Spaceflight Now




Spaceflight Now +



Subscribe to Spaceflight Now Plus for access to our extensive video collections!
How do I sign up?
Video archive

STS-119: The programs

In advance of shuttle Discovery's STS-119 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

 Play

STS-119: The mission

A detailed preview of Discovery's mission to deliver and activate the space station's final power truss is provided in this briefing.

 Play

STS-119: Spacewalks

Four spacewalks are planned during Discovery's STS-119 mission to the station.

 Play

STS-119: The Crew

The Discovery astronauts, led by commander Lee Archambault, meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

 Play

Become a subscriber
More video



Shuttle leaves station today
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: March 25, 2009

The Discovery astronauts prepared for undocking today, working through a busy timeline of packing and experiment sample transfers from the space station to the shuttle. After a final joint meal with their space station colleagues, the combined crews will hold a brief farewell ceremony around 1 p.m. before closing hatches for the shuttle's departure at 3:53 p.m. EDT.

Joining the shuttle crew for the trip home will be outgoing space station flight engineer Sandra Magnus, who is wrapping up a four-month stay in space. Her replacement, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, will remain behind in her place with Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov.

"I appreciate everyone's help, everyone's support, everyone's patience and understanding as we've done the work up here and I really look forward to seeing you all on the ground," Magnus radioed today during her final space station planning conference. "So I'll say goodbye from the space station this last time."

"Goodbye, Sandy," mission control replied. "Have a safe trip home."

Fincke and Lonchakov plan to return to Earth April 7 aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft that carried them into orbit last October. Their replacements, Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka and NASA flight engineer Michael Barratt, are scheduled for launch Thursday at 7:49 a.m. from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 ferry craft.

If all goes well, Padalka, Barratt and U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi will dock with the station at 9:14 a.m. Saturday, about four-and-a-half hours before the shuttle Discovery lands back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Simonyi, making his second $35 million trip to the station, will return to Earth with Fincke and Lonchakov.

To make way for the Soyuz mission, Discovery's astronauts had to undock today at the latest. Shuttle crews normally say farewell and close hatches the day before undocking to make departure day a bit more relaxed, but the Soyuz deadline prompted NASA managers to replan the Discovery crew's departure, delaying hatch closure and the transfer of frozen experiment samples until the last minute.

The experiment samples must remain frozen. Some will be packed in a shuttle freezer, but the rest will be packed in double cold bags. The delayed hatch closure and cold pack transfers will give the samples the maximum possible shelf life aboard the shuttle in case of any weather-related landing delays.

Along with the experiment samples, the Discovery astronauts also will be bringing water samples back to Earth from the station's new urine recycling system. The water recovery system has had problems since it was first activated late last year, but a new distillation assembly centrifuge installed during the shuttle mission appears to be working normally and engineers are hopeful the samples will confirm the system can be used by future station crews.

This morning, the astronauts will pack "some of the last items of cargo that are going to be transferred from the space station to the shuttle," said Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho. "That includes some of the scientific samples that are going to be coming back in those double cold bags we talked about earlier. The crew will also take the final water samples that we have from the WRS, the water recovery system, so those samples can be returned home and examined to perhaps clear the system for use by a six person crew."

Padalka, Barratt and Wakata will prepare the lab complex for the arrival of three more full-time crew members - Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk - in late May.

"The station's in great shape," deputy Program Manager Kirk Shireman said Tuesday in Baikonur. "We're very excited about having the new solar arrays there. The urine processor went through the first wet cycle yesterday and it ran for about four hours, very successfully. Of course, we'll be testing it continuously here over the weeks coming before we launch the six-person crew. So again, the space station couldn't be in better shape, we're very pleased with how things are going."

After the shuttle-station "stack" is maneuvered into the undocking orientation with Discovery's belly facing the direction of travel, the docking system on the forward port will disengage at 3:53 p.m.

With pilot Dominic "Tony" Antonelli at the controls, Discovery will pull straight away from the station's forward docking port and then loop around the lab complex for a photo survey, giving flight controllers and the public their first wide-angle look at the station with its completed solar power system. The primary goal of Discovery's mission was installation of a fourth and final set of arrays on the right end of the station's main power truss.

"I'll be very excited," Antonelli said in a NASA interview. "First, because I'll get to get my first crack at flying the space shuttle, which is kind of what I'm in the business to do. So I'm really looking forward to the undocking and separation and the whole fly around, getting to take pictures of the space station. (We will) get pictures now for the first time looking like how the artists have been drawing it for so many years."

Alibaruho said the fly-around is "partially to get good imagery of the space station, not just for posterity, but also to inspect the vehicle for any damage that we may not have been able to see with the space station's external cameras. We're not looking for anything specifically, just sort of a general photographic survey to inspect the general condition of the space station as well as see the fruits of the astronauts' labor."

Said shuttle commander Lee Archambault: "When we pull out for the undock and fly around, which our pilot Tony Antonelli will be doing, at that point, really for the first time we'll probably look at the station and say, 'there it is.' "It'll be a real sense of mission accomplishment. We've done our job. We've delivered the S6 truss. We've installed it. It's out there working and producing power for the space station.

"It's the first time that we'll really absorb it all and, by the way, that's also the first time we'll actually be able to send pictures to the ground, both stills and video, showing the space station in its newest configuration. When we do all that, the sense of accomplishment will be phenomenal."

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time; includes revision O of the NASA television schedule and the undocking timeline):


EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

03/25/09
06:13 AM...09...10...30...Crew wakeup
07:43 AM...09...12...00...ISS daily planning conference
09:13 AM...09...13...30...Post spacewalk reconfig
09:43 AM...09...14...00...Water samples
10:18 AM...09...14...35...Experiment cold bag pack
10:53 AM...09...15...10...Rendezvous tools checkout
11:38 AM...09...15...55...Experiment cold bag transfer
11:53 AM...09...16...10...Joint crew meal
12:53 PM...09...17...10...Farewell ceremony
01:08 PM...09...17...25...Egress and hatch closure
01:38 PM...09...17...55...Leak checks
02:23 PM...09...18...40...Group B computer powerup

02:37 PM...09...18...54...Maneuver to undocking attitude
02:42 PM...09...18...59...Sunrise
03:06 PM...09...19...23...ISS in undockling orientation
03:10 PM...09...19...27...Noon
03:23 PM...09...19...40...U.S. Ku-band antenna parked
03:33 PM...09...19...50...PMA-2 prepped for undocking
03:34 PM...09...19...51...Russian arrays feathered
03:37 PM...09...19...54...Sunset

03:53 PM...09...20...10...UNDOCKING

03:54 PM...09...20...11...Initial separation
03:54 PM...09...20...11...ISS holds attitude
03:58 PM...09...20...15...Range: 50 feet; reselect -X jets
03:58 PM...09...20...15...PMA-2 depressurization
04:00 PM...09...20...17...Range 75 feet; low Z
04:09 PM...09...20...26...Russian arrays resume sun track
04:13 PM...09...20...30...Sunrise
04:22 PM...09...20...39...Range: 400 feet; start fly around
04:31 PM...09...20...48...Range: 600 feet
04:33 PM...09...20...50...Shuttle directly above ISS
04:41 PM...09...20...58...Noon
04:43 PM...09...21...00...U.S. arrays resume sun track
04:43 PM...09...21...00...ISS in TEA attitude
04:45 PM...09...21...02...Shuttle directly behind ISS
04:56 PM...09...21...13...Shuttle directly below ISS
05:08 PM...09...21...25...Separation burn No. 1
05:09 PM...09...21...26...Sunset
05:36 PM...09...21...53...Separation burn No. 2

05:38 PM...09...21...55...Post undocking computer reconfig
05:53 PM...09...22...10...Group B computer powerdown
05:53 PM...09...22...10...ISS management conference
06:00 PM...09...22...17...Mission status briefing
06:18 PM...09...22...35...Undocking playback ops
06:28 PM...09...22...45...ISS daily planning conference
07:43 PM...10...00...00...Crew choice downlink
08:04 PM...10...00...21...JAXA PAO event
09:00 PM...10...01...17...JAXA PAO event replay
10:13 PM...10...02...30...Crew sleep begins
11:00 PM...10...03...17...Daily highlights reel

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: SOYUZ MOVED TO LAUNCH PAD FOR EXPEDITION 19 PLAY
VIDEO: ROCKET HOISTED VERTICALLY ONTO LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH ISS DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH FORMER ISS COMMANDER PLAY

VIDEO: PRESIDENT OBAMA CALLS THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: JOINT CREW IN-FLIGHT NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER RICK ARNOLD WORKS ON STATION ARM PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER JOE ACABA MOVES RAIL CART PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NEWS MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NEWS MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND SOLAR WING FULLY DEPLOYED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND SOLAR WING DEPLOYED HALF-WAY PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST SOLAR WING FULLY DEPLOYED PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST SOLAR WING DEPLOYED HALF-WAY PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF SOLAR ARRAY DEPLOYMENT PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER STEVE SWANSON RELEASES LOCKS PLAY
VIDEO: STARBOARD 6 TRUSS ATTACHED TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF THE STARBOARD 6 TRUSS PAYLOAD PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF TRUSS INSTALLATION PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: POWER TRUSS HANDED FROM SHUTTLE TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: STARBOARD 6 TRUSS HOISTED FROM PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF S6 TRUSS UNBERTHING PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF DISCOVERY'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY DOCKS TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE'S POINT OF VIEW DURING BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-119 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: FRONT CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: THE VIP VIEWING SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 009 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 050 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 051 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 054 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 061 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 063 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-11 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: PAYLOAD BAY DOORS OPENED IN ORBIT PLAY

VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY BLASTS OFF PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE'S CREW MODULE HATCH CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST STEVE SWANSON BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT TONY ANTONELLI BOARDS DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER LEE ARCHAMBAULT BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SUNRISE AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF HYDROGEN ACCESS ARM RETRACTION PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SATURDAY NIGHT'S GANTRY ROLLBACK PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S SHUTTLE AND WEATHER UPDATE BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: POST-SCRUB NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY IN THE PREDAWN DARKESS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S ROLLBACK OF PAD GANTRY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF PAD GANTRY ROLLING BACK PLAY
VIDEO: THE PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE IN FLORIDA FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: POST-ARRIVAL COMMENTS FROM THE CREW PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: SECOND LAUNCH POSTPONEMENT BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: NARRATED MISSION OVERVIEW MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MEET SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER LEE ARCHAMBAULT PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PILOT TONY ANTONELLI PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS1 JOE ACABA PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS2 STEVE SWANSON PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS3 RICKY ARNOLD PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS4 JOHN PHILLIPS PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS5 KOICHI WAKATA PLAY

VIDEO: NASA OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE LAUNCH DELAY PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE STATION'S VIBRATIONS DURING REBOOST PLAY

VIDEO: INFORMAL NEWS CONFERENCE AT RUNWAY PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY POSITIONED ATOP PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: EARLY MORNING ROLLOUT FROM THE VAB PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF DISCOVERY ARRIVING AT PAD 39A PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES DISCOVERY VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: DISCOVERY MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NOSE WHEEL LANDING GEAR RETRACTED PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF DISCOVERY GOING VERTICAL PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ASSEMBLY BUILDING CRANE WORK PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF DISCOVERY'S TRIP TO VAB PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF PAYLOAD'S MOVE PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: STS-119 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
MORE: STS-119 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW