There are 3 messages totalling 114 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. STS-119 MCC Status Report #20
2. NASA'S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM TESTS ORION RECOVERY PROCEDURES
3. STS-119 MCC Status Report #21

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:42:32 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #20

STS-119 Report #20 Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 7:30 a m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

After more than four months in space, astronaut Sandra Magnus takes the first step on the road home today when space shuttle Discovery undocks from the International Space Station

The shuttle crew was awakened at 5:14 a m CDT today with the song “Dirty Water” by the Standells, played for Pilot Tony Antonelli, who’ll be at the controls of Discovery when it undocks from the station

The shuttle and station crew members will take care of the final transfers of equipment and supplies this morning, including leaving a 12th container of water on the station, moving two spacesuits back to Discovery and transferring two double cold bags containing temperature-sensitive experiment samples to the shuttle for return to Earth

The 10 crew members will gather in the Harmony module at 11:53 a m for a farewell ceremony before shuttle Commander Lee Archambault leads his crew back into Discovery He and station Commander Mike Fincke will close the hatches between their two vehicles

At 2:53 p m Antonelli will command Discovery to release the station’s Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 as springs push the shuttle out in front of the station At a distance of 400 feet, Antonelli will start circling the station so the shuttle’s crew and cameras can get the first look at the completed truss structure and the fourth set of solar array wings fully deployed Then the thrusters will be fired to move Discovery away from the station to start the journey home for a planned landing Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center

The next status report will be issued this evening 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: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:54:28 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA'S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM TESTS ORION RECOVERY PROCEDURES

March 25, 2009

Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668

Kylie Clem Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Amber Philman Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-867-2468

Report #RELEASE: H09-068

NASA'S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM TESTS ORION RECOVERY PROCEDURES

WASHINGTON -- A full-scale mockup of NASA's Orion crew module is being tested in water under simulated and real landing weather conditions Beginning March 23, a Navy-built, 18,000-pound Orion mockup will be placed in a test pool at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Md Ocean testing will begin April 6 off the coast of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

The goal of the operation, dubbed the Post-landing Orion Recovery Test, or PORT, is to determine what kind of motions the astronaut crew can expect after landing, as well as conditions outside for the recovery team The experience will help NASA design landing recovery operations including equipment, ship and crew necessities

The Carderock facility provides a controlled environment for crew recovery personnel to familiarize themselves with the Orion capsule before the team tests procedures in the uncontrolled waters of the Atlantic Ocean

For the ocean testing, the team will use a space shuttle solid rocket booster recovery ship to take the mockup out to sea, going further into rougher conditions each day A media opportunity to view testing visible from shore will be scheduled for April 7 at Kennedy During the Orion mockup's transportation from Maryland to Florida, it will make stops for public viewing Designated opportunities are March 30 in front of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington and April 3 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Florida

NASA's Constellation Program, which includes the Orion crew vehicle and the Ares I rocket that will launch it, is America's next-generation human spaceflight system that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station, back to the moon and to destinations beyond

The Constellation Program's Operations and Test Integration Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is leading the PORT effort Development of Orion and associated Constellation Program elements is a joint effort involving every NASA center and partners across the country Results of these tests will influence Orion vehicle design at Johnson and recovery hardware designs under evaluation at Kennedy

For more information about NASA's Orion crew vehicle, visit:

www nasa gov/orion

For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

www nasa gov/constellation

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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: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:47:57 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-119 MCC Status Report #21

STS-119 Report #21 Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 8 p m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – After 129 days aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Sandy Magnus is headed back to Earth along with the Discovery astronauts, who spent nearly 10 days docked to the station

The 10 crew members gathered in the Harmony module at 11:53 a m for a farewell ceremony where ISS Commander Mike Fincke thanked the Discovery crew for an outstanding mission and giving the station more power and a new crew member, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata After shuttle Commander Lee Archambault led his crew back into Discovery, he and Fincke closed the hatches between their two vehicles at 12:59 p m

Discovery undocked from the ISS at 2:53 p m as springs pushed the shuttle out in front of the station At a distance of 400 feet, Pilot Tony Antonelli circled the station as the shuttle’s crew and cameras captured the first look at the completed truss structure and the fourth set of solar array wings fully deployed

At 4:09 p m , the first of two separation burns was performed to move Discovery away from the station to start the journey home The final separation burn occurred at 4:37 p m

If the STS-119 crew lands on the first opportunity on Saturday, 12:43 p m Central at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla , Magnus will have spent 134 days in space, and Discovery’s crew nearly 13 days in space

Tomorrow, the crew will wake at 5:13 a m and perform a late inspection of Discovery’s thermal protection system using the shuttle robotic arm and the Orbital Boom Sensor System around 9:28 a m This procedure will last for approximately five hours before the OBSS and arm are then berthed in Discovery’s payload bay around 2:43 p m

Also Thursday, Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Michael Barratt and spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi are on target for a Soyuz launch at 6:49 a m from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan They will dock with station Saturday as Discovery ends its STS-119 mission

The next status report will be issued 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 - 25 Mar 2009 to 26 Mar 2009 (#2009-29)

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