STS 126 Status Report #6

STS-126 Status Report #06

With a new crew member aboard each spacecraft, the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have begun their first full day of docked operations. Endeavour docked with the station a little after 4 p.m. CST Sunday. Less than five hours later, at 8:50 p.m., Sandra Magnus’ custom seat liner was installed in the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. At that time Greg Chamitoff officially became a member of Endeavour’s crew. He will return to Earth on the shuttle after about six months in space, most of it as a station flight engineer.

Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Chamitoff, were awakened at 8:35 a.m. CST for a day that will see the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo attached to the Earth-facing port of the space station’s Harmony node. The wakeup music was “London Calling,” performed by The Clash. It was played for Bowen.

Leonardo and its seven-ton-plus cargo will be grappled by the station’s Canadarm2 at about 10:25 a.m. to begin the installation process. Leonardo’s cargo will help prepare the station for a six-member crew. Scheduled next year, that will enable more science to be performed aboard the orbiting laboratory. Also on today’s schedule is transfer of material between Endeavour and the station and preparation for the first of the mission’s four spacewalks. Piper and Bowen will camp out in the Quest airlock under reduced pressure beginning at the end of the crew day to prepare for the spacewalk scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.

There was good news sent up to the crews late Sunday. After examining results of Endeavour’s thermal protection system survey, engineers decided that no focused inspection of the shuttle right wing would be required today. The crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. Monday and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Tuesday. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.

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