Seven
astronauts may be the most visible participants in NASA's planned launch of the
shuttle Discovery this week,
but the orbiter is also hauling a cargo bay full of vital supplies and
components to the International
Space Station (ISS).
Riding
inside Discovery's 60-foot (18-meter) payload bay will be a pressurized
SPACEHAB cargo container, a spare parts platform also laden with ready-to-launch
microsatellites, and--as the centerpiece--an $11-million addition for the space
station's main truss.
"It's an
exciting mission," Sharon Castle, NASA's launch package manager for Discovery's
STS-116
mission. "It's packed with everything."
Altogether,
Discovery's STS-116
astronauts will haul more than 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) of internal
cargo and 800 pounds (362 kilograms) of external hardware--not counting the
truss--to the ISS when their construction mission launches on Dec. 7. The
shuttle is expected to return some 4,400 pounds (1,195 kilograms) when its
12-day mission returns to Earth.
One of the
most precious of items sitting in Discovery's payload bay is the Port 5
(P5) truss. The spacer-like addition fits at the portside (or leftmost) end
of the space station's Port 3/Port
4 (P3/P4) solar array segment, which arrived during September's STS-115
shuttle flight.
"It's a
small structure compared to the other major elements," Chuck Hardison, ISS site
manager for P5's builder Boeing, told SPACE.com. "But its function is
absolutely critical."
With its
attached power and data lines, P5 is designed to serve as a bridge between
P3/P4 and an older solar array that will be moved into position during a future
shuttle mission.
The
4,110-pound (1,864-kilogram) P5 truss segment runs about 11 feet (3.3 meters)
long, about 14 feet (4.5 meters) wide and stands about 13 feet (4.2 meters)
high. The ISS segment arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 2001, and now
sits between the SPACEHAB module and a cargo palette inside Discovery's cargo
bay.
"It looked
great out there in the payload bay," Hardison said, adding that he has already
said his goodbye's to the boxy station piece. "We're really looking forward to
seeing it go."
Castle said
that a variety of supplies and spare parts are stuffed inside the SPACEHAB
module, which astronauts can reach via a
connection at Discovery's airlock. SPACEHAB, Inc. officials added that their module is filled
with crew provisions, such as food, spacewalking tools and health equipment.
Mission
specialist Joan
Higginbotham will serve as Discovery's loadmaster to oversee cargo transfer
during the STS-116 mission. She is also charged with launching a trio of small,
experimental microsatellites currently stowed in a cylindrical container
attached to the SPACEHAB-built Integrated Cargo Carrier riding in the aft of
shuttle's cargo bay.
The cargo
carrier is also laden with a series of debris panels that will shield the space
station's Russian-built Zvezda service module from micrometeorite damage once
installed. The panels will be arranged in a configuration known as the
"Christmas Tree" for delivery to the ISS exterior during a planned Dec. 14
spacewalk.
"It's
appropriate that we're moving a Christmas tree around at that time of year,"
STS-16 mission specialist Nicholas
Patrick said in a NASA interview. "I should add to that end, [it's]
essentially a Christmas present for the space station."
advertisement
