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One day until launch

New parts to fix an intermittent problem with the Russian toilet on the International Space Station arrived in the United States last night and were packed inside space shuttle Discovery well before dawn at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The crew of Discovery and the residents of the International Space Station will install the new parts, including a pump, during the STS-124 mission that is scheduled to launch Saturday at 5:02 p.m. EDT. The three station residents already in orbit currently are using alternatives to the toilet.

Image above: A technician loads replacement parts onto space shuttle Discovery for the International Space Station's toilet. The crews of Discovery and the station will install the new components during STS-124. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

The main toilet on the station works for solid waste disposal but requires additional steps for liquid waste. It also takes two crew members and 10 minutes of maintenance after three flushes, said Kirk Shireman, deputy International Space Station program manager.

"It is very inconvenient at this time because it requires a lot of manual intervention," Shireman said.

The good news for the station is that there are no trouble signs for Discovery as it nears launch day.

"The vehicle and the crew and the weather and the (launch) team are all ready to go," said LeRoy Cain, chairman of the Mission Management Team, the group that oversees all aspects of the flight.

The weather forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time, said Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer. "We're going to definitely have good weather," she said.

Discovery's 14-day flight will carry the largest payload so far to the station and includes three spacewalks. It is the second of three missions that will launch components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and Kibo's robotic arm system.

Discovery also will deliver new station crew member Greg Chamitoff, KD5PKZ, and bring back Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, KE5HAE, who will end a three-month stay aboard the outpost.