STS-119
STS-119 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station which was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery during March 2009. It was Discovery's 36th flight. It delivered and assembled the fourth starboard Integrated Truss Segment, and the fourth set of solar arrays and batteries to the station. The launch took place on March 15, 2009, at 19:43 EDT. Discovery successfully landed on March 28, 2009, at 15:13 pm EDT.
Crew
Crew notes
This mission was originally scheduled to bring the Expedition 9 crew to the ISS. This crew would have consisted of:Mission payload
STS-119 delivered the S6 solar arrays to the space station, completing the construction of the Integrated Truss Structure. STS-119 also carried several experiments, including the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local EXhaust, Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments, and Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric Injections.STS-119 was also used for the "Boundary Layer Transition Detailed Test Objective" experiment. One tile of the thermal protection system was raised above the others so that, at about Mach 15 during reentry, a boundary layer transition would be initiated. This experiment was repeated during STS-128 with the tile raised to, tripping at Mach 18 to produce more heat.
| Location | Cargo | Mass |
| Bays 1–2 | Orbiter Docking System EMU 3017 / EMU 3006 | ~ |
| Bay 3P | Shuttle Power Distribution Unit | ~ |
| Bays 3–13 | S6 Truss | |
| Starboard Sill | Orbiter Boom Sensor System | ~ |
| Port Sill | Canadarm 202 | |
| Total: |
Crew seat assignments
Mission background
- 156th NASA crewed space flight
- 125th shuttle mission since STS-1
- 36th Flight of Discovery
- 100th post-Challenger mission
- 12th post-Columbia mission
- 28th shuttle mission to the International Space Station
Shuttle processing
The STS-119 crew was at Kennedy Space Center from January 19–22, 2009 for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. On January 21–22, 2009, mission managers met for the program level Flight Readiness Review. Following the FRR, mission managers recommended evaluating the hydrogen flow control valves on Discovery, and set a new target launch date of February 19, 2009.
Due to the breakage of one of three flow control valves on the previous flight, STS-126, the flow valves of all orbiters were subjected to tests to determine if Discovery was safe to fly. These valves are used to synchronize the flow of gaseous hydrogen between the external fuel tank and the main engines, creating an even flow. Following the testing of the valves, mission managers decided to postpone the launch, and engineers were asked to replace the suspect flow valves with valves that had less flight time.
Following the replacement of the valves, the Mission Management Team gave the approval for launch, and scheduled it for March 11, 2009. The astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on March 8, 2009, to prepare for launch. The March 11, 2009, launch was scrubbed due to a leak in a liquid hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank. On March 15, 2009, the shuttle successfully lifted off from pad 39A. The leak problem manifested itself again during STS-127 which led to a thorough test. The root cause was found to be a misalignment in the GUCP which was set right leading to a successful flight.
Mission timeline
March 15 (Flight day 1, Launch)
Space Shuttle Discovery launched on time at 19:43 EDT without any issues. Upon initial review of early ascent imagery, mission managers did not see anything out of the ordinary with debris at launch. "We didn't see anything at all in the first quick look," noted Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Space Operations, during the post-launch news conference. "I've seen a lot of launches," commented Launch Director Michael D. Leinbach during the conference, "and this was the most visibly beautiful launch I've ever seen." After reaching orbit, the STS-119 crew got to work on their orbit operations, opening the payload bay doors, deploying the Ku band antenna, and activating and checking out the shuttle's robotic arm. The crew also downlinked the imagery taken of the external tank separation.Bat stowaway
During the countdown a bat was seen to be resting on the external tank. What was originally believed to be a fruit bat was revealed to have been a free-tailed bat that clung onto the fuel tank during the launch. NASA observers had believed the bat would fly off once the shuttle started to launch, but it did not, and continued to remain on the external tank as the shuttle lifted off. It was probably shaken off and incinerated by the rocket exhaust. A bat doctor, analyzing pictures, believed the bat had a broken wing which made it unable to fly off.March 16 (Flight day 2)
Following the crew's wakeup call, the members of STS-119 set to work on the day's task of inspecting Discovery's thermal protection system. Using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, the crew performed the five-hour inspection, and the images and video from the survey would be reviewed by the image analysis team on the ground. In preparation for docking with the space station on flight day three, the crew performed a checkout of the spacesuits that would be used during the mission, as well as extending the ring of the orbital docking system, and installing the docking system's centerline camera.Initial review of the flight ascent imagery indicated no major problems with foam loss or debris strikes to the orbiter. During the day's Mission Management Team briefing, chairman LeRoy Cain noted that the launch was "picture perfect" and the orbiter was in excellent condition. Cain also noted that after an initial review of the telemetry from the launch, the hydrogen flow control valves performed as expected, with no issues seen.
March 17 (Flight day 3)
The crew of Discovery got to work in the morning preparing for rendezvous and docking with the space station. After performing the rendezvous pitch maneuver to allow the Expedition 18 crew to photograph the underside of the orbiter, Discovery successfully docked with the station at 21:20 UTC. Following hatch leak checks, the hatches were opened at 23:09 UTC. After greeting each other, the crews had a mandatory station safety briefing, and then set to work with initial transfers, including the exchange of Magnus' Soyuz seat liner for Wakata's. The swap of the seat liners marked Wakata officially joining the Expedition 18 crew as flight engineer, and Magnus became a mission specialist for STS-119.During the Mission Status briefing, Lead Flight Director Paul Dye commended Archambault on a picture perfect docking. Dye said that no major issues or anomalies were being tracked, but noted that the image analysis team was still working on ascent imagery, and would be reviewing the RPM imagery before making a decision as to whether Discovery would require a focused inspection.
March 18 (Flight day 4)
Following the crew's post-sleep activities, the two crews set to work preparing for the next day's spacewalk, by moving the S6 truss out of Discovery payload bay. Due to clearance restrictions, the station's robotic arm was not able to perform the move by itself, so a series of 'handoffs' were performed to prepare the truss for installation. Phillips and Magnus controlled the station's arm, grappled the truss and moved it into a position where the shuttle's robotic arm, operated by Antonelli, could take possession.The station arm was then moved along the mobile base to a work site on the far right side, closer to the installation point. The shuttle's robotic arm then handed the truss back to the station's arm, where it remained overnight.
The crews took part in a media event with Channel One News, and performed a review of the procedures for the first EVA. Mission Specialists Swanson and Arnold spent the night in the Quest airlock camping out in a reduced-nitrogen atmosphere, a standard procedure designed for spacewalkers to prevent decompression symptoms.
During the Mission Management Team briefing, Lead ISS Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho noted that the imagery specialists with the Damage Assessment Team had completed the initial review of the launch and flight day 2 photography, and a focused inspection of the orbiter would not be required.
March 19 (Flight day 5, Spacewalk 1)
The two crews set to work following their wake up call, preparing for the first spacewalk of the mission. Swanson and Arnold exited the Quest airlock at 16:22 UTC to begin the installation of the S6 truss segment. Once Swanson and Arnold were in position, Phillips and Wakata remotely controlled the station's robotic arm, maneuvering the truss into its final position. Swanson and Arnold then bolted the truss into place, and connected power and data cables, which allowed the ground team to begin remote activation of the segment. The two spacewalkers also removed launch locks, stowed a keel pin, removed and jettisoned four thermal covers, and deployed the blanket boxes that hold the solar arrays in place during launch. The spacewalk ended at 21:11 UTC, for a total time of 6 hours, 7 minutes.Initially scheduled for flight day 8, managers on the ground decided to move up the deployment of the solar arrays, following the decision that a focused inspection would not be required. It was decided that the deployment of the arrays would be performed on flight day 6, prior to the mission's second spacewalk, in case any issues arose that required a spacewalk to resolve.