STS-114 Report #23 Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005 – 1:30 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Discovery is flying solo today, following its early morning departure from the International Space Station, concluding nine days of cooperative work between the two crews. Pilot Jim Kelly was at the controls as latches between the two vehicles were released and Discovery began to back gently away from the Station. Undocking occurred at 2:24 a.m. CDT as the two spacecraft flew high over the Pacific Ocean, west ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #22 Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005 – 12:30 a.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas After more than a week of working together in space, the Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews bid each other farewell tonight. Following a crew farewell ceremony at 11:36 p.m. CDT, hatches between the spacecraft were closed at 12:14 a.m. CDT, with Discovery's undocking planned for 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday morning. “The Air Force Song” was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #21 Friday, Aug. 5, 2005 – 7 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Discovery astronauts and their hosts on the International Space Station undocked the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the Station's Unity Node Friday and reberthed it in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, also made prepar ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #20 Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005 – 11:45 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Now in their eleventh day of the mission and with three successful spacewalks behind them, the STS-114 crew of Space Shuttle Discovery is slated to begin preparations for undocking and the final day with their International Space Station counterparts. Their activities for the day include final equipment transfers, stowage and return of the robotic arm, boom and cargo container to the Shuttle payload bay. &Acir ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #19 Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005 – 4 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Space Shuttle Discovery’s heat shield is cleared for the return to Earth early Monday after mission managers decided today that a fourth spacewalk to deal with a puffed out thermal blanket is unnecessary. Wind tunnel tests overnight at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California showed little chance of any significant debris coming from the blanket at supersonic speeds. Further engineering analysis sh ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #18 Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 – 11 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas After an eventful day supporting the third spacewalk of the mission, a light duty day of transfer activities, special events and time off lies ahead for the Space Shuttle Discovery crew as they begin their tenth day in space. The seven-member Shuttle crew awoke to the well-known country song “Amarillo by Morning,” performed by George Strait, at 10:09 p.m. CDT. Their Station counterparts, the Expe ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #17 Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 - 7:30 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Despite days of anticipation and intense planning, space-walking astronaut Steve Robinson made it look easy as he gently pulled two protruding gap fillers from between thermal protection tiles on Discovery's underside Wednesday morning. "It looks like this big patient is cured," Robinson told delighted flight controllers. Fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency helped Ro ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #16 Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 - 11 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas The Space Shuttle Discovery crew begins their ninth day in space with preparations for the third spacewalk of the mission. This extravehicular activity (EVA) was a preplanned activity for the mission, but now includes a new task –repair of two protruding gap fillers between tiles on the bottom the Shuttle. The crew began the day waking up at 10:09 p.m. CDT to "Where My Heart Will Take Me," the theme son ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #15 Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 - 6 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Space Shuttle mission managers Tuesday cleared Discovery’s wing leading edge heat shield for re-entry as they methodically deal with concerns over the protruding tile gap fillers. The mission management team also discussed a “puffed out” insulating blanket outside the commander’s cockpit window and has decided it poses no risk of overheating during entry. Engineers will continue to analyze whet ...Continue Reading

STS-114 Report #15 Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 - 6 p.m. CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas Space Shuttle mission managers Tuesday cleared Discovery’s wing leading edge heat shield for re-entry as they methodically deal with concerns over the protruding tile gap fillers. The mission management team also discussed a “puffed out” insulating blanket outside the commander’s cockpit window and has decided it poses no risk of overheating during entry. Engineers will continue to analyze whet ...Continue Reading