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STS 133 Mission Updates
  • Kennedy Space Center Reopens, Discovery Rollout Set for Thursday
    NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is open for regular operations following a water main break that caused the center to be closed to non-essential personnel Wednesday morning.

    Crews have isolated the break in a 24-inch pipe located at the LC-39 Complex turn basin near the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). They’re also assessing Kennedy’s water system to confirm there aren’t any other potential problems. Water has been restored to the center, except for an administrative building across from the VAB and Kennedy’s Press Site.

    Shuttle Discovery’s move, known as rollover, from its hangar, Orbiter Processing Facility-3, to the VAB now is targeted for Thursday morning (Sept. 9), weather permitting. Rollover had been scheduled for Wednesday morning. The delay is not expected to affect Discovery’s targeted Nov. 1 launch on its STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.

  • Kennedy Space Center Closed Today, Discovery's Rollover Delayed
    NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is closed today due to a major water main leak. Only essential personnel (security, fire/rescue, operations) are at the center.

    Crews are working on a break in a 24-inch pipe located at the LC-39 Complex turn basin across from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). They’re also assessing Kennedy’s water system to identify any other potential problems. Currently, there is no potable water at the center.

    Shuttle Discovery’s move, known as rollover, from its hangar, Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to the VAB, which had been scheduled for 6:30 a.m. EDT this morning, is postponed until at least tomorrow morning (Sept. 9). Today’s delay is not expected to affect Discovery’s targeted Nov. 1 launch on its STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.

  • Discovery Ready for Wednesday Morning Move
    Mounted atop a specialized transporter, space shuttle Discovery is all set for a short drive Wednesday morning to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will be joined to a waiting set of two solid rocket boosters and a fuel tank. The move, known as "rollover" to the NASA Kennedy Space Center community of space workers, is slated to begin at 6:30 a.m. when Discovery is carefully backed out of Orbiter Processing Facility-3. The 76-wheeled transport will then truck the spacecraft across a wide, concrete road and into the VAB, where a skilled team of technicians will bolt a huge sling to the orbiter so it can be safely lifted and joined to the boosters and tank.

    While their spacecraft undergoes preparations in Florida, the astronauts who will fly Discovery to the International Space Station will be practicing for their arrival in space. Training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the crew will conduct a suited post-insertion simulation today.

  • VAB Preps Continue for Discovery
    At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians are preparing the external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters for space shuttle Discovery's arrival and connection next week. The tank and boosters are already stacked on the mobile launcher platform. Rollover of Discovery is set to begin at 6:30 am. EDT on Sept. 8. There is no work planned over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

    At NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-133 crew is conducting a rendezvous simulation today.‪

  • VAB Teams Prepare to Welcome Discovery
    Space shuttle Discovery has been connected to its 76-wheel, custom-built transporter ahead of its move from Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. That move is scheduled to take place Sept. 8. The transporter is one of several specialized vehicles that serve the shuttle fleet at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Some move payloads and solid rocket booster segments, this one moves the 100-ton orbiters. The kings are, of course, the huge, tracked crawler-transporters that carry a stacked shuttle to the launch pad. One thing they all have in common: they move really slowly, especially when carrying precious national assets on their backs.

    In the VAB, the 52-story-tall landmark building at Kennedy, the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters have been assembled on the mobile launch platform and are waiting for Discovery's arrival to complete the stack.

    The astronauts who will fly Discovery to the International Space Station on the upcoming STS-133 mission are also at Kennedy today for a Crew Equipment Interface Test, known as the CEIT. They will check out the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the Express Logistics Carrier that will carry critical spare parts to the International Space Station.

  • Discovery to be Placed on Transporter
    Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today will place space shuttle Discovery on the specialized transporter that will ferry it across the street from Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. That move is slated for Sept. 8. The winged spaceship has spent the last several month being prepped for spaceflight. At the VAB, the orbiter will be joined to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters for launch. Liftoff is targeted for Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m. Eastern time on STS-133.

    At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-133 astronauts will conduct a deorbit preparation simulation today.

  • Discovery Prepping for Transport Loading
    Space shuttle Discovery is being readied today for its loading atop a flat, specialized transporter that will carry it to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept 8. Discovery has been inside Orbiter Processing Facility-3 since its return from the STS-131 mission on April 20. It is targeted for launch Nov. 1 on the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.

    At NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-133 astronauts will practice procedures for the mission's first spacewalk in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.

  • Discovery Preps Focus on Landing Gear Tires
    The tires on space shuttle Discovery will be pressurized for the final time before flight today as the careful march toward launch continues at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery is targeted to lift off Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m. Eastern time on the STS-133 mission.

    Discovery's crew will practice deorbit burn techniques and contingency scenarios in the motion-base simulator today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

  • Tool Stowage Assembly Goes into Discovery Today
    Shuttle workers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will install a lightweight tool stowage assembly in the payload bay of space shuttle Discovery today. The spacecraft is being readied for a targeted launch on Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m. Eastern time. The shuttle will be powered down Monday for its roll to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept. 8. The crew completes its week with some time for administrative work.‬‪

  • Discovery's Engines to be Configured Today
    The three main engines on space shuttle Discovery will be configured today so the spacecraft can be taken to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept. 8 for stacking. Discovery, the oldest active shuttle, is being prepared for the STS-133 mission. Liftoff is targeted for Nov. 1. The preferred launch time for Nov.1 would be 4:40 p.m. Eastern time. The crew is involved in robotic proficiency training today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.‪

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