Mon, Oct 25, 2010
End Of An Era Coming Rapidly...
Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to begin an 11-day mission
to the International Space Station with a launch at 4:40 p.m. EDT
on Monday, Nov. 1, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The
STS-133 mission is Discovery's final scheduled flight.
Discovery's launch date was announced Monday at the conclusion
of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior
NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the
mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support
systems and personnel are ready.
The six astronauts for the mission will deliver the Permanent
Multipurpose Module (PMM) to the station. The PMM was converted
from the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo and will provide
additional storage for the station crew. Experiments in such fields
as fluid physics, materials science, biology and biotechnology may
be conducted inside the module. The PMM also carries Robonaut 2,
the first human-like robot in space, which will become a permanent
resident of the station. In addition, the flight will deliver
critical spare parts and the Express Logistics Carrier 4, an
external platform that holds large equipment.
STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey and his crew are scheduled to
arrive at Kennedy on Thursday, Oct. 28, for final launch
preparations. Joining Lindsey are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission
Specialists Alvin Drew, Tim Kopra, Michael Barratt and Nicole
Stott. Drew and Kopra will conduct two spacewalks to install new
components and do some maintenance work. STS-133 is the fourth and
final shuttle mission planned for 2010.
It is Discovery's 39th flight and 35th shuttle mission to the
station.
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