Flight Readiness Review to Begin Wednesday

Image above: STS-118 crew members get a close look at the payloads installed in Space Shuttle Endeavour. Seen in the foreground are Mission Specialists Dave Williams (center), who represents the Canadian Space Agency, and Tracy Caldwell (right). Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton
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07.23.07 - 10:30 a.m. EDT
As launch preparations continue for the STS-118 mission, NASA managers will gather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday for the flight readiness review. During the two-day meeting, officials will evaluate the status of the vehicle, crew and payload and decide whether Space Shuttle Endeavour and STS-118 are officially "go" for launch.

Last week, the crew members completed the terminal countdown demonstration test. A routine element of prelaunch training, the test allowed the astronauts to try on their launch and entry suits, learn emergency procedures at the launch pad, and take part in a variety of familiarization activities and briefings. The test concluded with a countdown dress rehearsal at Launch Pad 39A.

Space Shuttle Endeavour has been in place at the launch pad since July 11, and the STS-118 payload -- including the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3 -- is secured inside the orbiter's payload bay. Launch is targeted for the evening of Aug. 7.

Tropical Depression Cosme May Bring Heavy Rains and Surf to Hawaii's Big Island

Residents of the big island of Hawaii are keeping a close eye on Tropical Depression Cosme over the weekend of July 21-22, as it is expected to pass just south. A flash flood watch, high surf advisory, and wind advisory have been posted through Saturday for the big island of Hawaii.

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On Friday, July 20, 2007 at 900 UTC, (2:00 a.m. PDT), the center of Tropical Depression Cosme was located near 16.1 north and 149.1 west. Cosme was moving west at 15 knots (17 mph), and had an estimated minimum central pressure of 1008 millibars. On Monday, July 16, the pressure was 994 millibars, and Cosme was a tropical storm. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. Now, Cosme's pressure has risen and the storm has weakened to a tropical depression. Currently, Cosme's maximum sustained winds are around 30 knots (34 mph), with gusts to 40 knots (46 mph).

Flash Flood Watch up for Big Island of Hawaii Through Saturday

On Friday morning at 3:30 a.m. HST, the National Weather Service of Honolulu issued a Flash Flood Watch for the big island of Hawaii, effective through Saturday afternoon, July 21. The watch reads: "The passage of tropical depression Cosme south of the big island is expected to produce heavy rainfall with highest amounts along the east and southeast facing slopes. The initial rainfall will begin later today with the heaviest amounts occurring tonight into early Saturday. The runoff from this heavy rain may produce flash flooding."

According to the National Weather Service, the moisture north of Tropical Depression Cosme is expected to produce heavy rainfall. Totals are expected to be in the 5 to 10 inch range which may be sufficient to produce flash flooding.

High Surf Advisory in Effect for Eastern Shores of Big Island

The National Weather Service has also issued a high surf advisory from the afternoon of Friday, July 20 through Saturday morning, July 21, for east facing shores of the big island. The Advisory reads: "Large waves produced by the strong trade winds north of tropical depression Cosme will arrive along the east facing shores on the big island of Hawaii later today (7/20) and tonight. These waves combined with increasing local winds will result in rough and choppy surf along the affected shorelines.

A high surf advisory means that waves will be higher than usual. Stay out of the water and well away from the shore break to avoid the hazardous waves and strong rip currents."

Wind Advisory and Small Craft Advisories In Effect

The National Weather Service has also posted a Wind Advisory for the summits of Haleakala Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The advisory notes that east winds will increase over higher elevations of Maui and the Big Island this evening as Cosme passes south of the Big Island. The advisory may need to be upgraded to a High Wind Warning if winds are expected to reach the 45 mph threshold tonight. Other windy areas of the big island may need to have a Wind Advisory issued if winds are expected to increase to 30 mph tonight. Small Craft Advisories are also up through Saturday, July 21 at 6:00 p.m. HST for these areas: Big Island Southeast Waters; Big Island Leeward Waters; Alenuihaha Channel; Pailolo Channel, and Maalaea Bay.

Where is Cosme Headed?

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu, Hawaii has now taken over the forecasting for Tropical Depression Cosme as the storm is now in the Central Pacific Ocean. The discussion from the CPHC noted on Friday, July 20, 2007, that strong high pressure in the low levels of that atmosphere, located north of the storm's path has led forecasters to project a more westward track for Cosme. That means Cosme will move slightly further away than previously expected from the big island of Hawaii by tomorrow (Sat. July 21) night.

Weaken or Strengthen?

The forecast discussion notes that there are two things that will affect whether Cosme weakens or strengthens. Shearing winds (winds that help tear the storm apart) from the north will affect the storm once it gets west of 150 degrees west longitude. However, because Cosme is moving into warmer waters (80 degree Fahrenheit waters help power storms), it may make it to minimum tropical storm levels. The CPHC is keeping an eye on the storm as it continues moving westward.

For updates over the weekend on Cosme, please visit the Central Pacific Hurricane Center at:

For the local Hawaii forecast including updates to watches and warnings, please visit:

Storm summary credit: Rob Gutro (derived from NWS reports)/Goddard Space Flight Center

For more information on the 2007 hurricane season to date, click here.

 

Image above: Flight Engineer Suni Williams works with water tanks in the Progress 24 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA

The Expedition 15 crew members completed their first full week alone aboard the International Space Station since the departure of the previous crew on April 21.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Suni Williams performed medical exams, science experiments, emergency drills and station maintenance.

Williams, who has been working aboard the space station since December, was informed Thursday that she will return to Earth with the STS-117 crew on space shuttle Atlantis, targeted for launch June 8. That shuttle mission will carry her successor, astronaut Clay Anderson, to the station to begin his duty as an Expedition 15 flight engineer.

The exchange of Anderson and Williams was originally planned for the STS-118 mission, now targeted for launch in August. However, that flight, first set to fly in June, had to be postponed after an unexpected hail storm damaged Atlantis' external fuel tank and delayed STS-117.

The Zvezda Service Module's engines were test fired on Wednesday in the first of a set of scheduled reboost maneuvers to optimize the station's docking opportunities with the ISS Progress 25 cargo craft in May and Atlantis in June. It was the first firing of the service module's main engines since Zvezda arrived in 2000.

The station's former occupants, Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, returned to Earth along with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi aboard their Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft on April 21. Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin will remain at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia for several weeks of post mission debriefing and rehabilitation.

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Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and cosmonaut Oleg Kotov of the 15th International Space Station crew docked with the orbiting laboratory at 3:10 p.m. EDT Monday to begin a six-month stay aboard.

Image to right: Expedition 15 crew launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in their Soyuz spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA TV

With them is Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi. He is an American flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

He will return to Earth with Expedition 14 crew members, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, on April 20. Expedition 14 launched to the station last Sept. 18.

Expedition 15 crew members were welcomed by the Expedition 14 crew, including astronaut Sunita Williams, their third Expedition 15 crew member. She launched to the station aboard the STS-116 mission of Discovery on Dec. 9. She joined Expedition 14 in progress and will provide Expedition 15 with an experienced flight engineer for the early part of its increment.

Williams, 41, is a Naval Academy graduate and a Navy commander. She flew helicopters and was a helicopter test pilot before being selected as an astronaut in 1998.

Yurchikhin, 48, is making his second flight into space. He was a member of the STS-112 crew which launched to the station aboard Atlantis on Oct. 7, 2002, with the Starboard 1 Truss. He holds a Ph.D. in economics and was named a cosmonaut-candidate in 1997.

Kotov, 41, is making his first spaceflight. He graduated from the Moscow Medical Academy in 1988, and was named a cosmonaut-candidate in 1996.

Astronaut Clayton Anderson is scheduled to replace Williams as a flight engineer during Expedition 15. Anderson, 48, holds a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998 and will be making his first spaceflight.

Two Expedition 16 crew members are expected to arrive next fall to replace Yurchikhin and Kotov

International Space Station Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Sunita Williams moved their Soyuz TMA spacecraft from the Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module to the aft port of the Zvezda module Thursday.

Image to right: The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft undocks from the station's Zarya module. Credit: NASA TV

The move, with Tyurin at the controls, was made to clear the Zarya port for the arrival of Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, along with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi.

Docking their Soyuz to the now-vacant Zarya port after their scheduled April 7 launch will allow them to avoid a relocation move later in their expedition.

The Soyuz docked at the Zvezda docking port at about 6:54 p.m. EDT after a flight of almost 30 minutes. During that time they traveled about a third of the way around the world. On the station, the Soyuz is about 80 feet from where it started.