STS-128 Outfits Station for New Science

Space shuttle Discovery launched atop brilliant pillars of fire into a midnight sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 28, 2009 , to begin a textbook outfitting and supply mission to the International Space Station. With the Leonardo cargo module bolted tight into the payload bay and astronaut Rick “C.J.” Sturckow in the commander's seat, Discovery pursued the space station for two days before linking up with the orbiting laboratory.

Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Jose Hernandez and Nicole Stott marked their first days in space during STS-128. Along with veteran commander Sturckow, Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang brought a wealth of spaceflight experience to the flight.

The first task of STS-128's extensive mission manifest wrapped up soon after docking as Stott joined the station's Expedition 20 crew and station resident Tim Kopra took Stott's slot on the shuttle. Crews on the shuttle and station numbered 13 in all and included astronauts from the U.S. , Canada , Sweden , and Belgium and cosmonauts from Russia .

Leonardo, one of the multi-purpose logistics modules NASA uses to carry large racks to and from the station, was the star of Discovery's fourth day in orbit. Ford and Michael Barratt used the robotic arm from the space station to lift the 21-foot-long Leonardo from its cradle inside Discovery and connect it directly to the station, clearing the way for about a week of moving work for the crew members.

Spacewalker Olivas stepped outside the station along with Stott for the first of three spacewalks slated for STS-128. With crew members outfitting the inside of the station, the two spacewalkers set out for some upkeep tasks on the outside. Assisted by the station's robotic arm, known as Canadarm 2, Olivas and Stott removed an empty ammonia tank from the truss. The station uses ammonia to cool its sophisticated system of equipment. The astronauts also took two experiments off the outside of the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory module.