10 p.m. CST Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
STS-126 MCC Status Report #13
Two down, two to go. Building on Tuesday’s spacewalk experience, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough headed out of the International Space Station’s Quest Airlock at 11:58 a.m. CST to continue the process of removing debris around the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and applying lubrication in an effort to eventually restore it to full functionality. The EVA ended at 6:43 p.m. for a total time of six hours and 45 minutes.
As the spacewalkers were finishing up their activities, ground controllers noticed that Kimbrough’s carbon dioxide levels were increasing, so he made his way back to the airlock a few minutes ahead of Piper. Piper and Kimbrough began the second spacewalk by relocating two equipment carts in preparation for February’s installation of the final pair of solar arrays. Once that task was completed, the two applied lubrication to a balky snare on the end of the station’s robotic arm before concentrating on repair of the rotary joint designed to automatically track the sun as the station circles the Earth.
The balance of the spacewalk was focused on replacing four more of the 12 trundle bearing assemblies (TBA). One of them was over-torqued during installation, so Piper installed one of the two back-up TBAs instead. The 116th spacewalk dedicated to station assembly and maintenance was the second of the four planned during space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-126 mission. It set the stage for Saturday’s third excursion to complete the cleaning and lubricating process. Station flight controllers plan to briefly test the repair early Sunday morning by commanding the solar array into “auto track” mode to evaluate its performance.
On the 10th anniversary since station construction began with launch of the Zarya Control Module atop a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station worked inside and outside to increase the capability and performance of systems to eventually support doubling the crew size from three to six. Friday at 11:10 a.m., shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and Flight Engineer Steve Bowen will oversee a small reboost of the station’s altitude using spare propellant aboard Endeavour.
At 2:05 p.m., both the crews will hold their traditional news conference before reviewing procedures for the third spacewalk scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
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Showing posts with label STS-126. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STS-126. Show all posts
Friday, 21 November 2008
Status Report #12 For STS-126
STS-126 Status Report #12
The second spacewalk by Endeavour astronauts outside the International Space Station will be the focus of today’s activities aboard the two spacecraft. Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, were awakened at 7:55 a.m. CST.
The song was “Summertime,” played for Pettit. It was recorded by Bandella. Members of that group include singer Michi Pettit, Don Pettit’s wife, and astronauts Steve Robinson, Chris Hadfield and Cady Coleman. Spacewalkers Piper and Kimbrough are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. CST. Piper will wear the red-striped suit while Kimbrough will be in the suit with broken red stripes.
Spacewalk tasks include moving two of the small handcarts on the rails of the station’s main truss and lubricating the Latching End Effector (LEE) of the orbiting laboratory’s robotic Canadarm2. Much of the spacewalkers' time will be devoted to the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint on the right side of the station’s main truss. They will continue cleaning and lubricating bearing race rings and the replacement of the joint’s trundle bearing assemblies. The use of the joint has been limited since September 2007 when flight controllers noticed increased power consumption and vibration. The handcarts will be moved to clear the tracks for future work.
The LEE lubrication is being done after the snares showed some balkiness on opening and closing. Boe will be the intravehicular officer or spacewalk choreographer, while Pettit and Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus will operate Canadarm2. Moving of supplies and equipment between Endeavour and the International Space Station and installation in the station of equipment are on today’s agenda for the 10 members of the spacecraft’s crews. All the racks brought to the station in the Multi-purpose Logistics
Module Leonardo have been installed in the station, though a considerable amount of equipment and supplies remains to be transferred. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Friday. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.
The second spacewalk by Endeavour astronauts outside the International Space Station will be the focus of today’s activities aboard the two spacecraft. Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, were awakened at 7:55 a.m. CST.
The song was “Summertime,” played for Pettit. It was recorded by Bandella. Members of that group include singer Michi Pettit, Don Pettit’s wife, and astronauts Steve Robinson, Chris Hadfield and Cady Coleman. Spacewalkers Piper and Kimbrough are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. CST. Piper will wear the red-striped suit while Kimbrough will be in the suit with broken red stripes.
Spacewalk tasks include moving two of the small handcarts on the rails of the station’s main truss and lubricating the Latching End Effector (LEE) of the orbiting laboratory’s robotic Canadarm2. Much of the spacewalkers' time will be devoted to the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint on the right side of the station’s main truss. They will continue cleaning and lubricating bearing race rings and the replacement of the joint’s trundle bearing assemblies. The use of the joint has been limited since September 2007 when flight controllers noticed increased power consumption and vibration. The handcarts will be moved to clear the tracks for future work.
The LEE lubrication is being done after the snares showed some balkiness on opening and closing. Boe will be the intravehicular officer or spacewalk choreographer, while Pettit and Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus will operate Canadarm2. Moving of supplies and equipment between Endeavour and the International Space Station and installation in the station of equipment are on today’s agenda for the 10 members of the spacecraft’s crews. All the racks brought to the station in the Multi-purpose Logistics
Module Leonardo have been installed in the station, though a considerable amount of equipment and supplies remains to be transferred. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Friday. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.
Two New Bedrooms for the Space Station
STS-126 Status Report #11
Home improvements continued aboard the International Space Station with installation of two new bedrooms and preparations to activate a water recycling facility. Station flight engineer Sandra Magnus and her predecessor Greg Chamitoff moved the port and starboard crew quarters to the station and installed them in the Harmony node. They also installed a rack with equipment for return to Earth inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module.
Other crew members also continued moving equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft. Transfer of all of the phone-booth-sized racks planned for this mission has been completed. Transfer work overall is about twenty five percent complete. Former Expedition 6 station resident, Endeavour mission specialist Don Pettit and Expedition 18 station commander Mike Fincke spent a bulk of the day configuring hardware on the new Water Recovery System.
The facility will treat wastewater and provide recycled water clean enough to drink. The system will be activated for initial checkouts tonight. It will take about two days of initial operations before the first sample of water processed from urine is available for testing. Later today, the crew members will prepare for the second of four spacewalks by gathering tools and reviewing procedures. Subsequently, spacewalkers Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough will begin the standard pre-spacewalk campout in the station’s Quest airlock.
The campout will begin at 10:20 p.m. Piper and Kimbrough will be in Quest overnight, with its pressure at 10.2 psi compared to the station’s 14.7 psi, to reduce their systems’ nitrogen content. That is to avoid the possibility of decompression sickness. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Thursday. The spacewalk is set to start at 12:45 p.m. Thursday.
International Space Station and STS-126 Souvenirs at SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
Home improvements continued aboard the International Space Station with installation of two new bedrooms and preparations to activate a water recycling facility. Station flight engineer Sandra Magnus and her predecessor Greg Chamitoff moved the port and starboard crew quarters to the station and installed them in the Harmony node. They also installed a rack with equipment for return to Earth inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module.
Other crew members also continued moving equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft. Transfer of all of the phone-booth-sized racks planned for this mission has been completed. Transfer work overall is about twenty five percent complete. Former Expedition 6 station resident, Endeavour mission specialist Don Pettit and Expedition 18 station commander Mike Fincke spent a bulk of the day configuring hardware on the new Water Recovery System.
The facility will treat wastewater and provide recycled water clean enough to drink. The system will be activated for initial checkouts tonight. It will take about two days of initial operations before the first sample of water processed from urine is available for testing. Later today, the crew members will prepare for the second of four spacewalks by gathering tools and reviewing procedures. Subsequently, spacewalkers Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough will begin the standard pre-spacewalk campout in the station’s Quest airlock.
The campout will begin at 10:20 p.m. Piper and Kimbrough will be in Quest overnight, with its pressure at 10.2 psi compared to the station’s 14.7 psi, to reduce their systems’ nitrogen content. That is to avoid the possibility of decompression sickness. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Thursday. The spacewalk is set to start at 12:45 p.m. Thursday.
International Space Station and STS-126 Souvenirs at SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
Sunday, 2 November 2008
STS-126 November launch
STS-126 November Launch Date.
Image above: These seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-126 crew portrait. Astronaut Christopher J. Ferguson, commander, is at center; and astronaut Eric A. Boe, pilot, is third from the right. Remaining crew members, pictured from left to right, are astronauts Sandra H. Magnus, Stephen G. Bowen, Donald R. Pettit, Robert S. (Shane) Kimbrough and Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, all mission specialists. Image credit: NASA
Veteran space flier Navy Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson will command the STS-126 mission aboard Endeavour to deliver equipment to the International Space Station that will enable larger crews to reside aboard the complex. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Navy Capt. Stephen G. Bowen, Army Lt. Col. Robert S. Kimbrough, Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper and NASA astronauts Donald R. Pettit and Sandra H. Magnus. Magnus will remain on the station, replacing Expedition 17/18 Flight engineer Gregory E. Chamitoff, who returns to Earth with the STS-126 crew.
Magnus will serve as a flight engineer and NASA science officer for Expedition 18. Magnus will return to Earth on shuttle mission STS-119. 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. STS-126 is the 27th shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
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