Boeing Hardware Installed During Space Shuttle Endeavour Mission

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Pretty picture from a STS-118 EVA

Crew Excited About Endeavour Success
Houston TX (SPX) Aug 22 - A couple hours after landing back at Kennedy Space Center, the crew of STS-118 spoke enthusiastically about their 13 days in orbit and work on the International Space Station. "It was a great experience and the space station is really, I think, a stepping stone to going back to the moon and on to Mars some day," commander Scott Kelly said. Teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan said she is still getting used to gravity again, but that spaceflight was a great experience that she hopes more teachers get to share in. "The flight was absolutely wonderful," she said. "I felt like I was upside-down the whole first day." Canadian astronaut Dave Williams said the thrill never gets dull. "It's truly the ride of a lifetime," Williams said of the launch Aug. 8. "Look over your shoulder and you can see Hurricane Dean." The flight delivered a new segment to the International Space Station, along with 5,800 pounds of supplies and equipment. As far as the ding in a couple of heat shield tiles, Kelly said it did not bother him much. "I was a little bit underwhelmed by the size of the gouge," he said. "To see it, it looked rather small."

by Staff Writers
St. Louis MO (SPX) Aug 22, 2007
Space Shuttle Endeavour returned home Tuesday following a two-week mission that delivered more than 740 Boeing flight hardware components to the International Space Station. The hardware, including the Starboard 5 (S5) truss element, will increase available power for space station systems. "This was a very busy mission, and the Boeing Space Exploration team has worked very hard to support NASA and the United Space Alliance," said Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space Exploration.

The Boeing-built, two-ton, 11-foot-long (1.8-metric ton, 3.4-meter) S5 truss allows one quarter of the space station's power to be realized. Designed in Huntington Beach, Calif, and built in Tulsa, Okla., the S5 truss element is part of the space station's 11-segment integrated truss structure and the third starboard truss element to be delivered.

The S5 truss is a short spacer that connects the Starboard 4 and 6 solar arrays, maximizing available power onboard the space station. The girder-like structure is made mostly of aluminum and provides several extravehicular aids, robotic interfaces, an external storage platform and ammonia servicing hardware.

During the mission, NASA also used the Boeing-built Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS) for the first time to extend a shuttle mission. SSPTS allows the station to power shuttle orbiters using its solar arrays, enabling crew members to conduct additional science activities and unload added cargo.

NASA extended the STS-118 mission by three days and added a fourth spacewalk with the successful activation of the SSPTS. NASA cut the mission short, however, due to the threat of Hurricane Dean.

With the shuttle fleet retiring in 2010, the SPPTS will allow NASA to complete more work on the space station without scheduling additional missions. Boeing and NASA also modified Space Shuttle Discovery with the capability.

The two-week mission also saw the installation of a new Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) as part of the orbiting outpost's attitude control system. As the prime contractor for the space station, Boeing is the integrator for the CMG. NASA will return the failed unit on a later shuttle mission. All four CMGs currently installed on the space station are functioning normally.

In addition to designing, developing and integrating the hardware, Boeing assisted NASA with critical mission analysis that concluded that a damaged shuttle tile would not need to be repaired. If a repair had been required, the SPPTS would have enabled the shuttle to remain docked to the station until it was ready to depart.

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Outside View: Obsolete space industry

Moscow (UPI) Aug 15, 2007
In all probability, the question in the headline should be rephrased and run like this: Who will man the International Space Station next? (Andrei Kislyakov is a political commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.) (United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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