Michael Sarafin: lead shuttle flight director
Clarkson News
Issue date: 11/10/08 Section: News
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For years, STS-126 has been planned as the mission that will give the International Space Station the ability to support twice the crew currently living there. Since the most recent inspection of the station's solar alpha rotary joint, it has also become the mission that will ensure the station can generate the power those extra crew members will require.
Endeavour will carry a reusable logistics module that will hold supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, additional exercise equipment, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware.
"We're going to use up a lot of the new space that we've brought up on the past few missions, with Node 2 and Columbus and the Kibo module," said Sarafin.
In addition to fully utilizing the space station, the equipment brought up will allow the space station to start depending less on the space shuttle. A new regenerative environmental control and life support system will give the station the ability to recycle urine and the condensation that the crew breathes into the air into pure water that can be used for drinking or to cool the station's systems.
That will be important when the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010, and its water deliveries dry up.
"Up until this point, the majority of the station's drinking water was coming up from the shuttle or the Russian's Progress vehicle," said Sarafin. "This sets us up for long-term sustainability of the station without the shuttle."
Leading a team of flight controllers, support personnel and engineering experts, a flight director has the overall responsibility to manage and carry out space shuttle flights and International Space Station expeditions. A flight director also leads and orchestrates planning and integration activities with flight controllers, payload customers, International Space Station partners and others.
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