14 DAY TRIAL // Using the station's robotic arm, astronauts lifted the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module out of Discovery's payload bay and attached it to the station. STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey and Expedition 13 Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter will perform leak checks before entering Leonardo, which contains more than 3 tons of supplies and equipment for the station.
Later in the day, STS-121 Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson will use the shuttle's robot arm to conduct additional orbiter heat shield inspections.
Also on the schedule today are spacewalk preparations. STS-121's first spacewalk is set to begin at 9:13 a.m. EDT Saturday. Today's work includes the preparation of the airlock and tools that Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers will use during the 6.5-hour excursion.
The spacewalk tasks include maintenance on the station's Mobile Transporter and a test of astronaut movement on the end of the robotic arm boom extension for possible heat shield repairs during future flights.
See a movie of the space shuttle pitch maneuver.
Photo credit: NASA TV