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Next on the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report:
Space Shuttle Discovery spends a week in the Vehicle Assembly Building,
where it’s mated to its external tank and solid rocket boosters…
The STS-121 payloads are placed in a special canister and taken out to the launch pad…
And…the space shuttle stack makes its eight-hour journey to Pad 39B atop the giant crawler transporter in preparation for launch this July!
The NASA Space Shuttle Status Report starts right now!
Music.
I'm Jeremy Graeber, NASA test director, and this is the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report.
Space Shuttle Discovery stands at its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Complex 39.
The shuttle arrived at 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 19, on top of the giant vehicle known as the crawler transporter.
Discovery was moved May 12 from Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building,
a major step toward this summer’s launch to the International Space Station.
Inside the VAB, technicians and crane operators lifted Discovery to a vertical
position and attached it to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters.
Next…the payloads that will launch aboard Discovery were loaded into the
payload transportation canister inside the Space Station Processing Facility.
The canister then rolled out to the launch pad, in preparation for Discovery’s arrival.
Discovery's payloads include the Italian-built logistics module, known as Leonardo,
which will carry food, clothing, spare parts and research equipment to the station.
Other payloads include two cargo carriers which contain heat shield tile samples,
a spare pump module and a replacement mobile transporter reel assembly.
After spending a week in the Vehicle Assembly Building, Discovery was ready for its next destination: Launch Pad 39B.
The crawler transporter began carrying Discovery out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, May 19.
The crawler's maximum speed during the 4.2-mile journey was less than 1 mile-per-hour.
While at the pad, the shuttle is undergoing payload installation, final testing and hardware integration prior to launch,
as well as a "hot fire" test of the auxiliary power units to ensure they are properly functioning.
Discovery's launch to the International Space Station is targeted for July 1, with a launch window that extends until July 19.
During the 12-day mission, Discovery's crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve
shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the station.
The next mission milestone here at the Kennedy Space Center will be the countdown
dress rehearsal with the STS-121 crew, now slated for mid-June. During the event,
Discovery’s crew will practice emergency egress procedures and other training.
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 Jeremy Graeber.