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STS-124

STS-124 was a Space Shuttle mission, flown by Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. Discovery launched on May 31, 2008 at 5:02 p.m. EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of May 25, 2008.[3], and landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, at 11:15 am EDT on June 14th 2008.

Completion of the mission leaves eight flights remaining in the Space Shuttle program until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights.[1]

Crew

*Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.

Launching ISS Expedition 17 Crew

Landing ISS Expedition 17 Crew

Crew notes

  • Stephen G. Bowen was originally assigned to STS-124 but was moved to STS-126 to allow this mission to rotate an ISS crew member. [5] Bowen was scheduled to perform the EVAs on the flight along with Fossum. Garan took his place for the EVAs.

Commander Kelly discusses the crew

"I’m really fortunate to be given the crew members that I have on this mission. It’s myself and six others. We do swap one of our crew members with the expedition crew member on board. So Greg goes up, Greg stays on station and Garrett comes home. But the crew that was assigned to me -- I’m really fortunate to have some really talented people. Ken Ham, as a pilot, knows the orbiter better than anybody I’ve seen. This is his first flight. My lead EVA crew member is Mike Fossum who did three spacewalks on my previous flight, STS-121. We’ve flown together before. I have all the confidence in the world in his ability to execute these EVAs. Karen Nyberg, my MS1, sits on the flight deck for ascent and entry. She’s also the lead for all the robotic arm operations. She’ll be flying three robotic arms in space, incredibly motivated, well ahead of the game and I expect great things from her. Ron Garan is my flight engineer, a colonel in the Air Force. This is going to be his first time in space as well as is Karen’s and Ken’s and he’s doing three spacewalks. So he's got a lot on his plate. He’s been doing great during training and he’s going to have the opportunity to prove himself during these three spacewalks. I kind of wish it was me getting to go outside. I can’t do that, but we expect great things from Ron as well. And then I have Aki Hoshide, our Japanese crew member, who grew up in New Jersey kind of like me. That’s an interesting thing about our flight -- we have four people from New Jersey on the mission. I look at Aki as the payload commander. He is responsible for that Japanese laboratory and he has taken on that responsibility as completely as I could have hoped for. All through our training he’s been very much focused on the Japanese lab, making sure it’s ready to go, making sure we’re completely trained on the systems and everything we have to do. I’ve given him a lot of responsibility and he’s completely taken it on."[6]

Mission parameters

Mission Payloads

JEM PM Kibō on ISS after STS-124
JEM PM Kibō on ISS after STS-124
JEM Kibō Pressurized Module in assembly
JEM Kibō Pressurized Module in assembly

STS-124 delivered the Pressurized Module (PM) of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), called Kibō, to the International Space Station (ISS). Kibō was berthed to the Harmony module and the pressurized section of the JEM Experiment Logistics Module, brought up by the STS-123 crew, was moved from Harmony to the JEM-PM. The Japanese Remote Manipulator System, a robotic arm, was also delivered by STS-124 and attached to Kibō. The entire Kibō laboratory is being brought up over three missions.

Discovery carried with it replacement parts in a mid deck locker for a malfunctioning toilet on the International Space Station. The crew had been using other facilities for waste until the new replacement parts were installed on the Zvezda module of the ISS.

Flying with the STS-124 crew was an action figure of Buzz Lightyear. Ken Ham, pilot of the STS-124 mission, brought with him episodes of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, and a plastic microphone stand with the ESPN logo on it. Along with those, a yellow jersey from Lance Armstrong's record-setting seven victories at the Tour de France bicycle race, the backup jersey Eli Manning took to the Super Bowl, and the last jersey that American Major League Baseball's Craig Biggio wore in a game had places inside the orbiter's lockers.[9]

With the completion of STS-124, it will be at least two years before the space shuttle delivers another permanent pressurized module.

Mission background

The mission marked:

  • 154th manned US space launch
  • 123rd space shuttle flight since STS-1[10]
  • 98th post-Challenger mission
  • 10th post-Columbia mission
  • 11th flight remaining in the shuttle program
  • 26th flight to the ISS[10]
  • 35th flight for shuttle Discovery[10]
  • 3rd shuttle mission in 2008

Mission timeline

On April 26, 2008 Discovery was rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) from its processing bay in the Orbiter Processing Facility. Once in the VAB it was lifted vertically and mated with its external tank and solid rocket boosters on April 28, 2008. At the end of a week long prep schedule on May 2, 2008 at 11:47 p.m. EDT the stack was rolled out to launch pad 39A on top the Mobile Launch Platform. Carried by the Crawler Transporter, Discovery arrived and was secured at LC-39A on May 3, 2008 at 6:06 a.m. EDT.[11] The payload canister containing the JEM was rolled out to the Payload Changeout Room at the pad on April 29, 2008 and was later installed into Discovery's payload bay on May 5, 2008. The STS-124 crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on May 6, 2008 for the 3-day Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test and returned to Johnson Space Center on May 9, 2008 after completion of the launch dress rehearsal. After many flight readiness review tests, Discovery was given a go for a May 31, 2008 launch. Discovery launched on May 31, 2008 at 21:02 UTC. The following is the expected timeline and is subject to change.

May 31 (Flight day 1, Launch)

The Space Shuttle Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 5:02 p.m. local time. Debris from the fuel tank was minimal.[12]

"While we've all prepared for this event today, the discoveries from Kibo will definitely offer hope for tomorrow," said Discovery's commander Mark Kelly just before launch. "Now stand by for the greatest show on Earth."[13]

Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-124.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-124.

Launch pad damage

"NASA inspectors found damage of an 'unprecedented' magnitude at Discovery's Florida launch site, said LeRoy Cain, chair of NASA's mission management team, at a briefing here at the Johnson Space Center. Strewn all over the seaside Launch Pad 39A area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., inspectors found bricks and mortar from the trench designed to catch the flames that shoot out beneath the shuttle when it launches. The debris flew as far as the perimeter fence 1,500 feet (500 m) away from the pad. NASA officials say they are unsure what caused the destruction, the level of which has been unseen in previous launches, but they have already assembled an investigation team to look into the issue further."[14]

June 1 (Flight day 2)

During the first full day in space, Ham and Nyberg completed a limited inspection of the shuttle’s thermal protection system using the end effector camera of the shuttle’s robotic arm. The crew also installed the centerline camera and extended the orbiter’s docking system ring to prepare Discovery' for arrival at the space station.[15]

June 2 (Flight day 3)

Discovery docked with the space station at 2:03 PM EDT. The hatches opened at 3:36 PM. Greg Chamitoff officially joined the Expedition 17 crew, replacing Garrett Reisman.[16]

June 3 (Flight day 4)

Mike Fossum and Ron Garan completed a six hour, forty-eight minute spacewalk at 7:10 p.m. EDT. During the excursion, the pair retrieved the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, serviced and inspected components of a Solar Alpha Rotary Joint and prepared the JEM-PS component of the Kibō laboratory for installation. Karen Nyberg and Akihiko Hoshide, using the station’s robotic arm, removed the JEM-PS from the shuttle’s payload bay and latched it in place on the Harmony node, completing the task at 7:01 p.m.[17]

June 4 (Flight day 5)

The hatch to the Kibō lab was opened at 5:05 PM EDT. The crew also repaired the malfunctioning ISS toilet.[18]

June 5 (Flight day 6)

Fossum and Garan completed the second STS-124 spacewalk. The 7-hour, 11-minute excursion ended at 6:15 p.m. EDT Thursday.[19] Prior to heading outside spacewalker Garan stated "Mike and I are getting ready to go out the door for our second spacewalk today. It's going to be a wonderful day."[20]

June 6 (Flight day 7)

The crew moved the Kibo Logistics Module from Harmony to the Pressurized Module.[21]

June 7 (Flight day 8)

Hoshide and Nyberg moved two of the six joints on the Japanese Kibō lab's robotic arm for the first time, maneuvering them very slightly with a series of commands.[22] With the mission at its midpoint astronaut Karen Nyberg commented that "the week has gone way too fast."[23]

June 8 (Flight day 9)

Fossum and Garan conducted the third and final spacewalk, replacing an empty nitrogen tank and collecting a sample of debris from the solar array.[24]

June 9 (Flight day 10)

Kibō's robot arm was extended to its full 33 feet, with all six joints tested. The astronauts also opened the hatch to the Kibō's storage unit.[25]

June 10 (Flight day 11)

The shuttle closed the hatch connecting it to the space station at 3:49 PM EDT[26]

"It's amazing what's going on up here," said Chamitoff. "This is just the beginning. Overall, the mission's been a great success," said Kelly from space. "I certainly have a great crew and they're well trained, but there's also a little luck involved." [27]

June 11 (Flight day 12)

Discovery undocked from the International Space Station's Harmony Module, at 07:42 EDT. Discovery then conducted a fly-by of the ISS, so pictures could be taken. Saying goodbye to the ISS and its crew, commander Kelly said "We wish them the best with their expedition and we hope we left them a better, more capable space station than when we arrived. Sayonara."[28]

Afterwards the crew of Discovery conducted the late inspection of the shuttle's Thermal Protection System that was unable to be performed as usual on Flight Day 2, due to the size of the Kibo Pressurized Module.[29]

June 12 (Flight day 13)

Flight day 13 was a rare off-duty day. The only major projects were stowage of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) and an orbit adjustment burn.

During the day, pilot Kenneth Ham conducted an interview with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic of ESPN, to be aired on their radio show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, the following morning on ESPN Radio and ESPN2.

June 13 (Flight day 14)

The crew conducted routine testing of the steering jets and an examination of the flight control system. During these tests, a shiny object was noticed trailing the shuttle. This was identified as a thermal clip from the shuttle's brake system, and should pose no danger during landing.[30]

June 14 (Flight day 15, Landing)

Space Shuttle Discovery lands
Space Shuttle Discovery lands

The crew worked through their lengthy list of deorbit preparations, which continued for most of the day. They closed the payload bay doors at 7:30 EDT, which took place without incident. All of Discovery's systems were nominal, and with the weather looking very good at KSC the deorbit burn took place on schedule at 10:10 EDT for landing on runway 15 at 11:15 EDT.

At 8:00 am EDT, the decision was made to use runway 15 rather than 33. This decision was made based on the sun glare that would be present on the Commander's window as he lined up Discovery with the runway.

At 10:10 EDT, Discovery fired its orbital maneuvering system engines to slow it down by 197 mph, resulting in a successful reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Discovery landed at 11:15 am EDT, after a perfect re-entry, on runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center.[29]

Mission Stats

  • Landed: Sat., June 14, 2008, 11:15 a.m. EDT
  • Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
  • Mission Elapsed Time:
    • 13 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes, 7 secs
  • Official Landing Times
    • Main gear touchdown: 11:15:19 a.m. EDT
    • Nose gear touchdown: 11:15:30 a.m. EDT
    • Wheels stop: 11:16:19 a.m. EDT
  • Total miles: 5.7 million

Extra-vehicular activity

Three extra-vehicular activity (EVA) spacewalks were scheduled and completed during STS-124.[31] The total time of all spacewalks completed during the mission was 20 hours and 32 minutes.

Spacewalkers Start (UTC) End (UTC) Duration Mission
EVA 1 Garan
Fossum		 June 3
16:22		 June 3
23:10		 6 hours, 48 minutes Release straps on shuttle robotic arm elbow joint camera. Transfer OBSS back to the shuttle. Prepare Kibō for installation. Replace trundle bearing assembly on the starboard solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ). Inspect damage to SARJ. Test cleaning methods for use on the SARJ race ring.[32]
EVA 2 Garan
Fossum		 June 5
15:04		 June 5
22:15		 7 hours, 11 minutes Installation of covers and external television equipment on the JEM and preparation of RMS. Preparation for relocation of ELM-PS. Prepare a depleted nitrogen tank assembly for removal and a new one stowed on an external stowage platform for installation. Remove television camera with a failed power supply.[32]
EVA 3 Garan
Fossum		 June 8
13:55		 June 8
20:28		 6 hours, 33 minutes Remove and replace starboard nitrogen tank assembly. Finish outfitting of Kibō laboratory. Reinstall removed television camera with repaired power supply.[32]

Wake-up calls

A tradition for NASA human spaceflights since the days of Gemini, is that mission crews are played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen, often by their family, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities. [33][34]

Contingency mission

STS-326 is the designation given to the Contingency Shuttle Crew Support mission which would have been launched in the event that Discovery becomes disabled during STS-124.[35] It would have been a modified version of the STS-126 mission of Endeavour, which would have involved the launch date being brought forward. The crew for this mission would have been a four-person subset of the full STS-126 crew,[35] namely:

Photos

The crew at Kennedy Space Center just before launch--May 31

Twenty to twenty-five seconds after liftoff

View of liftoff from near Space View Park

Solid rocket booster separation

Astronaut Ron Garan on the mission's second space walk, flight day 6

View of Discovery docked at ISS on flight day 6

The fruits of the mission--Kibo installed at the ISS, from flight day 7

Image of Fossum at the end of his sixth space walk on flight day 10

The crew of STS-124 on flight day 10 inside a pressurized Kibo module--their delivery to the ISS

Astronaut Karen Nyberg on flight day 11

Discovery disengaged from the ISS on flight day 12

Commander Kelly on flight day 12

Media

Images of launch from VIP site from Dr. Eric S. Ackerman http://www.1nikon.com/public/sts-124/index.html

References

  1. ^ a b NASA (2007). Consolidated Launch Manifest. NASA. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  2. ^ http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/228145main_sts124_presskit2.pdf Page 19
  3. ^ NASA (2008). NASA Updates Target Launch Date for Next Space Shuttle Flight. NASA. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  4. ^ NASA (2007). NASA Assigns Crew for Shuttle Mission to Install Japanese Lab. NASA. Retrieved on October 30, 2007.
  5. ^ Stephen Withers (2007). Crew assignments for space shuttle mission STS-126 have been revised following the resignation of an experienced astronaut.. iTWire. Retrieved on November 22, 2007.
  6. ^ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts124/interview_Kelly.html
  7. ^ CTV.ca Montreal-born astronaut brings bagels into space Sun. Jun. 1 2008 7:29 PM ET ; CTV National News - 1 June 2008 - 11pm TV newscast
  8. ^ The Gazette (Montreal), Here's proof: Montreal bagels are out of this world, IRWIN BLOCK, Tuesday June 3 2008, Section A, Page A2
  9. ^ Buzz Lightyear to Soar with Discovery. NASA (2008-05-29). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  10. ^ a b c Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Launch Pad, Countdown Test Set. PR Newswire.
  11. ^ NASA (2008). [NASA - Space Shuttle. Retrieved on 2008-06-14. NASA - Space Shuttle Page]. NASA. Retrieved on May 3, 2008.
  12. ^ Discovery blasts off for space station
  13. ^ SPACE.com - Shuttle Discovery Launches Space Station's Largest Lab. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  14. ^ SPACE.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  15. ^ STS-124 MCC Status Report #03. NASA.
  16. ^ STS-124 MCC Status Report #05. NASA.
  17. ^ STS-124 MCC Status Report #07. NASA.
  18. ^ STS-124 MCC Status report
  19. ^ STS-124 MCC status Report
  20. ^ SPACE.com - Astronauts to Add Camera Eyes to New Station Lab. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  21. ^ STS-124 MCC status Report
  22. ^ Shuttle astronauts prepare robot arm for 1st use
  23. ^ SPACE.com - Shuttle Crew Hits Mission Midpoint with Robot Arm Test. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  24. ^ Astronauts breeze through their 3rd spacewalk
  25. ^ Astronauts wrap up space station work
  26. ^ Shuttle Crew Prepares to Leave Space Station
  27. ^ SPACE.com - Space Shuttle Flight a 'Great Success,' Astronauts Say. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  28. ^ SPACE.com - Shuttle Discovery Undocks From Space Station. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  29. ^ a b NASA - Space Shuttle. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
  30. ^ NASA identifies shiny object trailing shuttle
  31. ^ NASA Mission Summary, STS-124. NASA (2008-04-09). Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
  32. ^ a b c STS 124 Press Kit. NASA (2008-05-29). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  33. ^ Fries, Colin. "Chronology of Wakeup Calls", NASA, 2007-06-25. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. 
  34. ^ NASA (2008). STS-124 Wakeup Calls. NASA. Retrieved on March 11, 2008.
  35. ^ a b Bergin, Chris. "NASA sets new launch date targets through to STS-124", NASASpaceflight, 2007-04-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. 

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