STS 131 Discovery, March 18, 2010.

Beeker

What a view! How I would love to look out that window:)

ynotdu

ynotdu

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Teacher's School Spirit Hitches Ride on Discovery
04.07.10



The mission patch for STS-131 emphasizes teamwork, a theme that plays out in the crew's personal selections of mementos to carry with them into orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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Schools, colleges and universities from Maryland and Connecticut to California, Washington and Japan will be represented aboard space shuttle Discovery as it thunders into space for the STS-131 mission.

The items reflect personal connections to the astronauts who will fly Discovery to the International Space Station during the 13-day mission. In most cases, they are the alma maters of a crew member, such as a white and green flag from Sheldon High School in Eugene, Ore., which STS-131 Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. attended.

But for one crew member, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, the school connections are professional as well as personal. Metcalf-Lindenburger came to NASA's astronaut corps from a classroom in Hudson's Bay High in Vancouver, Wash. She taught Earth science and astronomy at the school before being selected as an astronaut.

The flight aboard Discovery is her first mission and her first opportunity to take personal mementos into space. A black and gold pennant from Hudson's Bay will make the trip aboard the shuttle, along with a gray and red T-shirt from McLaughlin Middle, also in Vancouver.

Perhaps the most unusual item in her manifest is a 2-by-7-inch "Peace Pole" from Bennett Elementary, an International Baccalaureate World School in Fort Collins, Colo., Metcalf-Lindenburger's hometown.

Taking personal items into space is a tradition that dates back to America's first astronauts who tucked trinkets into their flight suits. Today, shuttle astronauts are allowed to take all kinds of small items into orbit with them, provided they meet stringent size and weight limits. For the most part, the souvenirs spend the whole mission tucked inside lockers inside the crew compartment.

The souvenirs are sometimes retained by the astronaut, but most are presented to the sponsoring institution or organization. The objects normally find themselves displayed prominently to inspire and educate.

That is what Metcalf-Lindenburger hopes will become of the pennant from Hudson's Bay after she presents it to the school.

Although many of the personal items on Discovery are T-shirts, flags, pennants and medals, there also is a wooden shingle from Dutton's F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Dutton was a test pilot in the program before joining NASA.

A white T-shirt from Laura Ingraham's radio program also is making the trip to the International Space Station, along with a red bandana from the EVA Systems Project Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center. EVA is short for extravehicular activity, which simply means spacewalks.

Also, Discovery will orbit the world with a small version of the world tucked inside, courtesy of Japan's Secretariat of Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy in Tokyo. Naoko Yamazaki, an astronaut for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, is flying to the station during the STS-131 mission.

Yamazaki also has included several packets of seeds in the personal manifest representing several groups and schools.

Like the other items going into space, the seeds are expected to be used to inspire future generations of explorers.

ynotdu

EVA 1 has been underway for just over an hour.expected to last about six hours thirty minutes.
Was never going to be the be the most exciting Spacewalk ever,replacing an old Amonia tank with a new one. but in the entire first hour NASA could only broadcast one minute from from an Astronauts helmet-cam and then about a minute of still photo's using S-band.

one of the Spacewalkers thought he spotted something abnormal about the device that will re-secure Leanardo to Atlantis for its return in the cargo bay,but NASA have said they think it's fine{or nominal,to use NASA speak}

None of this would normally be worthy of a post,just a real shame that the KU played up when this is the sixth last ever EVA by Shuttle Astronauts,and the lack of KU will mean the other two EVA's on STS-131 will proably have poor live TV Coverage also.:(

Just about time for Me to log,clock off and get to bed,So Lord Lucan much as I enjoyed Your 'wake up' call of the 'Final Countdown' on launch day,Please only wake Me if Beeker loose's it and steals LON 335 for us All to go on a Joyride!:)

Beeker

ynotdu wrote: »

Please only wake Me if Beeker loose's it and steals LON 335 for us All to go on a Joyride!:)

:D I have been trying:D:D:eek:

Beeker

lord lucan

Love this pic of Discovery arriving at the ISS. Taken by Soichi Noguchi onboard the ISS.



http://twitpic.com/1dwswl

lord lucan

And especially for Ynotdu,here's Soyuz approaching the ISS.:)



http://twitpic.com/1d5h4v

lord lucan

And our own gorgeous Emerald Isle!



http://twitpic.com/1ac4vl

lord lucan

Check out Soichi's Twitter page,some fabulous photos there : http://twitter.com/Astro_Soichi

lord lucan

STS-131 has been extended by one day. This is to cover the delay in inspecting the TPS following Discoverys Ku band antenna failure.

ynotdu

lord lucan wrote: »

And especially for Ynotdu,here's Soyuz approaching the ISS.:)



http://twitpic.com/1d5h4v

Thanks a whole bunch for that LL,My 'Little Soyuz' as You once called it{Your moth tells You EVERYTHING:(} is now plastered all over the Internet:eek:

Good News is there was also a banner saying i was the 100,000 visitor to the site and I only had to click on the link to collect My prize of an Apple Iphone 3gs11.................hang on My anti-virus is going Crazy here:eek:

Beeker

lord lucan wrote: »

STS-131 has been extended by one day. This is to cover the delay in inspecting the TPS following Discoverys Ku band antenna failure.

That works out perfect for me. Landing should be at 13:54 on Monday 19th. My day off:) Happy Happy Beeker:D

lord lucan

ynotdu wrote: »

Thanks a whole bunch for that LL,My 'Little Soyuz' as You once called it{Your moth tells You EVERYTHING:(} is now plastered all over the Internet:eek:

Good News is there was also a banner saying i was the 100,000 visitor to the site and I only had to click on the link to collect My prize of an Apple Iphone 3gs11.................hang on My anti-virus is going Crazy here:eek:

It's ok Ynotdu,i'm going to be a millionaire. Some Nigerian prince just emailed me saying he'll give me €1m if i let him use my bank a/c!:D

lord lucan

Beeker wrote: »

That works out perfect for me. Landing should be at 13:54 on Monday 19th. My day off:) Happy Happy Beeker:D

Hopefully i can get to see it,missed STS-130's re-entry unfortunately.

Trotter

Fingers crossed it stays at that time! 6th class haven't seen a live landing yet!

Beeker

Heres a nice video from yesterdays spacewalk. Some great shots from inside the Cupola:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-CwYzo2tVE

Beeker

Lots of transferring going on today from Leonardo to the station. Second space walk due to start around 06:00 Sunday.

lord lucan

Trotter wrote: »

Fingers crossed it stays at that time! 6th class haven't seen a live landing yet!

That'd be a great thing to show the kids. I'm sure many aren't aware of the forces at work against the Orbiter as it makes it's way back through the earths atmosphere.

iceage

How true.

ynotdu

The RPM is is the 360% flip carried out by each Shuttle since the return to flight after the loss on re-entry of Columbia&crew.I have never seen an actual photo taken for the purpose of inspecting a Shuttle for damage before this one.Taken from aboard the Iss by expedition 23 members from a distance of 600 feet it shows Discoverys three main engines as well as the Orbital Mamouvering engines{used for small course corrections during flight} hope You's enjoy!

ynotdu

ynotdu

Mastracchio, Anderson Outside for Second Spacewalk

Spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson began Sunday's spacewalk early at 1:30 a.m. EDT. The two are removing a spent ammonia tank from the station’s starboard, right-side, truss and replacing it with the new 1,700-pound, refrigerator-size tank they removed from Discovery’s payload bay on Friday. The ammonia is used for the station’s cooling system.

Anderson and Mastracchio will begin the second spacewalk at the spent ammonia tank to release it, move it and then store it until the final spacewalk on Tuesday. Next, the two will install two beams on the station’s port, left-side, truss to stow handles for use should a radiator need repairing before returning to the starboard side to install the new tank.

Mission Specialist Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger again will choreograph the spacewalk, serving as the intravehicular officer. Commander Alan G. Poindexter and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. also will assist with the planned 6-1/2 hour spacewalk.

Beeker

ynotdu wrote: »

Mastracchio, Anderson Outside for Second Spacewalk

Spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson began Sunday's spacewalk early at 1:30 a.m. EDT. The two are removing a spent ammonia tank from the station’s starboard, right-side, truss and replacing it with the new 1,700-pound, refrigerator-size tank they removed from Discovery’s payload bay on Friday. The ammonia is used for the station’s cooling system.

Anderson and Mastracchio will begin the second spacewalk at the spent ammonia tank to release it, move it and then store it until the final spacewalk on Tuesday. Next, the two will install two beams on the station’s port, left-side, truss to stow handles for use should a radiator need repairing before returning to the starboard side to install the new tank.

Mission Specialist Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger again will choreograph the spacewalk, serving as the intravehicular officer. Commander Alan G. Poindexter and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. also will assist with the planned 6-1/2 hour spacewalk.

You up early or late ynotdu:p
Second walk EVA going well. Watching coverage on NASA TV.

Beeker

Moving nicely throught the schedule on EVA 2 this morning

Beeker

Still out there looks like it could be a 7 hour EVA, and before you ask no this is not the longest EVA, that was on 102 with 8hours 56min in March 2001

Beeker

Job done, hatch closed, back inside.......Beekers wife happy NASA TV off at last:D

lord lucan

Beeker

Taking a relaxing day on orbit. They just finished a series of media interview

Stargate

Beeker wrote: »

Job done, hatch closed, back inside.......Beekers wife happy NASA TV off at last:D

HaHa