HOUSTON – The astronauts onboard space shuttle Endeavour are into their first full day in space and on the way to install the final components of the U.S. segment of the International Space Station.
The wakeup call at 5:14 p.m. was “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath, played for Pilot Terry Virts, the only first–time flyer on this crew of Endeavour. One of his first tasks is to assist Commander George Zamka with a firing of the shuttle’s jets to refine its approach to the International Space Station for the planned Tuesday night docking.
Mission Specialists Kay Hire and Nick Patrick will be at the controls of the shuttle robotic arm tonight to unberth the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the starboard sill to begin the standard post-launch inspection of the thermal protection system tiles and reinforced carbon carbon panels on Endeavour’s nose cap and wing leading edges.
The inspection, commanded in shifts by Zamka, Virts, Hire, Patrick and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, uses cameras and lasers at the end of the OBSS to provide 3-D views of the orbiter. That data will be reviewed by experts on the ground looking for any evidence of damage sustained during launch.
Later in their day spacewalkers Patrick and Bob Behnken conduct a checkout of the spacesuits they will wear during three spacewalks to complete installation of the Tranquility node and cupola module to the station. Then they’ll install the centerline camera in Endeavour’s Orbiter Docking System while Hire and Robinson complete a check out of the rendezvous tools the crew members will use during Tuesday night’s approach to the station.
On the station, Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers Max Suraev, Oleg Kotov, Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer are wrapping up preparations of the station and its systems for almost nine days of joint docked operations with the shuttle crew.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s work day, or earlier if warranted.
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