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| DISCOVERY DELIVERS FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE SPACE STATION GROWTH |
| Space Shuttle Discovery is poised deliver the next in a series of major hardware components to the International Space Station (ISS) during the STS-92 mission as the new international facility receives its first framework structure to house communications and motion control equipment. Launch of Discovery is scheduled to occur no earlier than 9:38 p.m. EDT on Oct. 5 on the 28th flight of the orbiter and the 100th mission in Shuttle Program history. A seven-person crew will be commanded by Brian Duffy, (Col., USAF), who will be making his fourth flight into space. Duffy will be joined on the forward flight deck by Pilot Pam Melroy (Lt. Col., USAF), who will be will making her first flight into space as the third female shuttle pilot in history, following in the footsteps of Eileen Collins and Susan Kilrain. Over the course of four scheduled spacewalks, two teams of space walkers and an experienced robot arm operator will collaborate to install the so-called Z1 (Z for zenith port) truss structure on top of the U.S. Unity connecting node on the growing station and to deliver the third Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA 3) to the ISS for the future berthing of new station components and to accommodate shuttle dockings. The Z1 truss will be the first permanent lattice-work structure for the ISS, very much like a girder, setting the stage for the future addition of the station's major trusses or backbones. The Z1 fixture will also serve as the platform on which the huge U.S. solar arrays will be mounted on the next shuttle assembly flight, STS-97. The Z1 contains four large gyroscopic devices, called Control Moment Gyros (CMGs), which will be used to maneuver the ISS into the proper orientation on orbit once they are activated following the installation of the U.S. laboratory. An Overview of STS-92 Flight Day 1: On Flight Day 1, Discovery and its seven astronauts will launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Once on orbit, they will climb out of their launch and entry suits, open the payload bay doors, reconfigure computers and other equipment on board, and then approximately five hours after launch, the astronauts will go to sleep. Flight Day 2: : Flight Day 2 will be highlighted by preparations for the rest of the mission. Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy will perform the first in a series of small jet firings or burns to refine Discovery's approach to the International Space Station and check out some of the cameras and other tools that will be used for their rendezvous with the Station. NASDA Astronaut Koichi Wakata will power-up the Shuttle's 50-foot long robot arm and check out its operation. He will also conduct a photo survey of Discovery's payload bay using the cameras mounted on the arm. Mission Specialists Bill McArthur, Jeff Wisoff, Leroy Chiao and Mike Lopez-Alegria will check out the suits they will wear over the course of four scheduled space walks and also check out some of the tools they will use during those space walks. Flight Day 3: All seven crew members will be busy on Flight Day 3 as Discovery approaches and then docks with the 13-story tall orbiting International Space Station. Brian Duffy and Pam Melroy will slowly bring Discovery up to the Station as their crew mates use a variety of tools to provide them with updated information on their approach and cameras to document the approach and docking. Flight Day 4: Koichi Wakata will once again power up Discovery's robot arm and use it to take the main payload for this mission -- the Z1 truss -- and install it on the Station. The truss is a framework that will house antennas and power cables and is the site for four scheduled space walks to be conducted during the mission. Flight Days 5-8: Working in two teams over the course of four consecutive days, Discovery's astronauts will venture outside to conduct space walks. Leroy Chiao and Bill McArthur will team up for the first and third scheduled space walks as they connect electrical connections and umbilicals between the newly installed Z1 truss and the Space Station. On Flight Days 6 and 8, the second team of space walkers, Jef Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria, will work together to install and hook-up Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 to the Unity module of the Space Station. PMA-3 provides an additional docking location for future Shuttle visits to the Space Station. Flight Day 9: Discovery's astronauts will enter the Space Station and transfer some logistical supplies and hardware that will be used by the first resident Station crew, due to arrive later this year. Flight Day 10: Dicovery's crew wll leave the Space Station on Flight Day 10 as they undock from the orbiting outpost. Prior to departing the vicinity of the Station however, Pilot Pam Melroy will have the opportunity to fly Discovery around the Space Station as her crew mates use a variety of cameras to document the Station with its newly-installed framework, the Z1 truss. Flight Day 11: Discovery's astronauts begin the process of heading home on Flight Day 11 as they put away the tools, hardware, checklists, cameras and other materials they have used over the course of 10 days on orbit. In addition, Brian Duffy, Pam Melroy and Bill McArthur will conduct the routine day-before-landing checks of Discovery's small reaction control system jets and aero surfaces to ensure their health prior to landing. Flight Day 12: Flight Day 12 should see Discovery return to the Kennedy Space Center and conclude its mission to continue expanding the capabilities of the International Space Station. On board, the astronauts will finish putting away last-minute items, climb into their orange launch and entry suits and close the payload bay doors. When they receive a "go" decision from the Flight Control Team in Houston, they will fire Discovery's engines in a deorbit burn to bring the Shuttle and its seven-member crew out of orbit and back to Earth. |
