There are 2 messages totalling 65 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. STS-119 MCC Status Report #06
2. STS-119 MCC Status Report #07

Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:24:17 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #06

STS-119 Report #06 Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 9:15 a m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

The last set of American solar power panels for the International Space Station start the last leg of their journey today when the astronauts on space shuttle Discovery position the new S6 truss element for installation

At 10:18 a m CDT, Mission Specialists John Phillips and Sandra Magnus start the procedure to command the station’s Canadarm2 to grapple S6 and lift it out of the shuttle’s payload bay, where Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialist Joseph Acaba are waiting for a handoff to the shuttle’s robot arm

The station arm will release S6 so its operating base can move out to the starboard end of the station’s truss structure Once there, Phillips and station Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata will fly Canadarm2 back to take a handoff back from the shuttle arm, and then move S6 into an overnight park position near its final installation location The new element, and its two solar array wings, will be put in place on the starboard end of the truss during the first spacewalk of the mission Thursday

In the meantime, Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold will spend the first part of the day checking out systems in the station’s Quest airlock and configuring the tools they’ll take outside with them on the mission's first planned spacewalk Thursday The two spacewalkers will assist with the installation of the S6 Truss and open the solar array blanket boxes

Station Commander Mike Fincke and Discovery Commander Lee Archambault will join Acaba and Arnold to talk about the progress of the mission in an interview with Channel One News at 1:58 p m

Just before the combined crews break for lunch at 2:20 p m station Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov will assist his new crewmate Wakata with a leak check of the Japanese astronaut’s Soyuz launch and entry suit Wakata has time in his schedule each day to familiarize himself with the stations’ systems and operations

This morning’s wakeup song, “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash, was played for Swanson

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

#

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: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:09:22 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #07

STS-119 Report #07 Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 8 p m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – A busy day in orbit for the crews of Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station has set the stage for another station assembly task – the installation of the final truss segment and American solar power panels

As the crew prepared for the first spacewalk to assist with the truss installation, Mission Control radioed that no further inspection of Discovery’s heat shield is necessary clearing the way for an earlier deployment of the solar wings Friday

Late today, imagery analysts along with the Damage Assessment Team in Mission Control determined Discovery’s heat shield is healthy for reentry next week A final routine inspection of the shuttle’s wing leading edge panels will be conducted after Discovery leaves the station to ensure their health

Near the end of the crew day, the station’s robotic arm maneuvered the 31,000 pound, 45-foot-long truss segment to an overnight “park” position to await the start of the first spacewalk by Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Ricky Arnold They will “campout” in the Quest airlock of the station at a reduced air pressure overnight to prepare their bodies for the spacewalk planned to last six and a half hours

The two astronauts will assist with final connection of the S6 to its permanent home attached to the remaining station truss They will connect plumbing, electrical and data cables bringing the segment to life before deployment of the 240-foot-long solar panels

Meanwhile, the newest station crew member Koichi Wakata is settling in for a three-month stay on board after swapping places with Sandy Magnus who returns home aboard Discovery after four months in space

Wakata is the first Japanese astronaut to stay long-term aboard the station He will be on board when the final pieces of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory are launched aboard Endeavour this summer on the STS-127 mission

The crews head to bed between 10 and 11 tonight as preparations continue toward Thursday’s assembly task

The next status report will be issued after crew wake up, which is set for 7:13 Thursday morning, or earlier if events warrant

#

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 - 18 Mar 2009 to 19 Mar 2009 (#2009-22)

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