Spaceflight Now | STS-121 Shuttle Report

Video Coverage

		The most complete source of video from the countdown, launch and mission of space shuttle Discovery is available here! Video Collection

The Mission

		Orbiter: Discovery Mission: STS-121 Launch: July 4, 2006 Time: 2:38 p.m. EDT (1838 GMT) Site: Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida Landing: July 17 @ 9:14 a.m. EDT Site: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC Video collection Mission Status Center Landing Day Timeline Master Flight Plan NASA TV Schedule Countdown Timeline Launch Timeline Shuttle/ISS Calendar STS-121 Quick-Look Launch Windows Chart Ascent Data Packet Timeline Walkthrough Rendezvous Burns Undocking Timeline Key Personnel List STS-121 Mission Index STS-114 Archive

The Crew

		Veteran shuttle commander Steven Lindsey leads a seven-person crew launching aboard Discovery for the STS-121 mission. Crew Quick-Look CDR: Steven Lindsey PLT: Mark Kelly MS 1: Michael Fossum MS 2: Lisa M. Nowak MS 3: Stephanie Wilson MS 4: Piers Sellers MS 5: Thomas Reiter Manned Spaceflights Current Demographics Spacewalk Statistics

The Vehicle

		As America's third reusable space shuttle to fly, Discovery has successfully completed 31 missions since 1984. STS-121 Hardware Launch/Landing Chart Shuttle Flight History

STS-121 Launch Windows
COMPILED BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
Updated: June 30, 2006

Changes and additions:
- May 11: Posting initial windows chart
- June 12: Updating times for July 1 and 2
- June 20: Updating times throughout
- June 30: Updating launch windows for July 1-3

To reach the international space station, the shuttle must launch within about five minutes of the moment Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the station's orbit. For STS-121, launch must occur in daylight and the external fuel tank must separate in orbit, on the other side of the planet, with enough sunlight to allow photo documentation of the tank. Those factors, plus temperature issues based on the angle between the plane of the space station's orbit and the sun result in the following launch windows for shuttle mission STS-121 in July (these times will be tweaked as launch approaches based on the station's actual orbit).

To maximize performance, NASA targets launch for right around the moment the shuttle can launch directly into that plane. In the chart below, the target launch time is listed in the "in plane" column. All times in EDT and subject to change.

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MISSION INDEX

INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE
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