Chief
05-28-2008, 04:22 PM
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts123/main/index.html
The countdown for a Saturday afternoon launch of the shuttle Discovery began today around noon our time. The Kibo laboratory has been closed out on the pad and is ready to go. The crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center today to begin final preparations for the countdown.
I watched the mission brief this afternoon, and learned that Kibo is the largest object ever lofted by the Shuttle, but it is not the heaviest. Launches to the ISS are limited in the weight they can carry because of the steep inclination that is needed to get to the station. Earlier missions (not to the space station) have lofted satellites that are heavier than Kibo, and the main truss assembly for the station weighed more, though it was not as large.
Parts needed to repair the toilet in the Russian section of the station are being flown to the cape in a diplomatic pouch from Russia, and will be loaded onboard the mid-deck of the shuttle sometime tomorrow. Apparently one of the pumps that operates the toilet is kaput, and considering what the Russians consider to be a balanced diet, you can see why this is an immediate problem. Weight and center of gravity balance are critical on any mission, and Kibo is affecting the COG on this launch, so some 35 pounds of non-critical spares were offloaded to make room for the needed repair parts.
Launch is scheduled for 3:02 PDT on this Saturday afternoon. The weather is expected to be clear, so the video from the launch ought to be particularly spectacular.
mrgrn
The countdown for a Saturday afternoon launch of the shuttle Discovery began today around noon our time. The Kibo laboratory has been closed out on the pad and is ready to go. The crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center today to begin final preparations for the countdown.
I watched the mission brief this afternoon, and learned that Kibo is the largest object ever lofted by the Shuttle, but it is not the heaviest. Launches to the ISS are limited in the weight they can carry because of the steep inclination that is needed to get to the station. Earlier missions (not to the space station) have lofted satellites that are heavier than Kibo, and the main truss assembly for the station weighed more, though it was not as large.
Parts needed to repair the toilet in the Russian section of the station are being flown to the cape in a diplomatic pouch from Russia, and will be loaded onboard the mid-deck of the shuttle sometime tomorrow. Apparently one of the pumps that operates the toilet is kaput, and considering what the Russians consider to be a balanced diet, you can see why this is an immediate problem. Weight and center of gravity balance are critical on any mission, and Kibo is affecting the COG on this launch, so some 35 pounds of non-critical spares were offloaded to make room for the needed repair parts.
Launch is scheduled for 3:02 PDT on this Saturday afternoon. The weather is expected to be clear, so the video from the launch ought to be particularly spectacular.
mrgrn