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