STS-121

Mission: International Space Station Assembly Flight ULF1.1

Space Shuttle: Discovery

Launch Pad: 39B

Launched: July 4, 2006, 2:37:55 p.m. EDT

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Landing: July 17, 2006, 9:15:49 a.m. EDT
Runway: 15

Revolution: 202

Mission Duration: 12 days, 18 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds

Main Gear Touchdown: 9:14:43 a.m. EDT

Nose Gear Touchdown: 9:14:53 a.m. EDT

Wheel Stop: 9:15:49 a.m. EDT

Rollout Distance: 4.2 miles

Miles Traveled: 5.3 million

Mission Highlights

STS-121 was the second return-to-flight mission, demonstrating techniques for inspecting and protecting the shuttle's thermal protection system and replacing critical hardware needed for future station assembly. The mission also restored the station to a three-person crew for the first time since May 2003, leaving ESA astronaut Reiter aboard to join Expedition 13.

This was the most photographed shuttle mission in history, with more than 100 high-definition, digital, video and film cameras documenting the launch and climb to orbit. The images helped assess any damage sustained and potential risk for landing. In addition, the crew used the orbiter boom sensor system with a laser dynamic range imager, laser camera system and intensified television camera on the end, to examine the shuttle's nose cap, port wing, leading edge of the starboard wing, and outside of the crew cabin. No risk was found.

After docking to the station, the crew transferred the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo to the Unity module from which they moved 7,400 pounds of supplies and equipment during their stay. The cargo included a new heat exchange for the common cabin air assembly that collects condensation out of the air on the station, a new window and window seals for the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox, and a spare U.S. extravehicular activity suit and emergency jet pack.

Astronauts performed three spacewalks:

EVA No. 1 -- 7 hours, 31 minutes. Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum installed a blade blocker on the S0 truss in the zenith interface umbilical assembly to protect the undamaged power, data and video cable. They rerouted the cable through the IUA in order to move the mobile transporter rail car and replace the trailing umbilical system with the severed power and data cable. After that task, they tested the combination of the shuttle robotic arm and OBSS as a platform for spacewalking astronauts to repair a damaged orbiter if ever needed. The EVA was the fourth for Sellers and first for Fossum.

EVA. No. 2 -- 6 hours, 47 minutes. Sellers and Fossum restored the station's mobile transporter car to full operation, replacing the nadir-side trailing umbilical system, including a new interface umbilical assembly without a blade (the previous IUA had a blade, which inadvertently cut the cable that required the replacement). During the spacewalk, Fossum's emergency jet thruster backpack came loose on one side, requiring Sellers to secure it.