Sep 11 2009
From The Space Library
Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:53 p.m. (PDT), ending a successful 14-day mission to the ISS. Weather prevented the crew from landing at KSC in Florida. STS-128 had delivered to the ISS NASA astronaut Nicole P. Stott, who had begun a three-month mission as a resident, replacing Timothy L. Kopra. Kopra had returned home with Discovery’s crew. Discovery had also delivered to the ISS 9 tons (8.16 tonnes, or 8,165 kilograms) of supplies, to sustain the six-person crew and to equip the station for more science experiments. The delivery had included two refrigerator-sized science racks for the station—one for conducting experiments on materials such as metals, glass, and ceramics, and the other for studying how fluids react in microgravity. In addition, Discovery had delivered a freezer for samples, a new sleeping compartment, an air-purification system, and a treadmill named for the comedian Stephen Colbert. The crew had undertaken three spacewalks, to replace experiments outside ESA’s Columbus laboratory and to empty an ammonia-storage tank.
NASA, “Space Shuttle Discovery Returns to Earth After Successful Mission,” news release 09-212, 11 September 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/sep/HQ_09-212_Discovery_Lands.html (accessed 15 September 2011); James Dean, “Storms Prevent KSC Landing, Divert Discovery to California,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 14 September 2009; William Harwood, “Shuttle Glides to a California Landing,” New York Times, 12 September 2009.
At NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. and ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the field of space transportation. The agreement would allow the two space agencies to exchange technical information and personnel, providing NASA with assistance in several key areas. These key areas included composite material technology, development of payload shrouds, and management of propellants in spacecraft propulsion systems used for transit to and from lunar orbit. Bolden reflected on NASA’s long history of participating with ESA in human spaceflight activities, remarking that the agreement underscored NASA’s intention to continue building that relationship. Dordain added that the exchange of technical information enabled under the terms of the agreement would benefit both agencies, facilitating work toward future launch systems, human spaceflight, and exploration missions.
NASA, “U.S. and Europe Agree on Civil Space Transportation Cooperation,” news release 09-208, 11 September 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/sep/HQ_09-208_NASA_ESA_MOU.html (accessed 15 September 2011).
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