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STS-103 Mission Journal
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Discovery
lands! "Welcome back to Earth after a fantastic flight." courtesy of
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28 December - Discovery sometime during . The Hubble repair mission ended NASA's troubled year on a .
27 December - 10:10PM EST - DISCOVERY IS HOME!!! The Orbiter made an at KSC today, than its scheduled time (due to ). STS-103's came to an end than expected, touching down at 7PM EST. It was only the in the entire 96-mission history of the Shuttle program. Check
the play-by-play at . The mission, originally planned for 10 days, was due to Y2K concerns. It takes two days to drain the super-cold
liquid oxygen and hydrogen used to generate air and water aboard the , and the goal is
to have all Shuttle systems shut down for the millennium cut-over. The
Hubble repair mission gave NASA a after a string of failed missions to Mars. Welcome home
Discovery!!
Check Mission Control's
and
Shuttle ,
and Hubble status .
Mission Day 9 highlights .
27 December - FLIGHT DAY 9 1:00AM EST - Both landing sites ( and ) are weather-wise, but there is some concern about high cross-winds (which are still within limits) at . The east coast site would be due to the increased cost of processing and return from California.
26 December - 11:50PM EST - The are packing it in for their last night in space, after putting
Hubble back into action. Some highlights from this morning's press event...
When asked if HST's design for in-flight repair would let it last through its
intended lifespan (2010), Mission Specialist replied that it would, calling HST "the flagship of serviceable
spacecraft." He recalled that HST has had 20 different boxes repaired on 3
different missions, and that the lessons learned here would be applied to the
International Space Station. He noted that this mission's EVAs were mostly on
schedule, and that the crew was well-prepared for the 13 anomalies (boxes not
fitting right, bolts too tight, etc) they encountered. Smith stated that the
crew pushed harder than usual to meet the tight schedule imposed by the Y2K
cutoff.
Mission Specialist discussed the decreasing soreness in his hands from the intricate work during his EVAs, and the importance of physical training. He described Hubble as "doing really well".
Mission Specialist , a veteran of both Shuttle and Mir missions (over 160 days in space before STS-103!), said that being on the Shuttle felt "like coming home" after his stint on the Russian space station. He noted the "fast and furious pace" of this mission, and wanted to keep experience in both fast and slow-paced missions. He predicted outposts on the Moon and Mars over the coming century, and colonies in other solar systems by the end of the next millennium.
Mission Specialist was asked how he felt about spending Christmas in space, and the astronaut said he was looking forward to seeing his friends and family back home (in France), but enjoyed the holiday surprises that ground personnel packed for the crew. He also spoke in French to ESA interviewers in .
Mission Specialist , an astronaut from Switzerland, was disappointed that the crew would not perform a fourth EVA, but supported NASA's decision to shorten the mission to three EVAs. He spoke in English, then switched effortlessly to French and German to converse with ESA in . He recounted his tremendous emotion upon his first space-walk, marveling at the huge field of vision, and the sense of being suspended between earth and sky.
After the half-hour news conference, the crew went back to work, putting their gear away and testing the flight control surfaces and reaction control thrusters for tomorrow's landing. The KU-band antenna will be stowed, resulting in decreased TV transmissions from the ship.
26 December - 3:10PM EST - Discovery has begun its 102nd orbit, flying eastward over the United States. The crew is transmitting email to the surface, including some messages to and from the families of the astronauts on board, and have completed their checkout of the systems necessary to leave orbit and land. STS-103 is due to touch down at Florida's tomorrow afternoon (Monday) at 5:40PM EST, with 2 more opportunities to land there later in the evening. If the weather doesn't co-operate tomorrow, in California is the backup site.
26 December - 2:00PM EST - Discovery is in its 101st orbit, and has just tested its flight surfaces and reaction control system jets, in preparation to leave orbit tomorrow. Stay tuned for highlights from this morning's press conference!
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 8 highlights .
26 December - FLIGHT DAY 8 11:30AM EST - As the newly repaired Hubble telescope gains 5 miles per orbit on Discovery, the shuttle crew is spending today stowing their gear in preparation for tomorrow's landing. at 11:50AM EST!
25 December - UPDATE 11:40PM EST - As the STS-103 crew prepares to turn in for the night, let's review Flight Day 7's highlights: Mission Control woke the guys up this morning with Bing Crosby's "I'll Be Home For Christmas". After (the fourth was cancelled before launch due to the curtailing of the mission), it was now time to the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. Holiday greetings were exchanged with Houston, Santa Claus stopped by, and at 6:03PM EST, Hubble was grappled and released back into orbit with the robotic arm. After a media interview and more good wishes for the people of Earth, Hubble is now back in orbit on its own, but observations won't begin right away.
Discovery is about 18 statute miles from HST now. Mir veteran Michael Foale declared that "Human missions are the most exciting thing", but that robotic missions are a necessary precursor to manned exploration. He noted that NASA had a good balance between the two. Mission commander requested tomorrow's flight plan in order to get familiar with tomorrow's activities.
Watch (requires ) courtesy of the . Happy Christmas to all our web visitors!
25 December - UPDATE 9:40PM EST - The folks at sang to the astronauts on Discovery (not audible on air-to-ground channel). Santa hats look funny in zero-gravity! The second shift is coming on at JSC now.
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 7 highlights .
25 December - UPDATE 9:00PM EST - The live interview scheduled for 10:30 EST tonight has been cancelled. The is going through their pre-sleep routine (bedtime is at 11:50PM), but from the Shuttle (and from ) is available now.
25 December - FLIGHT DAY 7 - The of became the to spend (the others were the crews of and - and that doesn't include ). The telescope was today at , after were made to a new, , a new (a since it was not designed to be "field-replaced"), and some of the (the rest will have to be installed in ). , guys! Live interview at 8:12 EST on .
25 December -
Merry
Christmas!!!
Did you know? STS-103
pilot (from the as your faithful editor!) has a who is also in the ? This makes the the ! The shuttle crew
released HST back to orbit today.
24 December - FLIGHT DAY 6 - The seven-man crew of are spending today, as a is planned to a malfunctioning radio transmitter and some worn insulation. Watch the space-walk live at 2:40PM EST on ! Until then, check out the BBC's , and follow the "play-by-play coverage" at .
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 6 highlights .
23 December - FLIGHT DAY 5 - Space-walkers Michael Foale and Claude Nicollier gave HST a "" when they installed a into , swapping out the CPU with 3 "" Intel . A 25-MHz 486 may seem obsolete to the average Earth-bound computer user, but it's plenty for the required of Hubble - and it takes longer to develop the "space versions" of these things. Could your PC the stresses of a launch to orbit, the extremes of heat and cold in space, and run on only 30 watts? We didn't think so. Today's also saw the swap-out of one of Hubble's three , which help aim the rail-car-sized telescope.
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 5 highlights . Mission Day 5 highlights .
22 December - FLIGHT DAY 4 - Astronauts Steven Smith and John Grunsfeld performed the today, making to the captured Hubble Space telescope. They used to aim and steady the , and six to improve battery power.
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 4 highlights .
21 December - FLIGHT DAY 3 - 10:26PM - Discovery, in its 367- statute mile- orbit, had , reporting a successful rendezvous, , and berthing of the 4-story-high Hubble Space Telescope today. The solar arrays on HST (which is sitting upright in the cargo bay) will be moved from 90-deg position (their normal vertical position) to a 0-deg position (parallel to the bay doors) to allow for more working room. Astronauts plan an EVA tomorrow at 2:40PM EST to replace all 6 and do some functional testing. The gold Mylar thermal blanket covering HST is reported to be in good condition, but that was the side facing the Earth, away from the 's harsh rays. The other side has yet to be examined - that will happen overnight as cameras on the (AKA ) and in the cargo bay will give HST the once-over.
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 3 highlights .
20 December - FLIGHT DAY 2 - After last night's , NASA reports that the crew had a in for tomorrow's with HST at 6:41PM EST. Watch for a live interview from tonight at 9:35PM EST on . Hope they fix their !
Check Mission Control's and Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 2 highlights .
19 December - 9:30PM EST - NASA spokesmen described tonight's launch
as "near-perfect," and expect Discovery to catch up to Hubble on
flight day 3, Tuesday evening. The mission is planned to end on 27 December,
with 3 EVAs scheduled for repair of the Space Telescope.
Why was the mission delayed 3 times last week? Other than the weather-related
scrubs on Friday and Saturday, Thursday's delay was due to a subcontractor, , coming forward last Tuesday (14 Dec) and saying that they
thought that the wrong material may have been used in welding a pressure line
for the giant . After poring through records reaching back 20
years, it was determined that there are . Ongoing investigation may be
necessary.
19 December - 9PM EST - Mission Control at reports that the crew has moved out of their ascent checklist, and is preparing for on-orbit operations. They will be opening the payload bay doors, a standard procedure to cool off the orbiter's systems from the heat of launching.
Check Mission Control's Shuttle , and Hubble status . Mission Day 1 highlights .
19 December - 8:38PM EST - Discovery has just completed its first of several rendezvous burns to align its orbit with that of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the , the 27th for Discovery. The ship is over the Indian Ocean, heading for Australia.
19 December - 7:55PM EST - Discovery is UP!!! Rocketing toward orbit at 11000MPH, things are looking great!
19 December - 7:30PM EST - Twenty minutes to go! Florida today offers (we're going to try and keep up!). Things are looking good at .
19 December - 7PM EST - Less than an hour to go! You can track the Shuttle's course and see live telemetry data .
19 December - We are GO, baby!!! STS-103 will launch at 7:50PM, becoming the , and the first time humans have returned to space since the August abandonment of the Mir space station. reports no problems.
18 December - Due to bad weather at The Cape, will today as planned. The calls for a Sunday evening launch (7:50PM EST). If the weather does not improve, Discovery , in order to avoid having the ship in orbit over the transition.
17 December - 8:52PM EST - FLASH!! launch delayed due to adverse weather conditions at KSC. With 9 minutes left on the clock, and 30 minutes left in the launch window, the mission had to be for one more day. As this is being written, the new launch time is Saturday night 18 December 1999, at 00:21 GMT (8:21 PM EST). The is being drained from the huge external , and the crew will leave the spacecraft after this dangerous procedure is over. It is unknown how this latest delay will affect the mission duration. Earlier today, it was thought that Discovery would after several other delays, but Mother Nature is not co-operating.
16 December - 8PM EST - FLASH!! launch !! is concerned about , and they are re-checking documentation and X-Ray films. Check the and to watch the launch live!
16 December - STS-103 scheduled for at 9:18PM EST. will embark on a to the dormant , making it only the third U.S. mission to spend .
15 December - Discovery for launch after fuel line is .
10 December - Hubble repair mission may have to be due to last-minute repairs!
9 December - Shuttle moved to after a was discovered in a . Discovery may be
8 December - When on its Hubble Telescope , it will be carrying thousands of school , including some in Braille!
7 December - Shuttle may be - routine inspection turns up more . Discovery may still , or Sunday.
6 December - is for Saturday - - repairs may still allow .
4 December - on Discovery's . Will a threaten the ?
2 December - Discovery's mission is . This will be the of the century. Check the countdown at !
28 November - This Week In Space History - A big five
anniversaries:
(28 Nov 1989); and 4 more on the same day (2 December):
(1988),
(1990),
(1992) and
(1993).
23 November - NASA needs to repair damaged Shuttle wiring - set to launch 9 December.
21 November - personnel to in preparation for launch on 6 December (date
tentative).
This Week In Space History - (Besides my
birthday, that is...) Three
anniversaries:
(22 Nov 1989);
(24 Nov 1991) and
(26 Nov 1985).
18 November - Discovery due to nicked wiring. It is scheduled for a Dec 6th mission to repair the ailing .
14 November - This Week In Space History - Three
anniversaries, a Skylab mission, plus an Apollo anniversary!
Shuttle mission
(15 Nov 1990);
(19 Nov 1996) and
(exactly one year later, on 19 Nov 1997).
13 November - Discovery rolls out to .
10 November - outlines for Hubble next (see story on 6 Nov) - despite .
7 November - is calling for a special review team to examine Shuttle operations, in
light of the recent troubles with Atlantis and Discovery.
This Week In Space History - Four
anniversaries plus a
mission!
Shuttle
(8 Nov
1984); (11 Nov 1982);
(12 Nov 1981); and
(12 Nov
1995). STS-74's crew included , the first Canadian to visit Mir. STS-2 was the first
time in history that a spacecraft had been
with a new crew, and the first flight of the CanadArm remote
manipulator.
6 November - to get up to the Hubble Space Telescope, which is in urgent need of repair - if loses one more , its guidance system will fail, and the telescope would shut down!
3 November - Discovery pushed back to 5 December or later in order to and replace .
2 November - NASA on Shuttle Discovery.
8 October - Next mission won't until .
7 October - Latest finally set - () is heading up for the third repair mission on . This will mark the first time since the August 28th Mir abandonment that any humans will be in space!
2 October - Latest Shuttle news from !
See the current Shuttle mission's pitch, yaw, speed, etc.
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