There are 3 messages totalling 101 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. STS-119 MCC Status Report #04
2. NASA AWARDS CONTRACT TO ENTERPRISE ADVISORY SERVICES
3. STS-119 MCC Status Report #05

Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:10:53 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #04

STS-119 Report #04 Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 9:00 a m Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

The astronauts on space shuttle Discovery are primed for rendezvous and docking operations that will link their ship to the International Space Station this afternoon and deliver a new crew member

The crew was awakened at 8:44 a m CDT with “Radio Exercise,” performed by the Tokyo Broadcast Children’s Choir The song traditionally accompanies exercise for Japanese schoolchildren, and was played for astronaut Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who’s to become his nation’s first long-duration space traveler later today

By 10:38 a m , shuttle Commander Lee Archambault, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialist John Phillips will step into the rendezvous timeline for a series of engine firings to refine the orbiter’s pursuit of the station The terminal initiation burn of Discovery’s engines is scheduled for 1:35 p m , setting the shuttle on course to close the last eight miles to the station over the subsequent orbit

Discovery should arrive at a point 1,000 feet below the station at 3 p m , when Armchambault will begin manually flying the shuttle He’ll pause 600 feet away to perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver, a backflip that points Discovery’s belly toward the station so Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus can document the condition of the shuttle's heat protection tiles with up to 300 digital photos

Archambault will guide the shuttle to a point 400 feet directly in front of the station, then begin a slow final approach Discovery is expected to dock with the International Space Station at 4:12 p m CDT, as the two vehicles fly above Jakarta, Indonesia

After hatch opening and a safety briefing, the crews will begin moving supplies and equipment into the station Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold will move spacesuits and spacewalking tools into the Quest airlock, and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov will help Wakata install his custom-fitted seat liner in the Soyuz vehicle Once that’s complete, Wakata officially becomes a member of the station crew and Magnus transfers to the shuttle after 121 days as a member of Expedition 18

The next status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant

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NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail

Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:52:12 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA AWARDS CONTRACT TO ENTERPRISE ADVISORY SERVICES

March 17, 2009

David E Steitz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1730

Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Report #C09-012

NASA AWARDS CONTRACT TO ENTERPRISE ADVISORY SERVICES

WASHINGTON -- NASA will exercise the first of two one-year options on a three-year contract to Enterprise Advisory Services Inc of Houston, for facility operations and support at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N M NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the facility

This option is worth $61 1 million and brings the total contract amount to date to $244 million The initial value of the contract was $182 6 million If all options are exercised, the contract's total value will be $305 2 million The hybrid, cost-plus award fee, fixed-price, and indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract began May 1, 2006 This action extends the contract through April 30, 2010

Enterprise Advisory Services will provide non-mission services, including facility construction, environmental services and operations, of NASA's White Sands Space Harbor The company also will support testing at White Sands to verify and improve spaceflight systems, capabilities and materials, and to ensure the safety of human spaceflight

For information about NASA's White Sands Test Facility, visit:

http://www nasa gov/centers/wstf/home/index html

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NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: "unsubscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) or from another account, besides the account used to subscribe: "unsubscribe hsfnews youremail@yourdomain com" (no quotes)

Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:20:18 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #05

STS-119 Report #05 Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 9 p m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 4:20 p m CDT, delivering the final truss segment and pair of U S solar arrays and a new crew member to take up residence aboard the growing orbital scientific complex

Discovery Commander Lee Archambault guided the shuttle to a docking as the two spacecraft flew 220 miles above Western Australia Before closing the final 600 feet to the station, Archambault commanded Discovery through a “backflip” allowing the station’s Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus to take photos that imagery experts will review to assess the health of Discovery’s heat shield

The shuttle and station crews opened hatches and greeted one another at 6:09 p m , beginning more than a week of joint operations between the two crews

One of the first major tasks of the crews was to swap station crew member Magnus for Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata The official swap occurred when a specially fitted seat liner was installed in the Soyuz crew vehicle That swap at 9 p m signified the official designation change making Wakata an Expedition 18 flight engineer and Magnus a shuttle mission specialist

The mission’s main objective Thursday will be to install the 31,000 pound, 45-foot-long truss segment known as S6 and solar array pair to the far starboard end of the truss during the first spacewalk planned by Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Ricky Arnold

Throughout the joint mission, transfer of shuttle middeck items to the station will take place, including a replacement Distillation Assembly for the urine recycler

The station crew is scheduled to go to bed about 11 p m and the shuttle crew 30 minutes later just after 11:30 p m Wake up Wednesday is scheduled for 7:43 a m

Prime business for the crews Wednesday will be to lift the truss segment out of Discovery’s payload bay with the shuttle robot arm and hand it off to the station’s mechanical arm for an overnight stay before Thursday’s permanent installation on the station

The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wake, or earlier if events warrant

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NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail

End of HSFNEWS Digest - 17 Mar 2009 to 18 Mar 2009 (#2009-21)

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