Spaceflight Now




Astronaut: 'We're back, baby'
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 11, 2006

The Discovery astronauts, working through a relatively relaxed day of space station equipment and supply transfers, say the shuttle's trouble-free launch and lack of significant impact damage show NASA is finally ready to put the Columbia tragedy behind it.

"My brother put it very well," pilot Mark Kelly, whose twin brother, Scott, is also an astronaut, told The Associated Press. "I spoke to him on what's called the IP phone, which is an internet phone, and he said 'we're back, baby!'"

Spacewalker Piers Sellers agreed, telling USA Today "I think we were all hoping for two things to come out of STS-121. The first thing is that the shuttle would fly with no problems, no big dings on ascent and we'd have a clean vehicle. And we seem to have achieved that.

"The second thing is that we would leave station in good shape and ready to pick up the assembly sequence and the line would be drawn where it was rubbed out before Columbia, we would start again with the next mission and continue the assembly. I think we're there now."

During a spacewalk Monday, he said, "we repaired the external equipment that will allow the assembly to continue. So, two for two!"

A third spacewalk by Sellers and Mike Fossum is on tap Wednesday to demonstrate potential wing leading edge repair techniques. Repair techniques and materials intended to fix minor heat-shield tile damage was tested during the first post Columbia mission last year.

Sellers described the first two spacewalks of Discovery's current mission as "kind of heavy lifting, I mean they really were. We were moving huge pieces of equipment around and doing hard work."

"EVA-3 is more like a kind of a careful, meticulous lab experiment," he said. "Mike and I are going to be very careful, Mark's going to coach us through this on how to get the material to the right temperature and apply it to a set of samples. It really is lab work and we're going to do the best, most careful job we can. But it won't be very tiring!"

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity in orbit (in EDT and mission elapsed time):



TIME.......DD...HH...MM...EVENT

07/11/06
02:38 AM...06...12...00...STS crew wakeup (flight day 8)
02:38 AM...06...12...00...ISS crew wakeup
04:38 AM...06...14...00...MPLM transfers
05:28 AM...06...14...50...Spacesuit servicing
05:58 AM...06...15...20...Middeck transfers
07:18 AM...06...16...40...Spacewalk tools configured for EVA-3
08:18 AM...06...17...40...AP/USA Today interviews
08:38 AM...06...18...00...Infrared camera setup for EVA-3
09:33 AM...06...18...55...Joint crew meal
10:33 AM...06...19...55...Crew downlink opportunity
10:58 AM...06...20...20...MPLM, middeck transfers resume
12:00 PM...06...21...22...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
01:08 PM...06...22...30...EVA-3: Procedures review
01:08 PM...06...22...30...Video File on NASA TV
05:08 PM...07...02...30...STS/ISS crew sleep begins
06:00 PM...07...03...22...Video highlights reel on NASA TV

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: DAY 7 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: INSTALLATION OF NEW REEL NOT EASY PLAY
VIDEO: FOSSUM CARRIES REPLACEMENT REEL TOWARD ISS PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS BRING FAILED REEL TO THE SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: FAILED RAILCAR CABLE REEL REMOVED FROM ISS PLAY
VIDEO: SELLERS REPLACES FAILED CABLE CUTTER DEVICE PLAY
VIDEO: STATION ARM HOISTS PUMP MODULE FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS PREP PUMP MODULE FOR TRANSFER PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: SRB CAMERA LIFTOFF TO SPLASHDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: JOINT CREW NEWS CONFERENCE DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: DAY 6 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND

VIDEO: DAY 5 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 1 CONCLUDES PLAY
VIDEO: FOSSUM PRACTICES REPAIR ACTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: BOTH SPACEWALKERS GET ON THE BOOM PLAY
VIDEO: SELLERS CONDUCTS STABILITY TESTS PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS GATHER TOOLS FOR TESTS PLAY
VIDEO: SELLERS AND FOSSUM BEGIN EVA 1 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY

VIDEO: ROBOT ARM MOUNTS CARGO MODULE TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: LEONARDO CARGO MODULE LIFTED OUT OF PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR EXPLAINS MODULE INSTALLATION PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF CARGO CARRIED IN LEONARDO PLAY
VIDEO: LIVE RADIO INTERVIEWS WITH CREW CBS | FOX | ABC | NPR

VIDEO: DAY 3 MANAGEMENT TEAM BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: POST-DOCKING MISSION STATUS DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW FLOATS INTO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: WATCH THE ENTIRE PIROUETTE BACKFLIP MANEUVER PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR EXPLAINS RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: INITIAL TANK ASSESSMENT DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: DAY 2 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR EXPLAINS INSPECTIONS WITH BOOM PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR EXPLAINS ROBOT ARM INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: THE FULL LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: RIDE ALONG DURING LAUNCH VIA CREW MODULE CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: AMAZING FOOTAGE FROM WB-57 HIGH-ALTITUDE AIRCRAFT PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE LANDING FACILITY TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: PLAYALINDA BEACH TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: BEACH MOUND TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: PATRICK AFB TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: UCS 23 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: UCS 11 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: CS 6 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: CS 2 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: CS 1 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: COMPLEX 39 PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH PAD SIDE VIEW PLAY
MORE: STS-121 VIDEO COVERAGE
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