Space shuttle Discovery’s seven astronauts arrived at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility in their T-38 aircraft Sunday at about 2:45 p.m. EDT in preparation of Wednesday’s launch. The countdown for STS-119 will begin counting down from the T-43 hour mark at 7 p.m Sunday evening leading to a planned launch at 9:20 p.m. on March 11.
WATCH: WATCH: ANOTHER VIDEO OF STS-119 CREW ARRIVAL ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: STS-119 CREW TRAINING ACTIVIES - PART 1 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: STS-119 CREW TRAINING ACTIVIES - PART 2 After arriving, Commander Lee Archambault made a few comments to the media gathered at the runway, "We're excited to be bringing the S6 truss up for the final complement of power to the space station. We're ready to get going, and we'll start the process today." At post-flight readiness review news conference last Friday, Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, said that they completed a very thorough review. "The team came through, worked hard and was efficient. It's time now to step back and think of everything else we need to watch before launch on the 11th. There's no better team than this one and I thank them for putting the right analysis together." On the resolution of the shuttle's flow control valve issue, John Shannon, Space Shuttle Program manager said, "This is one of those problems requiring a lot of work. It was a little premature before today. The signs were there that we were safe, but the teams went off and came up with definitive data to prove it." Mike Leinbach, Space Shuttle launch director, said that from a processing standpoint, the shuttle is in good shape. "It feels good to be here with a firm launch date. I saw a lot of people after the meeting and the mood is really upbeat," he added. Commander Lee Archambault will lead Discovery's crew of seven, along with Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakat. Discovery will deliver the S6 truss segment and install the final set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The S6 truss will complete the backbone of the station and provide one-fourth of the total power needed to support a crew of six. (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net / Space Media Corporation)
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