After a successful launch on Sunday, Discovery went through some new challenges as it began its journey to the International Space Station. The launch went on without any incidents, and the first ground assessment said the space shuttle had no debris to worry about on its way to the ISS.
However, just a few hours later, NASA TV reported that there was indeed a piece of debris that needed close monitoring, in case it would have gotten too close to the International Space Station. The teams were informed to prepare for a possible avoidance maneuver, even though that seemed like an unlikely event.
Yesterday at around 12 p.m. however the International Space Station crew was informed that the avoidance maneuver won’t be necessary, and that things will go according to plan. Discovery is now just a few hours away from docking with the ISS at 4:13 p.m. on Tuesday.
In anticipation for that, the Discovery crew conducted a five-hour inspection of the shuttle’s wing edge panels using the robotic arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System extension. The crew also pre-positioned transfer items and checked the spacesuits that will be used in the three spacewalks programmed for this mission.
According to NASA, the crew also tested rendezvous equipment, installed an Orbiter Docking System “centerline” camera and extended the docking ring atop the docking system before they went to bed.
The Discovery mission is led by Commander Lee Archambault, while the rest of the crew is made up of Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will remain on the International Space Station until June 2009.
Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold have embarked on their first space journey, and will even actively participate in the spacewalks programmed to take place during the mission.
Discovery had quite a bumpy road the past month, as NASA was forced to postpone the launch on several occasions due to technical issues. After solving the problem with the valves (one of the three had suffered damage during the Endeavour mission), the NASA engineers were confronted with a gaseous hydrogen leak developed on the piping that runs from the fixed service structure to a valve at the intertank section of the shuttle’s external tank.
The incident occurred just hours before Wednesday’s launch, which forced the agency to delay the flight again, until Sunday. NASA specialists have been working round the clock to make this launch possible, and things appear to have gone smoothly so far.
The Discovery flight’s mission is to provide the necessary support for the station’s crew of six, as well as deliver the needed arrays that will provide electricity for the scientific experiments to be carried on the station.
