STS-120

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  32272 / 07050A Launch date - time  23 Oct 2007 - 15:38:19 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39A Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle Orbiter  Discovery #34 Primary payload  Node 2 (Harmony) Mass (kg)   Docking date - time  25 Oct 2007 - 12:40 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/PMA-2 port Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee  195 x 227 km    - Inclination  51.6°    - Period  88.7 min Undocking date - time  5 Nov 2007 - 10:32 UT Landing date - time (wheel stop)  07 Nov 2007 - 18:02:13 UT Rollout time  55s Landing location  KSC, Runway 33 Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  15d 02h 23m 54s Nbr orbits  238 Landing crew  Tani replaced by Anderson Cl.(launched on STS-117)

Launch Crew

Summary:

Mission report:

• Orbiter OV-103 Discovery took off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Shuttle mission STS-120, Station flight 10A, at 1538 UTC on Oct 23, 2007. Discovery, commanded by astronaut Pam Melroy, docked with the PMA-2 port on the Destiny module at 1240 UTC on Oct 25.
  

  STS-120 Cargo Manifest ---------------------- Bay Mass (kg) Orbiter Docking System 1-2 1800 EMU 3004 130? EMU 3003 130? SPDU (Station Power Distribution Unit) 3P 100? SASA (FSE (Fixture S-band Antenna) 4S 100? PDGF (Power/Data Grapple Fixture) 5P 50? MBSU (Main Bus Switching Unit) 6S 238 (MBSU adapter) 122 SPDU (Station Power Distribution Unit) 7P 100? Node-2 Harmony 8-12 14300 OBSS 203? Sill 450? RMS 301? Sill 410? ---------------------------------------------------------------- 17390 kg

  STS-120 payload

  
  
• At 1001 UTC on Oct 26 the Quest airlock was depressurized and the hatch opened, and astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock began the first STS-120 spacewalk in EMU suits 3004 and 3003 respectively. They removed an antenna from the Z1 truss and stowed it in the payload bay, prepared the P6 truss for separation from Z1, and supervised the installation of the Node-2 Harmony module. Harmony was unberthed from Discovery′s payload bay at 1340 UTC by the Station Canadarm-2, and installed on Node-1 Unity at 1538 UTC. The astronauts reentered Quest, closing the hatch at 1558 UTC and repressurizing the airlock at 1616 UTC.
  
  

  Node 2 in the bay of STS

  Node 2 unberthed by Canadarm.

  
  
• On Oct 28 astronauts Parazynski and Tani, in suits 3004 and 3018, depressurized Quest at 0927 UTC, opening the hatch at 0932 UTC. At 1103 UTC the P6 truss was unberthed from Z1 and moved to a park position. The spacewalkers installed handrails and a grapple fixture on Harmony and inspected the malfunctioning Solar Array Rotary Joint (SARJ) on the S3/S4 truss. They closed the hatch at 1600 UTC and repressurized the airlock at 1605 UTC.
• On Oct 29 two more radiators were deployed from the S1 truss at 0530 and 0550 UTC. The Shuttle RMS grappled P6 at 0704 UTC and the Station arm released it at 0832 UTC; then the Station arm on its MBS truck moved along the truss, and regrappled P6 at 1314 UTC, with the Shuttle RMS releasing it again at 1321 UTC; the following morning, the Station arm moved P6 to near the end of P5.
• On Oct 30 at 0841 UTC the Quest was again depressurized for the third spacewalk, this time by Parazynski and Wheelock. The hatch was open at 0844 UTC and the astronauts supervised the mating of P6 to P5 which was completed at 1110 UTC. A radiator was deployed on P6 at 1253 UTC; Wheelock transferred a spare Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) from the Shuttle bay to the External Stowage Platform 3 (ESP3) on the Station at 1430 UTC. From 1441 to 1532 UTC the P6 solar array wing 2B was redeployed; array 4B on the other side of P6 was deployed starting at 1609 UTC but at 1624 UTC a tear developed in the solar array and the process was halted. The astronauts had reentered the airlock, closing the hatch at 1545 UTC and repressurizing at 1553 UTC.
• Astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock made a spacewalk out to the port end of the Station truss to repair the SAW-4B solar array on Nov 3. The Quest airlock was depressurized at 1000 UTC with hatch opening at 1002 UTC. By 1203 UTC Parazynski was moved to the vicinity of the solar array tear, standing on the end of the OBSS boom, which was grappled by the Canadarm-2 sitting at worksite 8 on the truss. He installed five 'cuff-link' straps to strengthen the solar array and prevent further tearing; the array was then fully extended by 1523 UTC, ensuring an adequate electrical power supply for the Station in the near term, pending repairs to the starboard truss' Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). The airlock hatch was closed at 1712 UTC and repressurization was at 1722 UTC. On this spacewalk, Wheelock used spacesuit EMU 3003 as before, but due to problems with Parazynski's EMU 3004, he used EMU 3006 instead.
  
  

  ISS on Nov. 5, 2007 after relocation of the P6 truss assembly (far right) by STS-120

  
  
• Discovery undocked from the Station at 1032 UTC on Nov 5. After a flyaround, they departed with a second sep burn at 1214 UTC. The deorbit burn was at 1658 UTC on Nov 7.
• The Discovery lands on Kennedy Space Center runway 33 at 1801 UTC to complete the mission.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel KSC. Credit: J. Vd Dr.

Landing cancel KSC. Credit: J. Vd Dr.