Thu, Dec 21, 2006
Landing Scheduled For Friday
The STS-116 crew onboard
the shuttle Discovery conducted a final inspection of the orbiter's
heat shield Wednesday, in preparation for landing.
STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission
Specialist Nicholas Patrick used the shuttle’s robotic arm
and boom extension sensor system to check the heat shield for any
space junk or micrometeoroid hits that may have occurred while the
orbiter was docked to the International Space Station.
Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Christer Fuglesang, Joan
Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter are stowing items in preparation for
the return to Earth. Discovery is slated to touch down at 3:56 pm
EST Friday at Florida's Kennedy Space Center... but weather could
force a delay, or a landing at an alterate site in New Mexico or
California.
Two small scientific satellites were deployed from the payload
bay Wednesday night. The Microelectromechanical System-Based
PICOSAT Inspector (MEPSI) mini-satellite was released at 7:16 pm.
MEPSI will demonstrate the use of tiny, low-power satellites to
observe larger spacecraft by testing the function of small camera
systems and gyroscopes.
The Radar Fence Transponder (RAFT) satellite was released 90
minutes later, at 8:56 pm. RAFT is a student experiment from the
United States Naval Academy that uses picosatellites to test the
Space Surveillance Radar Fence.
As Aero-News reported,
Discovery undocked from the station Tuesday, ending an eight-day
stay at the orbital outpost. While there, the crew continued the
on-orbit construction of the station with the addition of the P5
spacer truss segment during the first of four spacewalks. The next
two spacewalks were devoted to the rewiring of the station’s
power system, leaving it in a permanent setup. A fourth spacewalk
was added to allow the crew to retract solar arrays that had folded
improperly.
Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two
tons of equipment and supplies to the station. Almost two tons of
items no longer needed on the station will return to Earth with
STS-116.
European Space Agency astronaut Reiter is also returning with
the Discovery crew, after his six month stay onboard the ISS as a
member of both Expedition 13 and Expedition 14 crews.
More News
Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council Ltd IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world. As a non->[...]
"During the annual inspection of the B-24 “Diamond Lil” this off-season, we made the determination that 'Lil' needs some new feathers. Due to weathering, the cloth-cove>[...]
Also: Bushcat Woes, Hummingbird 300 SL 4-Seat Heli Kit, Carbon Cub UL The newest Junkers is a faithful recreation that mates a 7-cylinder Verner radial engine to the airframe offer>[...]
Also: Seaplane Pilots Association, Rotax 916’s First Year, Gene Conrad After a decade and a half of struggling with the FAA and other aero-politics, G100UL is in production a>[...]
Also: Martha King Scholarship, Montaer Grows, Textron Updates Pistons, FlySto The FAA is hiring thousands of air traffic controllers, but the window to apply will only be open for >[...]