10:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
09.09.09
As they wind down their mission, space shuttle Discovery’s crew members will focus on landing preparations today. Landing opportunities begin Thursday with a first possible touchdown about 6 p.m. at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The crew awoke at 10 a.m. CDT to the vocals of Rod Stewart singing “Sailing,” a song played for Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang.
The crew will spend the day preparing the vehicle for re-entry and ensuring its systems are operational for landing. Approximately four hours after wake-up, shuttle commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford will perform a checkout of the flight control systems. A little more than an hour later, they are expected to conduct a hot fire test of the Reaction Control System.
Meanwhile, mission specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and Fuglesang will pack and stow items throughout the cabin. They also will set up and install a recumbent seat that will be used by Mission Specialist Tim Kopra for entry and landing. He is returning to Earth after more than 50 days in space.
All seven crew members will gather for a final media interview opportunity. At 3:54 p.m. they will take questions from CBS News, ABC News and CNN. The event will air on NASA Television.
The crew will end the day by stowing the Ku-band antenna.
The next shuttle status report will be issued near the end of the crew’s workday, or earlier if events warrant. The shuttle crew is due to go to sleep about 2 a.m. Thursday.
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