KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, members of the STS-121 crew practice working with hardware for the mission under the watchful eyes of Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, with NASA's Johnson Space Center. At left is Pilot Mark Kelly; at right are Mission Specialists Michael Fossum and Piers Sellers. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Mission Specialist Michael Fossum (left) talks to Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, with NASA's Johnson Space Center, about the equipment he is handling. Next to Fossum is Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, members of the STS-121 crew, under the watchful eyes of Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, with NASA's Johnson Space Center, practice working with hardware for the mission. Seen are (second from left) Mission Specialists Michael Fossum and Piers Sellers and Pilot Mark Kelly. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialist Piers Sellers, under the watchful eyes of Victor Badillo, practice working with equipment for the mission. Badillo, with United Space Alliance, is a flight maintenance trainer from Johnson Space Center. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson are joined by two shuttle technicians in Discovery's payload bay as they examine equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson are joined by two shuttle technicians as they examine the orbiter boom sensor system in Discovery's payload bay. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey works with equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey prepares for his upcoming mission inside Space Shuttle Discovery. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, members of the STS-121 crew practice working with equipment for the mission. Starting from left are Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, with NASA's Johnson Space Center; Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson are joined by two shuttle technicians as they work with equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey inspects one of the windows that will fly on Space Shuttle Discovery during the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Mission Specialist Piers Sellers practices using a piece of equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly inspects one of the windows that will fly on Space Shuttle Discovery during the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson are joined by two shuttle technicians as they work with equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, United Space Alliance shuttle technicians remove the hard cover from a window on Space Shuttle Discovery to enable STS-121 crew members to inspect the window from the cockpit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson work with equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, members of the STS-121 crew practice working with equipment for the mission. From the left are Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, with NASA's Johnson Space Center; then Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum. Pilot Mark Kelly has his back to the camera. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Mission Specialist Lisa Nowak prepares for her upcoming mission inside Space Shuttle Discovery. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly works with equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey works with equipment that will be on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON - STS121-S-001 (June 2005) --- The STS-121 patch depicts the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station (ISS) in the foreground, overlaying the astronaut symbol with three gold columns and a gold star. The ISS is shown in the configuration that it will be in during the STS-121 mission. The background shows the nighttime Earth with a dawn breaking over the horizon. STS-121, ISS mission ULF1.1, is the final Shuttle Return to Flight test mission. This utilization and logistics flight will bring a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) to the ISS with several thousand pounds of new supplies and experiments. In addition, some new Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) will be delivered and stowed externally on ISS on a special pallet. These ORUs are spares for critical machinery located on the outside of the ISS. During this mission the crew will also carry out testing of Shuttle inspection and repair hardware, as well as evaluate operational techniques and concepts for conducting on-orbit inspection and repair. The NASA insignia design for Shuttle space flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, such will be publicly announced.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lockheed Martin technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center prepare for the application of new foam over the manhole cover on the lower end of external tank No. 119. The manhole was removed to access the area where the tank's four liquid hydrogen engine cutoff sensors were replaced. Once reinstalled, the manhole required new foam to be applied. The tank is being prepared to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 in July. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers monitor the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) as it is lifted by a crane toward a payload canister, doors open to receive it. Slated to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121, the LMC is ready to be delivered to Launch Pad 39B for installation into orbiter Discovery. It is a cross-bay carrier for hardware required to perform development test objective 848. Test objective 848 is a demonstration of the tools and techniques developed to repair damaged orbiter thermal protection system tiles during a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity. The target launch window for STS-121 is July 1 to July 19, 2006. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Husten
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lockheed Martin technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center apply new foam over the manhole cover on the lower end of external tank No. 119. The manhole was removed to access the area where the tank's four liquid hydrogen engine cutoff sensors were replaced. Once reinstalled, the manhole required new foam to be applied. The tank is being prepared to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 in July. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lockheed Martin technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center begin to apply new foam over the manhole cover on the lower end of external tank No. 119. The manhole was removed to access the area where the tank's four liquid hydrogen engine cutoff sensors were replaced. Once reinstalled, the manhole required new foam to be applied. The tank is being prepared to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 in July. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lockheed Martin technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center prepare for the application of new foam over the manhole cover on the lower end of external tank No. 119. The manhole was removed to access the area where the tank's four liquid hydrogen engine cutoff sensors were replaced. Once reinstalled, the manhole required new foam to be applied. The tank is being prepared to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 in July. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, a crane moves the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) toward a payload canister, doors open to receive it. Slated to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121, the LMC is ready to be delivered to Launch Pad 39B for installation into orbiter Discovery. It is a cross-bay carrier for hardware required to perform development test objective 848. Test objective 848 is a demonstration of the tools and techniques developed to repair damaged orbiter thermal protection system tiles during a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity. The target launch window for STS-121 is July 1 to July 19, 2006. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Husten
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers monitor the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) as it is lifted by a crane. Slated to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121, the LMC is ready to be delivered to Launch Pad 39B for installation into orbiter Discovery. It is a cross-bay carrier for hardware required to perform development test objective 848. Test objective 848 is a demonstration of the tools and techniques developed to repair damaged orbiter thermal protection system tiles during a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity. The target launch window for STS-121 is July 1 to July 19, 2006. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Husten
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, a crane moves the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) over an abundance of hardware and equipment including the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Slated to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121, the LMC is ready to be delivered to Launch Pad 39B for installation into orbiter Discovery. It is a cross-bay carrier for hardware required to perform development test objective 848. Test objective 848 is a demonstration of the tools and techniques developed to repair damaged orbiter thermal protection system tiles during a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity. The target launch window for STS-121 is July 1 to July 19, 2006. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Husten
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, a crane moves the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) over an abundance of hardware and equipment. Slated to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121, the LMC is ready to be delivered to Launch Pad 39B for installation into orbiter Discovery. It is a cross-bay carrier for hardware required to perform development test objective 848. Test objective 848 is a demonstration of the tools and techniques developed to repair damaged orbiter thermal protection system tiles during a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity. The target launch window for STS-121 is July 1 to July 19, 2006. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Husten