Space Shuttle Discovery Launches First Replacement Crew To The International Space Station

By Cliff Lethbridge

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (March 8, 2001) - Space Shuttle Discovery was successfully launched from Launch Pad 39B at 6:42 a.m. EST today to begin Space Shuttle Mission STS-102. This marks the 103rd Space Shuttle mission and the 29th flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. Launch occurred on time with no delays. With launch time temperatures hovering in the lower 40's, this was one of the coldest launches in the history of the Space Shuttle program. Memories of the tragic launch of Space Shuttle Challenger on Mission STS-51L were fresh in the mind of many eyewitnesses to today's launch, as cold weather was a contributing cause of the Challenger tragedy on January 28, 1986. However, today's launch was well within launch weather criteria and with the exception of some light frost which formed on the outer skin of the External Tank, cold weather was not an issue during the countdown.

STS-102 is the eighth Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The primary payload is a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) built by the Italian Space Agency. Nicknamed "Leonardo" after famed Italian artist and inventor Leonardo DaVinci, this MPLM is the first of three which will be used by NASA to ferry supplies and equipment to and from ISS. Dubbed "Space Age Moving Vans" by NASA, each MPLM will be carried into space in the Space Shuttle's payload bay and then attached to ISS. Equipment and supplies will then be transferred to and from the MPLM before it is detached from ISS and returned to Earth, typically during the same Space Shuttle mission. "Leonardo" is a cylindrical module about 21 feet long by 15 feet wide. It weighs about 9,000 pounds and can carry up to about 20,000 pounds of cargo. Primary cargo carried to ISS aboard "Leonardo" consists of scientific experiment racks, equipment and supplies. Once unloaded, "Leonardo" will carry used equipment and trash back to Earth.

In addition to introducing the first MPLM, STS-102 will carry the first replacement crew to ISS. A crew of seven was launched aboard Discovery, and a crew of seven will return. Astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms along with cosmonaut Yuri Usachev make up the ISS Expedition Two crew and will embark to ISS for a planned four-month stay. The Expedition One crew consisting of cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, Yuri Gidzenko and astronaut William Shepherd will be returned to Earth after completing their four-month stay. STS-102 is scheduled to last 12 days with a Kennedy Space Center landing targeted for March 20.

For More Information

NASA STS-102 Press Kit

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