WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:07.000 You're watching NASA Direct. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:11.000 Next on the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report: 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:17.000 Discovery’s payload bay doors are closed in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building… 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:23.000 The external tank and solid rocket boosters stand ready for the orbiter’s arrival May 12… 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.000 The astronaut crew arrives to check out flight hardware… 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:35.000 And… the hatch is closed for flight on Leonardo, the payload module Discovery will carry to the International Space Station. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:38.000 The NASA Space Shuttle Status Report starts right now! 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:50.000 Music. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:01:00.000 I'm Sean Black, NASA test director, and this is the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report. Discovery’s payload bay doors have been closed, 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.000 in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building, 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:10.000 then out to Launch Pad 39B to fly mission STS-121 to the International Space Station. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:15.000 Space shuttle main engine number two was replaced and leak checks were completed. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:17.000 Once all preflight closeouts are complete, 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:22.000 Discovery will move from the orbiter processing facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.000 That move is targeted for May 12. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:33.000 With liftoff set for July, there has been a lot of activity surrounding Discovery’s external tank and solid rocket boosters… 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:40.000 In the Vehicle Assembly Building, technicians applied final thermal protection system foam to the aft end of the tank, 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 following the change-out of four liquid hydrogen engine cut-off sensors. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:51.000 Crane operators then lifted the tank from a horizontal position and placed it between the twin solid rocket boosters, 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:55.000 already stacked in high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:02:02.000 A decision was also made that the tank feature known as “ice/frost ramps” will not be redesigned. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:09.000 The ice/frost ramps are wedges of thermal protection foam which cover metal connections on the tank. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.000 The ramps keep ice and frost from building up in those areas. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:19.000 The current design has been deemed acceptable for flight by shuttle program management. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:26.000 Four members of Discovery’s crew participated in a Crew Equipment Interface Test at the Kennedy Space Center. During the test, 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:33.000 the crew inspected mission hardware and flight equipment they will use on orbit during the shuttle’s next mission. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:38.000 STS-121 crew members participating in the tests were Commander Steve Lindsey, 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:45.000 Pilot Mark Kelly and missions specialists Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:53.000 Finally, the hatch was closed on Discovery’s primary payload, the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:59.000 Discovery will carry the module and its two-ton load of equipment to resupply the International Space Station. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:06.000 Leonardo will then be reloaded with equipment and brought back to Earth in Discovery’s cargo bay. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:12.000 Discovery’s launch planning window extends from July 1 to July 19. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.000 That’s all the time we have for this week’s Space Shuttle Status Report -- 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.000 your inside look at NASA's three space shuttles as they prepare for flight! 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:26.000 Until our next report, stay with NASA TV and nasa.gov for the latest in mission news. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:42.000 For the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report, I'm Sean Black. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:47.000