"We shall individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than we have ability to do...But when we give ourselves wholly to God, and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure." ~Messages to Young People, p. 309

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Two Days, Five Hours, and Counting: Discovery Set to Launch Thursday!

Yay!! It's almost time!! Well, hopefully! :P The Space Shuttle Discovery is set to launch on STS-133, its last mission, this Thursday, at 4:50pm ET. As you may recall, STS-133 was originally scheduled to launch in early November, but that didn't happen with various malfunctioning parts as the tests and countdowns proceeded. Famous last words, but I think that Discovery is finally going to launch! :D

I thought that in this post I'd catch you up on what has happened with STS-133 in the last four months or so. First of all, the launch date was slipped to December 17, but then that slipped to February 3, and then February 3-10, and now finally February 24 at 4:50pm ET!! So like I'm really hoping it's going to launch now!! My mom, sister, and I watched the launch (online) of STS-129 in November of 2009, and it was really super awesome. I can't wait to watch another one!
L-R, Stott, Barratt, Bowen, Drew, Boe, and Commander Lindsey

I also thought you might enjoy knowing some trivia about STS-133. The crew members are:


  • Steve Lindsey (Commander)
  • Eric Boe (Pilot)
  • Mike Barratt (Mission Specialist)
  • Steve Bowen (Mission Specialist)
  • Nicole Stott (Mission Specialist)
  • Alvin Drew (Mission Specialist)
I believe that both Drew and Bowen will be doing spacewalks on the International Space Station. Steve Bowen actually wasn't going to be on STS-133 at all. Tim Kopra was on the STS-133 crew until last month, when he was involved in a bicycle crash. Thankfully he will be okay, but still he was taken off Discovery's last flight. Steve Lindsey was the head of the Astronaut Office until he was assigned commander of this flight. I also think that it was cool that Lindsey was also on the crew of STS-98, the flight that John Glenn was on!! 

While STS-133 will be carrying several payloads, one of my favorite payload items the flight will have is R2, a   robot that will execute spacewalks on the International Space Station, in areas too difficult or dangerous for people to go. R2 is advertised as "the first non-human occupant of the International Space Station". ;)

Anyway, I'd highly encourage you to look around the NASA website to learn more about STS-133. Click here for some great info on the flight, as well as some awesome interviews with the crew members! I'd also encourage you to watch the launch on NASA TV! Again, the launch of STS-133 is scheduled for Thursday, February 24 at 4:50pm ET. 

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