MS. STILSON: Well, Lynn in McLean asks, are there new parts of the Space Station aboard Discovery?
MR. HIGGINBOTHAM: Absolutely. We're carrying up a lot of different spare parts for use on the Station,
a couple of which are flying up in the mid-deck of Discovery along with the crew.
These are two spacesuits to replace the two that are currently on orbit in the U.S. airlock Quest.
They have a problem and need to come home, so we're leaving two new ones behind.
Then also in the MPLM, some of the larger pieces that we're carrying up are associated with the treadmill
that the crew uses for exercise on the Station. Exercise is extremely important in microgravity
to keep the crew healthy for their ultimate return to Earth. So we need to get that treadmill back up and running again.
So we're carrying up a lot of replacement parts. Also in the MPLM, we're carrying up a variety of other spares in order
to fix things or to provide backup in case something does break on the Station in the future.
And, lastly, on the External Stowage Platform, we're carrying up a lot of spares that we don't need right yet, but we will need in the future.