[sarex] FLIGHT DAY 8 - STS -121 STATUS

[Arthur Rowe <azrowe80@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

Flight day 8 went smoothly for the STS-121 and Expedition 13 crew 
members aboard Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space 
Station. In addition to their scheduled duties, they received a phone 
call from U.S. President George W. Bush at 10:35 a.m. EDT today.

Throughout the day, the crews prepared for the third and final spacewalk 
to be conducted during STS-121’s visit to the station. Mission 
Specialists Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum are slated to begin the 
excursion at 7:13 a.m. Wednesday. The spacewalkers will demonstrate 
on-orbit shuttle heat shield repair techniques.

The crews also continued cargo transfers to and from the shuttle, the 
International Space Station and the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics 
module. Leonardo arrived inside Discovery’s payload bay with more than 
7,400 pounds of equipment and supplies for the station. Leonardo will be 
returned Friday to the payload bay packed with more than 4,300 pounds of 
science experiment results, unneeded items and trash.

This morning, STS-121 crew members took a few moments from their busy 
schedule to answer questions from reporters with the Associated Press 
and USA Today. They were asked about the legacy of STS-121 since 
Discovery did not receive damage from launch. Pilot Mark Kelly referred 
to a conversation with his brother, Scott, who is also an astronaut. 
Kelly said, “My brother put it well on the IP phone, which is an 
internet phone and he said, ‘We’re back, baby.’ That’s his quote, not mine.”
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