[sarex] STS-114 MCC Status Report #02

["ARTHUR Z. ROWE" <N1ORC@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1OC - AMSAT A/C #31468

STS-114 MCC Status Report #02
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - Midnight CDT
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

The crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery has awakened to its first 
full day in space. Today it will focus on thermal protection system 
inspections, preparing for docking to the International Space Station 
and getting spacesuits ready for three spacewalks.

Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi 
Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda 
received a wakeup call at 11:39 p.m. CDT. The song played for the crew 
was music from the movie “Ground Hog Day,” which was for the entire crew 
to commemorate its first day out of quarantine.

For most of the day, Thomas, Camarda and Kelly will work together on 
Discovery’s aft flight deck to inspect key components of the orbiter’s 
heat shield. For the majority of the inspections the new Orbiter Boom 
Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner will be used. The Shuttle’s robotic 
Canadarm will be used to maneuver the 50-foot boom extension after 
checkout of the system is completed.

In its debut performance, the boom will be used to methodically inspect 
the leading edges of Discovery’s wings and the orbiter’s nose cap to 
insure that they did not incur any damage during launch. The Laser 
Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) on the boom will provide two-and 
three-dimensional imagery. The data will be downlinked to the ground for 
engineering evaluation.

After those surveys are complete the boom will be placed back on the 
starboard sill of the payload bay. The Shuttle robotic arm and its 
cameras will then be used to survey Discovery’s crew cabin. 
Additionally, using handheld digital cameras the crew will photograph 
tiles on the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods and the orbiter’s tail.

During Tuesday’s ascent to orbit, the enhanced imaging capability gave 
flight controllers and mission managers views of the Shuttle Orbiter 
never seen before. With this heightened ability, engineers were able to 
see two so-called “debris events.” A camera mounted on the external tank 
caught what appeared to be a small fragment of tile come from 
Discovery’s underside on or near the nose gear doors. A later image 
about the time of Solid Rocket Booster separation showed an unidentified 
piece departing from the tank and exiting away, apparently not striking 
the orbiter. The crew was notified of these observations and told that 
imaging experts would be analyzing the pictures.

Mission managers will review the information gathered yesterday and 
today, including imaging and sensor data, to help determine the health 
of Discovery’s thermal protection system over the next four days before 
it is cleared for landing later in the flight. Data from the new wing 
leading edge sensors was downlinked overnight to Mission Control for 
assessment.

Flight Day Four has time reserved for additional surveys, if required, 
using the OBSS, either to complete parts of the survey that time would 
not allow today, or to supplement the survey with “stop-and-stare” scans 
of sites of potential interest.

Meanwhile, on the middeck, spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson, assisted 
by Lawrence, will check out the airlock, spacesuits and tools they will 
begin using on Saturday. They will also prepare Shuttle systems for 
docking to the Space Station.

Today Collins will fire Discovery’s thrusters twice to refine its 
approach to the Station. At about midnight, Discovery was trailing the 
Station by 6,516 statute miles. The two are scheduled to link up at 6:18 
a.m. CDT Thursday.

Today the Space Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight 
Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will prepare the complex 
for Discovery’s arrival. They will configure the digital cameras they 
will use during Discovery’s approach, gathering additional imagery of 
the Shuttle’s heat shield. They also will pressurize the Pressurized 
Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) that Discovery will dock to Thursday.

The next STS-114 mission status report will be issued Wednesday evening, 
or earlier, if events warrant.
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