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STS-124 Begins First Full Day in Space
Image above: Space shuttle Discovery thunders off the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA TV
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Now circling the Earth aboard space shuttle Discovery, the STS-124 crew members begin their first full day in space. The astronauts will spend their workday inspecting the orbiter’s heat shield and preparing for their arrival at the International Space Station on Monday.
Crew members will use the shuttle’s robotic arm to perform a limited inspection of Discovery and the leading edges of its wings. The purpose of this inspection is to ensure that, during the vehicle’s climb to orbit, no damage occurred to the tiles that protect Discovery from the heat of re-entry.
If required, the usual detailed inspection of the heat shield will be performed later in the mission after the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) has been returned to Discovery. The OBSS is needed to perform a complete scan but was stowed on the station during STS-123 to make room for the Kibo laboratory’s Japanese Pressurized Module in Discovery’s payload bay.
Discovery’s crew members will extend the Orbiter Docking System Ring and check out rendezvous tools in preparation for their arrival at the station.
In addition, the STS-124 astronauts are slated to check out spacesuits they will use during the mission’s three scheduled spacewalks at the station and will participate in media interviews with radio and television stations in Minneapolis, Minn., and Bryan, Texas.
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Now circling the Earth aboard space shuttle Discovery, the STS-124 crew members begin their first full day in space. The astronauts will spend their workday inspecting the orbiter’s heat shield and preparing for their arrival at the International Space Station on Monday.
Crew members will use the shuttle’s robotic arm to perform a limited inspection of Discovery and the leading edges of its wings. The purpose of this inspection is to ensure that, during the vehicle’s climb to orbit, no damage occurred to the tiles that protect Discovery from the heat of re-entry.
If required, the usual detailed inspection of the heat shield will be performed later in the mission after the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) has been returned to Discovery. The OBSS is needed to perform a complete scan but was stowed on the station during STS-123 to make room for the Kibo laboratory’s Japanese Pressurized Module in Discovery’s payload bay.
Discovery’s crew members will extend the Orbiter Docking System Ring and check out rendezvous tools in preparation for their arrival at the station.
In addition, the STS-124 astronauts are slated to check out spacesuits they will use during the mission’s three scheduled spacewalks at the station and will participate in media interviews with radio and television stations in Minneapolis, Minn., and Bryan, Texas.
