NASA Space Shuttle Processing Status Report 12 May 2006

NASA’s space shuttle fleet is housed and processed at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Mission: STS-121 – 18th ISS Flight (ULF1.1) – Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Vehicle: Discovery (OV-103)
Location: Vehicle Assembly Building
Launch Date: Launch Planning Window July 1-19, 2006 Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

Discovery was moved today from Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building, a major step toward a launch to the International Space Station. Technicians and crane operators began preparations to lift Discovery into the assembly building’s High Bay 3 and attach the shuttle to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. After final integration, a crawler transporter is scheduled to carry Discovery to the launch pad May 19.

Discovery was scheduled to move Thursday, but a sheared left-hand jack screw on the lifting sling in the assembly building postponed the rollover until today. Both the right and left-hand screws were removed and replaced. The replacements were inspected, analyzed, proof loaded and installed on the sling.

The payloads that will launch aboard Discovery were loaded into the payload transportation canister this week and are scheduled to roll out to the launch pad on May 16. Discovery’s payloads include the Italian-built logistics module, known as Leonardo, which will carry food, clothing, spare parts and research equipment to the station. Other payloads include two cargo carriers which contain heat shield tile samples, a spare pump module and a replacement mobile transporter reel assembly.