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Nov. 12, 2010 Vol. 50, No. 23 Spaceport News John F. Kennedy Space Center - America’s gateway to the universe www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/snews/spnews_toc.html NASA marks decade on ISS By Linda Herridge Spaceport News hat a difference a decade makes. On the 10-year Wanniversary of continuous human presence aboard the Interna- tional Space Station, Nov. 2, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden com- memorated the milestone by calling the six Expedition 25 crew members Discovery, STS-133 currently living and working on the NET Nov. 30 launch orbiting laboratory. ASA has postponed Bolden spoke to Commander the launch of space Doug Wheelock and his fellow shuttle Discovery to astronauts Scott Kelly and Shannon N no earlier than 4:02 a.m. EST Walker, and Russian cosmonauts on Nov. 30. The delay will al- Fyodor Yurchikhin, Alexander Kaleri low engineers and technicians and Oleg Skripochka, during a news time to diagnose and repair conference that was broadcast live a hydrogen gas leak detected on NASA TV. while filling the external fuel “This global milestone is tank Nov. 5. They also will fix tremendously significant, both for a foam crack on the external NASA and our partners,” Bolden NASA fuel tank’s liquid oxygen said. “It recognizes the success of an intertank flange. The crack was amazing feat of engineering and a NASA astronauts Doug Wheelock (background), Expedition 25 commander; and Scott Kelly, flight engi- neer, are pictured near fresh fruit floating freely in the Unity node of the International Space Station. discovered during de-tanking magnificent leap forward in the story operations. of human achievement.” gei Krikalev boarded the station. for being the longest continuously “We always place safety The first crew, Expedition 1, On Nov. 2 of this year, the inhabited spacecraft. first,” said NASA Associate launched to the station aboard a station completed 57, 361 orbits of “As we look forward to the next Administrator for Space Op- Russian Soyuz Rocket from the Earth and traveled about 1.5 billion 10 years, taking us through 2020, the erations Bill Gerstenmaier. “It Baikonur Cosmodrome in miles. Men and women from 15 na- space station will serve many roles,” is essential we repair this hard- Kazakhstan on Oct. 31, 2000. Two tions have lived and worked together said Mike Suffredini, ISS program ware before we fly the mission, days later, the Soyuz docked to the on the station and more than 600 manager. “With its permanent human and we will take the time to Zvezda Service Module and U.S. different research and technology presence, it will serve as a foothold properly understand and fix the astronaut Bill Shepherd, and Russian experiments have been conducted. failure before we launch.” Cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Ser- On Oct. 25, the station set a record See ISS, Page 2 Inside this issue . Future of Launch Pad 39B Heritage: Workplace has become safer What’s going up? LEGOs spark learning Page 2 Page 3 Page 6 Page 7 Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS Nov. 12, 2010 Medallion honoring Capt. James Cook going up on STS-133 By Steven Siceloff don’t have to be told of its two-week-long experiments hopes that the item will the University of Texas Spaceport News significance. in microgravity. NASA inspire or give hope to English Department, will be “I don’t think you turned twice to Discovery future explorers. a passenger on Discovery. iscovery’s final can take a final voyage of for Return to Flight missions In the case of the As will a plush giraffe, the voyage into orbit a ship of exploration and after accidents with shuttles STS-133 crew, such items mascot of the Hermann Dwill carry symbols not take some moments to Challenger and Columbia, include a medallion from children’s hospital at the reminiscent of the great celebrate its history,” said and it launched the agency’s the U.S. Air Force Institute University of Texas. voyages of other ships by Mission Specialist Michael landmark observatory, the of Technology. STS-133 While many of the the same name. Barratt. “And I think many Hubble Space Telescope. Commander Steve Lindsey items Discovery astronauts A medallion from the people know that our ship, In the last several graduated from the institute are carrying are one-of- Royal Society honoring Discovery, which is a ship years, Discovery has before becoming an a-kind, there also are legendary explorer Capt. of exploration, was named helped shuttles Atlantis and astronaut. hundreds of American and James Cook will be carried after several predecessor Endeavour complete the Also flying on Discovery flags, mission aboard the space shuttle ships also named Discovery, International Space Station. Discovery will be two small patches and space shuttle during STS-133. Cook’s all ships of exploration.” Astronauts routinely LEGO space shuttles, each bookmarks. As with the third expedition of the vast After all, Discovery carry into space mementos with a tiny toy astronaut, other commemoratives, the Pacific Ocean included a has gone into orbit more from schools, military units to help celebrate a new larger collections are meant ship named HMS Discovery, than any other shuttle, or and tokens from institutions educational partnership to inspire and reward. one of the vessels shuttle any other spacecraft for in the communities they between the toy-building “Again, you can not, Discovery is named after. that matter. Early in its grew up in or live in. After brick maker and NASA. not celebrate the history The astronauts flying career, Discovery provided they come back, the crew Some of the items can and the heritage of this ship Discovery during the a base so astronauts could members typically present be off-beat. For instance, and we plan to continue that STS-133 mission to the retrieve satellites, test new them to the sponsoring a small action figure of certainly after we land,” International Space Station technologies and conduct organization or person in William Shakespeare, from Barratt said. From ISS, Page 1 “Once we got going, we language wasn’t a barrier. cal path for us succeeding “As we enter the sta- for long-term exploration watched the Space Station We had a common language to establishing that initial tion’s second decade, our into space, being an integral Processing Facility fill up to get things done,” Cabana phase for the space station,” path forward will take us part of testing human endur- with hardware to the point said. Burnett said. deeper into space and ance, equipment reliability where we couldn’t even keep Burnett said one of “Everybody was after expand humanity’s potential and processes essential for it all in there. We had to use the key elements in those that common goal, what farther,” Bolden said. “I space exploration.” the O&C high bay to stack first seven flights, was the do we need to do to make congratulate the entire sta- On Oct. 27, NASA truss structures. It was truly Canadian robotic arm, the it work,” Burnett added. tion team and the thousands marked the milestone with a amazing. SSRMS. “It was the only “Some of the best memories of people worldwide who series of roundtable discus- “When we sat down international element at the I have in my career are the have helped us reach this sions at Kennedy Space Cen- with a technical issue, time that was on the criti- early days of station.” anniversary.” ter, Johnson Space Center, Marshall Spaceflight Center and NASA Headquarters. Kennedy panelists were Center Director Bob Cabana, ISS and Spacecraft Process- ing Director Josie Burnett, ISS, Spacecraft Process- ing Deputy Director Bill Dowdell and Director of The Boeing Company’s Program Management Development David Bethay. The four reminisced about the early days of the program, working with Boeing and international partners, what it took to get ready for space station hardware at Kennedy, and the successes and challenges NASA along the way. Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, left, International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing Director Josie Burnett, International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing Deputy Director Bill Dowdell and Director of The Boeing Company’s Program Management Development David Bethay help mark the 10-year “The hardware was a milestone of human life, work and research aboard the International Space Station with a panel discussion that aired on NASA TV on Oct. 27. Johnson Space Center in challenge,” Cabana said. Houston, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA Headquarters in Washington also hosted panel discussions for the milestone celebration. Nov. 12, 2010 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 NASA, LEGO join forces for space, math education By Steven Siceloff partnership. They are expected to Spaceport News stay in their lockers, but astronauts may pull them out during the stronauts on board the mission if they have time, said International Space Station Debbie Biggs, an education will build small model A specialist for International Space spacecraft and working objects in Station National Lab Education orbit and share the experience with Projects. schoolchildren watching on Earth. NASA’s fundamental goal is The students will build some to use the partnership to inspire of the same things in their own children to learn about science, classrooms and see firsthand technical fields, engineering and how differently objects behave in math. Known as STEM education, space, where there is practically no the focus has been a priority for gravity, compared to the familiar the agency throughout this year’s world of Earth. “Summer of Innovation.” The project is one of the first Stephan Turnipseed, president steps in a three-year partnership of LEGO Education North America, NASA/Jack Pfaller between NASA and the Denmark- said LEGO is the right partner based The LEGO Group, maker Leland Melvin, center, NASA’s associate administrator for Education, listens as children and adults build because the bricks encourage kids their vision of the future with LEGO bricks, marking the beginning of a three-year Space Act Agreement of the ubiquitous plastic bricks to develop their inner engineer.