 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Endeavour crew prepares for second spacewalk
Washington (AFP) July 19, 2009 The space shuttle Endeavour's seven-member crew spent a busy day on the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, preparing for the second of five scheduled space walks, NASA said. The crew were awakened at 5:13 am Central Time (1013 GMT) to the sounds of "Learning to Fly" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a song chosen by one of the crew members. The bulk of the day's schedule was taken up with moving equipment from the Endeavour onto the ISS, and with preparations for Monday's space walk. Astronauts Dave Wolf and Tom Marshburn will prepare their space suits and tools for the walk, while four other members of the crew install the Integrated Cargo Carrier, which is loaded with replacement batteries for the ISS. Later Sunday, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and flight engineer Bob Thirsk are scheduled to talk with Canadian news media and dignitaries via audiolink, the US space agency said. Saturday, Tim Kopra and Wolf carried out a five hour and 32 minute spacewalk to complete construction of the Japanese Kibo laboratory. "The third and final piece of Japan's Kibo laboratory was assembled on orbit Saturday, a symphony of robotic and spacewalking performances by the 13 member orchestra aboard the International Space Station complex," NASA said in a statement. The 1.9-tonne unit known as the Japanese Exposed Facility (JEF), will serve "as a type of porch for experiments that require direct exposure to space," NASA said. Earlier, on their first full day in space, the Endeavour crew of six Americans and one Canadian tested rendezvous equipment, installed a camera for the orbiter docking system and extended the docking ring that sits on top of the system. The Endeavour mission aims to help fulfill "Japan's hope for an out-of-this-world space laboratory," as the shuttle delivers state-of-the-art equipment to conduct experiments in the vacuum of space, according to NASA. The shuttle successfully docked at the space station Friday amid questions about the integrity of the shuttle's heat shield tiles. However NASA on Saturday said that a close analysis of pictures of Endeavour's heat shield confirmed the absence of any damage. During the delicate docking maneuver Friday the two space vehicles traveled at 28,000 kilometers (17,398 miles) per hour as they approached each other, giving Commander Mark Polansky a margin of error of 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) to complete the procedure, NASA said. The entry of Endeavour's crew aboard the ISS brought the number of astronauts inside the orbiting space station to a record 13. Endeavour crew member Kopra will be staying aboard the ISS, taking over from Japanese engineer Koichi Wakata, who has been in space for 124 days. The ISS should be completed in 2010, also the target date for the retirement of the US fleet of three space shuttles. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Station at NASA Station and More at Roscosmos S.P. Korolev RSC Energia Watch NASA TV via Space.TV Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com
First space walk of Endeavour mission completedWashington (AFP) July 19, 2009 Two astronauts from the US shuttle Endeavour have successfully completed the first of five scheduled spacewalks aimed at completing a Japanese laboratory at the International Space Station, NASA said. Tim Kopra, who made his first space walk, and Dave Wolf, an old hand with four walks under his belt, returned to the ISS's decompression chamber and closed the airlock at 2151 GMT Saturday, 37 ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook