STS-129 Mission Information

Launch Target:
Nov. 12, 2009
Orbiter:
Atlantis
Mission Number:
STS-129
(129th space shuttle flight)
Launch Window:
10 minutes
Launch Pad:
39A
Mission Duration:
11 days
Landing Site:
KSC
Inclination/Altitude:
51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Primary Payload:
31st station flight (ULF3), EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC1), EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 2 (ELC2)
Source: NASA


Image above: On the front row are Commander Charlie Hobaugh (left) and Pilot Barry Wilmore. On the back row (from left) are astronauts Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists.
Image: NASA

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Discovery's Ferry Flight Set to Start This Morning

Image above: Space shuttle Discovery was carefully placed atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier during mating operations in preparation for its ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo: NASA/Tony Landis

Managers are giving a "go" for this morning's 9:20 a.m. EDT departure of the modified 747 carrying shuttle Discovery from Edwards Air Force Base in California. Discovery's "pathfinder" support aircraft will take off about 9 a.m.
Teams met at 7 a.m., to confirm Discovery's readiness for the ferry flight and evaluate weather. Conditions in the southern United States have improved and are favorable for the 2,500 mile trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first leg of the journey will take Discovery piggybacked on the 747, known as a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, to the Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas.
Teams will evaluate the weather again once they're in Amarillo to determine the next refueling stop. Their objective is to get to Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana this afternoon where they will stay overnight.
Managers plan to have Discovery back at Kennedy on Monday.
Source: NASA

Crew, Discovery 'Great' After Landing

Photo: Jim Ross
Space shuttle Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base In California on Friday to end a 14-day mission to the International Space Station dedicated to outfitting the orbital laboratory with new experiments, science equipment, supplies and other gear the six people living on the station will need. Unacceptable weather conditions at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Thursday and Friday forced the detour by Discovery to the West Coast.
"We're very happy to be back on land here in California," STS-128 Commander Rick "C.J." Sturckow said after the astronauts got off the shuttle and surveyed their craft. "It was a great mission and we just want to thank everybody for their support."The crew of seven astronauts, including former station resident Tim Kopra, will fly to their training base at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. Meanwhile, technicians at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, adjacent to Edwards, will take about a week to get the spacecraft ready for its cross-country flight back to Kennedy atop a modified 747.
Source: NASA

STS-128 Landing

Photo: NASA
Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to land at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 10. Landing opportunities are available at 7:05 p.m. and 8:42 p.m. EDT. Join us right here for landing coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. and originating from Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility for all the milestones leading to touchdown.

NOTE: All times are posted in Eastern. Timestamps appear in your local time.

Spacewalk

Photo: NASA
European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang is visible in the reflection of NASA astronaut Danny Olivas's helmet visor during this, the STS-128 mission's third and final spacewalk.
Olivas and Fuglesang deployed the Payload Attachment System, replaced the Rate Gyro Assembly #2, installed two GPS antennae and worked to prepare for the installation of Node 3 next year.