William Atkins
Monday, 02 February 2009 21:44
Science -
Space
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The Space Shuttle Discovery and its crew are preparing for their assembly mission to the International Space Station, where they will assemble the fourth starboard Integrated Truss Segment, along with a fourth set of solar arrays. The final solar array will boost the power generated on the ISS so that six crewmembers can now live onboard.
Now sitting on Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), the Space Shuttle Discovery has a launch date currently set for February 12, 2009, at 7:32 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), or 1232 Universal Time Corrected (UTC).
After launched into orbit the space shuttle and crew will be inserted into a 122-nautical mile (225-kilometer) by 195-nautical mile (361-kilometer) orbit about the Earth, with an inclination of 51.6 degrees (the number of degrees above the equatorial plane (equator) of the Earth).
These orbital parameters will allow the Space Shuttle to rendezvous and dock with the Space Station.
The STS-119 crew consists of commander Lee Archambault, pilot Dominic (“Tony”) A. Antonelli, and mission specialists Joseph M. Acaba (also educator astronaut), Steven R. Swanson, Richard R. Arnold (also educator astronaut), and John L. Phillips.
They will also joined by ISS Expedition 18 flight engineer Koichi Wakata, an astronaut with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He will also serve as one of the mission specialists for the STS-119 mission. Wakata becomes the first Japanese member of the International Space Station.
Wakata will replace U.S. astronaut Sandra Magnus, who is currently a part of the ISS Expedition 18 crew. Wakata will be one of the flight engineer for Expeditions 18 and 19, and will return home with the STS-127 crew.
The Space Shuttle Discovery and its STS-119 crew will return Magnus when it returns to the Kennedy Space Center, now scheduled for February 26, 2009 at 1:48 a.m. EST (0648 UTC).
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