STS-116 Shuttle Discovery

Well the 3 day countdown has begun for the STS-116 mission. It's scedualed to launch on Dec. 7th for a 12 day mission to the ISS and to bring up and attach the P5 Truss segment to the station. STS-116 will be the first night-time launch since the Shuttles return-to-flight.

More news as things progress...

I've lost interest in the Space Shuttle missions. I just wish that they would retire the fleet, and concentrate on getting back to the Moon. That's a far more interesting prospect than watching more foam fall off the external tank, adding another bit of scaffolding to ISS, and wasting another few billion dollars.


[edit on 5-12-2006 by Mogget]

This is an ISS mission. We need the fleet until the ISS is completed, which according to the schedule, can be done by the end of the decade, with a lot of the bulk happening in the next 2 years.

Element Flight Launch Vehicle Launch date Length(m) Diameter (m) Mass (kg)

P5 Truss 12A.1 - STS-116 Discovery December 7, 2006 13.7 3.9 12,598

S3/4 Truss - Solar Array 13A - STS-117 Atlantis March 16, 2007 73.2 10.7 15,900

Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Jules Verne ATV-1 Ariane 5 May 1, 2007 9.79 4.48 13,083

S5 Truss 13A.1 - STS-118 Endeavour June 28, 2007 13.7 3.9 12,598

Node 2 and relocation of P6 Truss 10A - STS-120 Atlantis September 7, 2007 6.1 4.2 13,608

Columbus Laboratory 1E - STS-122 Discovery October 2007 6.87 4.49 19,300

Japanese Logistics Module 1J/A - STS-123 Endeavour December 2007 3.9 4.4 4,200

Dextre Robotic Hand 1J/A - STS-123 Endeavour December 2007 - - -

Japanese Pressurized Module w/ JEM Robotic Arm 1J - STS-124 Atlantis February 2008 11.2 4.4 15,900

S6 Truss - Solar Array 15A - STS-119 Endeavour June 2008 73.2 10.7 15,900

European Robotic Arm (launched with MLM) ULF2 Proton rocket August 2008

Japanese Exposed Facility 2J/A - STS-127 Discovery October 2008

Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) 3R Proton rocket December 2008 13 4.1 21,300

[edit on 5-12-2006 by sardion2000]

The countdown continues to remain on schedule for tomorrow nights launch. But due to deteriorating weather conditions the chance for favorable launching weather on Thursday have gone down to 60%.

If you haven't heard already. The Shuttle launch was delayed due to thick cloud cover. They will try again on Saturday, December 9 at 8:47:34 p.m. EST (0147:34 GMT 10 Dec).

Well the Shuttle Discovery has launched successfully and it is on it's way to the ISS. It will dock with the station on Dec. 11th and begin it's primary mission of installing the new truss onto the ISS.

Only two days late! Nice!

They are also installing and rewiring a permanent electrical system. I think the ISS is very important and these shuttle missions contributed alot to the modern space age. I agree..they are currently outliving their usefullness by a few years and 4 years should be more than enough to finish the ISS.

STS 116 is an important and exciting mission for the ISS construction. Moving the temp solar arrays into their permanent positions and adding new solar arrays does more than just give the ISS more power, it also finally begins to look like it's final form. So, astetically speaking, this mission is really cool!

Due to the large wingspan of these 300 foot solar arrays, the ISS appears to be "almost complete". But how almost is almost? Just appreciate the state that its in now and the fact that another shuttle mission is still a good accomplishment since it's a 1/100 chance the shuttle would break apart if the slightest cracks are not detected on tiles. A shuttle malfunction might set the ISS back another 5 years. What if shuttles are retired and ISS doesnt get completed untill the Russians figure out a way to load cargo into their 10 foot soyuz capsules. So to sum it up , The ISS only gets expanded with each shuttle mission, instead of looking at it in a matter of getting it finished according to plans. In fact, the ISS will always have additions and upgrades for many years to come, and should look bigger and different than its proposed complete version in 2010. Lets hope NASA stays on top of the Space Race and build the Lunar CEV after it does all the dirty work in building the ISS.