There are 2 messages totalling 61 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. STS-119 MCC Status Report #14
2. STS-119 MCC Status Report #15

Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:14:02 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #14

STS-119 Report #14 Sunday, March 22, 2009 9:00 a m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

The astronauts on board space shuttle Discovery get a halftime break today as they reach the midpoint of the 13-day assembly mission to the International Space Station

This morning’s wake-up music was “Alive Again” by Chicago, played for Chicago-area native Commander Lee Archambault He, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and John Phillips have three hours of off-duty time scheduled this morning

Meanwhile, Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke will fill the Urine Processing Assembly for its first processing run since installation of a new Distillation Assembly, the component that removes impurities from urine in the early phase of water recycling The new DA had a good “dry spin” yesterday, with Fincke and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus reporting it made much less noise in operation than had the old one A second dry spin is planned immediately before the processing run, to provide ground teams an opportunity to record the sound made while the UPA operates, for further analysis and troubleshooting

Magnus will spend time this morning continuing her handover to Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, while Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov attends to maintenance in the Russian section of the International Space Station

In the latter portion of the day the crews will turn attention to preparations for the third spacewalk of the mission, on Monday Difficulties installing a cargo carrier attachment system to the P3 truss segment during Saturday’s spacewalk kept Swanson and Acaba from completing all the tasks on that timeline The plan for Monday’s spacewalk is under review to ensure that the highest priority tasks for spacewalks on this flight will be completed before Discovery undocks on Wednesday

At 5:14 p m CDT Archambault, Antonelli, Acaba, Phillips, Magnus and Wakata will gather in the Harmony node to discuss the progress of the flight in interviews with CNN en Espanol, CBS News and WOFL-TV in Orlando

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: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:45:36 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #15

STS-119 Report #15 Sunday, March 22, 2009 - 8:30 p m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Focus today aboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery was on spacewalk preparations and tests of the urine recycling unit – part of an overall system designed to regenerate waste water and urine into drinking water as the complex prepares to increase its crew size from three to six

Station Commander Mike Fincke spent much of the day working with the Urine Processing Assembly now that it has a new distillation assembly delivered by Discovery’s crew Initially the system showed a lower than expected flow rate when attempts were made to fill the reservoir tank, but after a tank swap, the tank was filled

A second “dry spin” of the unit is underway with a microphone strategically placed near the new Distillation Assembly to allow engineers on the ground to collect sound data in order to compare with that gathered before launch during the unit’s ground certification testing Fincke and former Flight Engineer now shuttle Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus reported that during the first “dry spin” the unit sounded quieter than the unit it replaced

Following the sound measurements and data evaluation of the unit’s operation, Fincke was given the go to begin the “wet spin” processing of the unit’s first sample A full run takes about four to five hours

Mission Specialists Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold prepared tools and equipment for their spacewalk tomorrow – the third and final planned during Discovery’s visit to the station They also began an overnight “campout” in the Quest airlock to condition their bodies ahead of the spacewalk set to begin at 10:43 Monday morning

They plan to relocate an equipment cart from one side of the station’s Mobile Transporter to the other; attempt to complete a deploy of a cargo carrier that exhibited a balky handle during the second spacewalk Saturday They also will deploy a payload attach system and complete work to swap electrical relays to the station’s gyroscopes One last task will be to lubricate the latching end effector on the station’s robotic arm – a routine maintenance task to prevent stickiness during latching procedures

Magnus also continued her handover to Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, while Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov attends to maintenance in the Russian section of the International Space Station

The next status report will be issued Monday morning after wake up, 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 - 22 Mar 2009 to 23 Mar 2009 (#2009-26)

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