Mission: STS-129

Orbiter: Atlantis

Launch Pad: 39A

Launch Date: NET Nov 16, 2009, 2:28 pm EST (18:48 UT)

Landing: NET Nov 27, 9:57 am EST (13:57 UT)

Orbital Altitude: 122 nautical miles (140 miles)

Orbital Insertion: 191 nautical miles (220 miles)

Orbital Inclination: 51.6 degrees

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.

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.

Pad 39A, KSC: STS-129 crew after completion of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Behind them, Atlantis’ external tank & nose cone of a solid rocket booster. From left: Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik; Pilot Barry Wilmore; Commander Charles Hobaugh; Mission Specialists Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher – credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Launch Pad 39A technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will install the cargo for the STS-129 mission into space shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay today.

The payload consists of Express Logistics Carrier 1 and 2, holding about 28,000 pounds of supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station.

Workers also will attach the orbiter midbody umbilical unit from the pad’s rotating service structure to the shuttle today. The unit provides access to and permits servicing of Atlantis’ mid-fuselage area. Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen for the fuel cells and gases, such as nitrogen and helium, are provided through the unit.

The six Atlantis astronauts returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston yesterday after completing the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, training. They’ll conduct final launch preparations at Johnson before flying back to Kennedy for the anticipated launch to the space station at 2:28 p.m. EST on Nov. 16.

- courtesy of NASA; crew photo (top) and STS-129 patch, credit: NASA