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Next on the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report: Discovery's payload is loaded and ready to go!
Plus: Final checkout work is in progress, preparing Space Shuttle Discovery for a July launch window!
Then, the third re-designed External Tank has arrived!
And, Atlantis closes its payload bay doors, gearing up for its mission to the International Space Station.
NASA is preparing for Return to Flight and the Space Shuttle Status Report starts right now!
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After a successful rollout to the launch pad, Discovery's payload is now loaded into the cargo
bay and ready to fly into space on mission STS-114 to the International Space Station!
I'm Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA test director, and this is the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report.
Now that Discovery is back at the launch pad awaiting the opening of a launch window that
begins July 13, the final checkout and testing work is underway!
On June 17, technicians removed Discovery's three payloads from the transport canister.
With the help of the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism, or PGHM, they were positioned inside the orbiter.
The payload doors will remain open for a final inspection by the crew, then close late this month for flight.
On June 22nd, the hypergolic propellants -- monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide -- were
loaded into Discovery's Orbiter Maneuvering System and the Forward Reaction Control System.
While Discovery prepares at the pad, Kennedy Space Center Media Services is preparing for
thousands of print, web, radio and television journalists planning worldwide coverage of the launch.
In just a few weeks, your favorite media outlet will most likely provide launch day coverage
from right here at the Kennedy Space Center. You can also watch the launch live on NASA TV or on our website, nasa-dot-gov.
The payloads are packed with supplies for the International Space Station.
Work on Space Shuttle Atlantis is picking up inside Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 to prepare it for a September launch.
Right now, power-up system testing is nearly complete. The payload bay has been cleaned, and the
doors closed for a final time before flight.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, technicians are preparing Atlantis' External Tank
and Solid Rocket Boosters to be attached to the orbiter. This stack was originally scheduled to
fly with Discovery, but will now fly on mission STS-121.
Finally on this week's Space Shuttle Status Report, the third redesigned External Tank, ET-119, has arrived at Kennedy Space Center.
It is also inside the VAB, where it will be prepped to fly on a future space shuttle mission.
That's all the time we have for this week's Space Shuttle Status Report.
Check back next week for the latest updates as NASA prepares for a safe Return to
Flight mission to the International Space Station this July.
To learn more about the Return to Flight mission, and other mission news, log on to nasa-dot-gov.
I'm Charlie Blackwell-Thompson for the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report.
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