11/15/09: STS-129: all systems are Go for launch of Atlantis on Monday.

Mission: STS-129

Orbiter: Atlantis

Launch Pad: 39A

Launch Date: NET Nov 16, 2009, 14:28:09 EST (19:28:09 UT)

Landing: Nov 27, 2009

Main gear touchdown: 09:44:23 EST

Nose gear touchdown: 09:44:36 EST

Wheels stop: 09:45:05 EST

Orbital Altitude: 122 nautical miles (140 miles)

Orbital Insertion: 191 nautical miles (220 miles)

Orbital Inclination: 51.6 degrees

Distance traveled: ~4.5 million miles

Crew:- Commander: Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot: Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists:- MS1 Leland D Melvin, MS2 Randolph Bresnik, MS3 Michael Foreman, MS4 Robert Satcher, MS5 (landing) Nicole Stott.
Primary Payload: ExPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Logistics Carriers ELC1 and ELC2:-

ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-1 manifest:- Ammonia Tank Assembly; Battery Charge Discharge Unit; Space Station Remote Manipulator System Latching End Effector; Control Moment Gyro; Nitrogen Tank Assembly; Pump Module; Plasma Contactor Unit; two empty Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanisms.

ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-2 manifest:- High Pressure Gas Tank; Cargo Transport Container 1 (CTC-1) mounted to a Small Adapter Plate Assembly; Mobile Transporter/Trailing Umbilical System; Control Moment Gyro; Nitrogen Tank Assembly; Pump Module; Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA) Flight Support Equipment (FSE); one empty Payload Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism.

At the L-1 Atlantis launch countdown status briefing, NASA Test Director Steve Payne reported that all systems are "go" for liftoff and there are no issues being reported to hamper an on-time launch to the International Space Station at 2:28 p.m. EST Monday.

"After many, many months of hard work, STS-129 Atlantis and her crew are nearly ready to fly," said Payne. "We've had a clean countdown to date and are currently on schedule with no problems to report."

Main avionics check outs are still being performed and orbiter to ground communication tests will be completed this afternoon.

The flight crew's personal items also will be stowed this afternoon along with the recumbent seat that will accommodate the return of Nicole Stott, who has been serving as Flight Engineer at the station.

Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters of the 45th weather squadron was pleased to announce that the forecast for launch day remains at 90-percent both for fueling of the external tank and for liftoff.

Weather continues to look good for the transatlantic abort, or TAL, sites where the shuttle could land in the unlikely event of an emergency although there still is a possibility of high seas where the solid rocket booster recovery ships are stationed.

If there is a 24-hour turnaround, Winters said the forecast increases to 30-percent probability that weather will violate weather constraints.

At about 5:30 p.m. today, the Rotating Service Structure that protects the shuttle from inclement weather will be rolled away. Loading of propellants into the external tank is scheduled to begin at around 5 a.m. Monday.


Nov 13: At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay doors are ready to be closed around the cargo for Atlantis' STS-129 mission to the International Space Station. The cargo includes the Express Logistics Carriers 1 and 2. The STS-129 crew will deliver two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Credit: NASA/Troy Cryder


Nov 12: The STS-129 crew pauses for a group portrait at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are Mission Specialist Leland Melvin; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; and Mission Specialists Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr. The six astronauts for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-129 mission arrived at Kennedy aboard a NASA Shuttle Training Aircraft, a modified Gulfstream II jet, to make final preparations for their launch. On STS-129, the crew will deliver to the International Space Station two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Launch is set for Nov. 16. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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