week filled with science and preparations for the arrival of the next International Space Station crew.

Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus cleaned some debris from oxygen hose coupling devices in the Quest airlock. The hoses are used during campouts that help astronauts prepare their bodies for spacewalks.

Shuttle program managers have tentatively set March 12 as the launch date of space shuttle Discovery and the STS-119 mission. The STS-119 crew will conduct four spacewalks and install the final set of power-generating solar arrays on the station.

[img]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160328main_iss018e033767.jpg[/img] Image above: Astronaut Michael Fincke (right), Expedition 18 commander; astronaut Sandra Magnus and cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, both flight engineers, pose for a crew photo between a Russian Orlan spacesuit and an Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit in the Harmony node of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA The Expedition 18 crew of the International Space Station focused its attention Tuesday on science experiments and preparations for the arrival of the next crew. Commander Mike Fincke worked with the Smoke Point in Co-flow Experiment, or SPICE, which determines the point at which gas-jet flames begin to emit soot in microgravity. Studying a soot-emitting flame will help scientists understand how fires spread in space and aid in the control of soot for future combustion systems. Fincke set up new parameters for the SPICE hardware and videotaped payload operations.

A new Progress cargo carrier docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station at 2:18 a.m. EST Friday with more than 2.4 tons of oxygen, air, propellant and other supplies and equipment aboard.

The station's 32nd Progress unpiloted spacecraft brings to the orbiting laboratory more than 1,910 pounds of propellant, more than 100 pounds of oxygen and air, and more than 2,860 pounds of dry cargo. Total cargo weight is 4,894 pounds.

Progress 32 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 12:49 a.m. It replaces the trash-filled Progress 31 which was undocked from Pirs on Feb. 5 and destroyed on re-entry.

[img]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160328main_2009_02_10_010_main.jpg[/img] Image above: The ISS Progress 32 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Credit: Roscosmos › View more launch photos on Roscosmos site at http://www.roscosmos.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=5393 A new Progress cargo carrier launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 12:49 a.m. EST. Less than nine minutes later, the ISS Progress 32 reached its preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas. It replaces the trash-filled Progress 31, which was undocked from the Pirs Docking Compartment on Feb. 5 and sent into a destructive re-entry.