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Author
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Topic: STS-124: Discovery carries Hope for a new era
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 09:45 AM
   
At 400,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, Discovery has reached "entry interface," encountering the first traces of Earth's atmosphere.The orbiter is traveling 25 times the speed of sound as it continues on its landing path. On Discovery's middeck, astronaut Garrett Reisman is beginning to feel the first tug of gravity after being in space for 95 days. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 09:54 AM
Discovery has entered the first of four pre-programmed steep banks that help eliminate excess energy as it continues its descent toward the Kennedy Space Center. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 10:06 AM
Nine minutes before touchdown, Discovery is 200 miles from the Kennedy Space Center. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 10:08 AM
One hundred eleven (111) miles from Kennedy Space Center, Discovery has been spotted by long range tracking cameras. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 10:11 AM
Five minutes until touchdown, Discovery is approaching the Heading Alignment Cylinder (HAC), an imaginary cylinder created by the Microwave Scan Beam Landing System (MSBLS) that is installed at the primary shuttle landing sites. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 10:12 AM
Boom Boom! Double sonic booms heard as Discovery slips below the speed of sound. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 10:14 AM
"Houston, Discovery, runway is now in sight," reports commander Mark Kelly. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 10:15 AM
Touchdown!
"Houston, Discovery, wheels stop," reported STS-124 commander Mark Kelly, as the orbiter rolled to a halt at 10:16:19 a.m. CDT. "Roger wheels stop Discovery," responded capcom Terry Virts. "Beautiful landing Mark, and congratulations on a great mission." "Great to be back and it was great for all of us to be part of a big team that made the station a little bit bigger and a little more capable," said Kelly. Space shuttle Discovery returned to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, two weeks after launching the STS-124 crew to deliver the largest lab, the Kibo Japanese pressurized module, for the International Space Station. Commander Mark Kelly brought the orbiter to a 10:15:19 a.m. CDT (1515 GMT) touchdown, ending the 26th U.S. flight to the ISS and the 35th mission for Discovery. This was the 69th shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center, and the fifth Florida landing in a row. In addition to bringing the second of three components of JAXA's Kibo ("Hope") laboratory, Discovery also delivered a new Expedition 17 crew member -- flight engineer Greg Chamitoff -- to the station. Chamitoff took the place of Garrett Reisman, who returned to Earth as a member of the STS-124 crew. Among the other astronauts on-board Discovery was Karen Nyberg, the 50th woman in space. Her landing today comes just two days shy of the 45th anniversary of the first female in space, Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6, and four days before the 25th anniversary of the first American woman in space, Sally Ride on STS-7. STS-124 completed 217 orbits of the Earth in 13 days, 18 hours, 14 minutes and 7 seconds, traveling a total of 5,737,643 miles. 
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Mr Meek
Member Posts: 353
From: Chattanooga, TN
Registered: Dec 2007
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posted 06-14-2008 10:26 AM
What a beautiful landing. I only wish I had been there to see it.Having played the Shuttle landing simulator at the USSRC a few hundred times growing up, I was impressed by CDR Kelly and PLT Ham's ability to keep the Shuttle bug right in the circle on the HUD.  |
robsouth
Member Posts: 769
From: West Midlands, UK
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 06-14-2008 11:18 AM
Beautiful landing....welcome home Discovery |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2008 12:22 PM
 The STS-124 crew, including returning ISS flight engineer Garrett Reisman (upper right), exited the crew transport vehicle to be greeted by NASA and JAXA officials. Commander Mark Kelly (upper left) then led his crew on the customary walk-around of their spacecraft, Discovery (without Reisman, who returned to the transport van). Before leaving for crew quarters, Kelly made a few brief comments for NASA TV. It is great to be here on the runway in sunny Florida and it is great to bring Discovery back in great shape. The vehicle is in really good shape, which we always like to see it that way. It is a great day here. We had a really exciting mission that from our point of view was very successful and we're really glad to be involved in the space station, a bigger and more capable place. We installed a Japanese laboratory that pretty soon here we are going to start to do a lot more science on space station with, did three spacewalks and exchanged the crew of the space station. It was really an exciting mission. We're glad to be back here in Florida. Thank you! A press conference with the crew is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. CDT following the post landing press briefing at 12:30 p.m. |
Safecoat
Member Posts: 93
From: Austin, TX
Registered: Sep 2007
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posted 06-15-2008 12:51 AM
It's always a welcome sight when the orbiter lands safely! All our best to the crew of Discovery and their successful mission! |
robsouth
Member Posts: 769
From: West Midlands, UK
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 06-15-2008 06:04 AM
STS-124 was a fantastic mission, one of the best things about it, IMO, was the wealth of footage available for viewing. If you haven't watched the SRB footage then do so, some of it is fantastic, the views and the sounds are out of this world. Seeing the Shuttle fly off on the ET from the view point of the SRB was awesome. Also the footage of the crews inside the new orbital laboratory is fantastic too. Seeing all those people doing acrobatics is great. The footage of the camera floating off into space during the EVA is also fascinating to watch. Just image what can be captured on film when we return to the moon. |
hlbjr
Member Posts: 475
From: Delray Beach Florida USA
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 06-15-2008 08:30 AM
Speaking of great footage, I've noticed there doesn't appear to be a clip of the crew compartment during ascent. Usually it is part of the mission video clips available. Did I miss seeing it? Is this something the crew can elect to have released or not or is is just happenstance it isn't in the "library"?Harvey Brown
Delray Beach, FL |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-15-2008 08:37 AM
quote:
Originally posted by hlbjr:
Did I miss seeing it?
There is a clip in NASA's Flight Day 2 video archive, or you can watch the whole broadcast via space-multimedia. |
Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 06-15-2008 09:09 AM
Still another 2 missions before retirement of "Discovery"? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-15-2008 09:20 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Philip:
Still another 2 missions before retirement of "Discovery"?
Discovery (OV-103) is slated as of now to fly STS-119 with the S6 truss, STS-129 with the express logistics carriers, and should it be funded, STS-132, the fourth ULF mission. |
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