Mini-Research Module 1

STS-132 MCC Status Report #13

HOUSTON – Spacefarers opened hatches between the International Space Station and its new Russian Rassvet module for the first time at 5:52 a.m. CDT today.

Also known as Mini-Research Module 1, Rassvet was transported to the station by Atlantis and installed by Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Piers Sellers using the station’s Canadarm2. The module is almost 20 feet long, 7.7 feet wide and weighs 11,188 pounds. Carrying almost 6,500 pounds of internal and external cargo to the station, Rassvet has eight science work stations and will be used both as a docking and stowage compartment.

Crew members wore eye and breathing protection as a standard precaution when entering a new module. Station Commander Oleg Kotov initially reported that the inside of the module looked clean, but as unpacking activities ramped up reported some metal filings drifting inside the new module. Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow were working with the crew to develop a technique for safely removing the floating debris.

Atlantis Commander Ken Ham, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Sellers transferred equipment, supplies and experiments between the shuttle and station. Mike Good and Reisman prepared for their Friday spacewalk, configuring tools and preparing suits and the airlock. Intravehicular officer Antonelli , who choreographed the flight’s first two spacewalks, and Steve Bowen, who participated in the second spacewalk, helped with preparations.

The major task of the spacewalk is to replace the final two of the six batteries being changed out on the Port 6 truss. Four were replaced Wednesday. Spacewalkers also will install an ammonia jumper and take a power and data grapple fixture from Atlantis’ cargo bay into the station. It will be installed later on the Zarya module, to provide a base for the station arm to work in that area.

Ham, Antonelli, Sellers and station Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson answered questions from representatives of Associated Press, FOX News Radio and CBS News.

Just before lunch, the crew talked with spacewalk experts on the ground. The crew got about four hours of afternoon free time, until the spacewalk procedure review near the end of their workday. The spacewalkers will spend the night in the Quest airlock with its pressure reduced to 10.2 to psi.