Energy News  
Discovery Mated To Tank And Boosters

Discovery being lowered into high bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Image credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser
by Staff Writers
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) May 17, 2006
NASA technicians attached space shuttle Discovery to its external fuel tank and solid-fuel booster rockets over the weekend, the agency announced Tuesday.

The mating continues preparations for Discovery's next launch on the STS-121 mission to the International Space Station, currently scheduled for no earlier than July 1.

During that flight, NASA will continue to evaluate safety procedures to assure that the three remaining orbiters have returned to a satisfactory level of reliability for the five years and 17 missions left in their operational lifetimes.

Discovery also will deliver materials for future station expansion, including the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, itself carrying more than two tons of equipment and supplies.

Steve Lindsey will command the mission, flying with pilot Mark Kelly, spacewalkers Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers and mission specialists Stephanie Wilson and Lisa Nowak.

ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter is also part of the crew and will remain on the station for several months. Reiter's arrival will give the station its first three-person crew since May 4, 2003.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Discovery Moved To Vehicle Assembly Building
Washington DC (SPX) May 15, 2006
Workers have moved shuttle Discovery across the tarmac at Kennedy Space Center from its processing facility and into the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building, NASA announced Friday.







  • Oil experts seek technology to increase reserves
  • Russia Stable Energy Partner, Shares West's Values
  • EADS And ASB To Create Of US Thermal Battery Company For The Military
  • Alternate Fuel-Powered B-52 To Fly In September

  • China's Tianwan nuclear power plant goes on line
  • Global Nuclear Fuel Allianace Taking Form
  • Australia considers 'nuclear fuel leasing'
  • Russian Nuke Fuel Maker To Apply For Public Funding On $400 Mln Project

  • In The Baltics Spring And Smoke Is In The Air
  • UNH And NASA Unlock The Puzzle Of Global Air Quality
  • Project Achieves Milestone In Analyzing Pollutants Dimming The Atmosphere
  • The 'Oxygen Imperative'

  • Global Pulp Mill Growth Threatens Forests, May Collapse
  • Experts Sound Alarm Over State Of Czech Forests
  • Diverse Tropical Forests Defy Metabolic Ecology Models
  • Developing Nations May Save The Tropical Forest

  • Who Really Buys Organic
  • Alternatives To The Use Of Nitrate As A Fertiliser
  • Researchers Trawl The Origins Of Sea Fishing In Northern Europe
  • Greens Happy As EU Tightens GMO Testing

  • Activists Press Ford On Environmental Policies
  • Prototype For Revolutionary One-Metre Wide Vehicle Is Developed
  • Highly Realistic Driving Simulator Helps Develop Safer Cars
  • Research On The Road To Intelligent Cars

  • British Aerospace Production Up Strongly In First Quarter
  • Face Of Outdoor Advertising Changes With New Airship Design
  • NASA Denies Talks With Japan On Supersonic Jet
  • Test Pilot Crossfield Killed In Private Plane Crash

  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear
  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement