STS-120 Fact Sheet

By Cliff Lethbridge

STS-120 – Discovery

120th Space Shuttle Mission

34th Flight of Discovery

Crew:

Pam Melroy, Commander

George Zamka, Pilot

Scott Parazynski, Mission Specialist

Doug Wheelock, Mission Specialist

Stephanie Wilson, Mission Specialist

Paolo Nespoli, Mission Specialist

Daniel Tani, Embarking to International Space Station

Clay Anderson, Returning from International Space Station

Orbiter Preparations:

Tow to Orbiter Processing Facility – December 22, 2006

Rollover to Vehicle Assembly Building – September 23, 2007

Rollout to Launch Pad 39A – September 30, 2007

Launch:

October 23, 2007 – 11:38 a.m. EDT. Launch occurred on time with no delays.

Landing:

November 7, 2007 – 1:01 p.m. EST at Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center. Mission duration was 15 days, 2 hours, 24 minutes, 2 seconds.

Mission Summary:

The primary payload was the Harmony Node 2 module, to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). There were four spacewalks during the mission. The first spacewalk was conducted on October 26, 2007 and lasted 6 hours, 14 minutes. Astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock installed the Harmony Node 2 module in its temporary location, readied theP6 Truss for its relocation, retrieved a failed radio communications antenna and snapped shut a window cover on the Harmony Node 2 module that had opened during launch.

The second spacewalk was conducted on October 28, 2007 and lasted 6 hours, 33 minutes. Astronaut Parazynski and ISS Flight Engineer Daniel Tani disconnected cables from the P6 Truss, and inspected the ISS starboard solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ). SARJ had shown increased friction and metal shavings were collected from underneath the joint’s multi-layer insulation covers. The astronauts also outfitted the Harmony Node 2 for its permanent installation.

The third spacewalk was conducted on October 30, 2007 and lasted 7 hours, 8 minutes. Astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock installed the P6 Truss Segment with its set of solar arrays to its permanent location. During the spacewalk, astronaut Wheelock noticed a small hole in the outer layer of his right glove thumb.

The fourth spacewalk was conducted on November 3, 2007 and lasted 7 hours, 19 minutes. Astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock successfully repaired a torn ISS solar array. A planned fifth spacewalk was cancelled due to the solar array repair, and this spacewalk was reassigned to the ISS crew.