Spaceflight Now




Spaceflight Now +



Subscribe to Spaceflight Now Plus for access to our extensive video collections!
How do I sign up?
Video archive

STS-120 day 6 highlights

Spacewalk to detach Port 6 truss and discovery of debris in a solar array rotary joint are highlighted in the Flight Day 6 movie.

 Play

STS-120 day 5 highlights

Highlights from Flight Day 5 see the astronauts enter into the newly-installed Harmony module.

 Play

STS-120 day 4 highlights

The Flight Day 4 highlights movie shows Harmony's attachment to the station and the Discovery mission's first spacewalk.

 Play

STS-120 day 3 highlights

This movie shows the highlights from Flight Day 3 as Discovery docked to the space station.

 Play

STS-120 day 2 highlights

Flight Day 2 of Discovery's mission focused on heat shield inspections. This movie shows the day's highlights.

 Play

STS-120 launch videos

Check out all angles of space shuttle Discovery's launch with our extensive video collection.

 Full coverage

STS-120 day 1 highlights

The highlights from shuttle Discovery's launch day are packaged into this movie.

 Play

STS-120: Crew arrival

The space shuttle Discovery astronauts arrive at the Kennedy Space Center for their countdown to launch.

 Play

STS-120: The programs

In advance of shuttle Discovery's STS-120 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

 Play

STS-120: The mission

Discovery's trip to the station will install the Harmony module and move the P6 solar wing truss. The flight directors present a detailed overview of STS-120.

 Part 1 | Part 2

STS-120: Spacewalks

Five spacewalks are planned during Discovery's STS-120 assembly mission to the station. Lead spacewalk officer Dina Contella previews the EVAs.

 Full briefing
 EVA 1 summary
 EVA 2 summary
 EVA 3 summary
 EVA 4 summary
 EVA 5 summary

The Discovery crew

The Discovery astronauts, led by commander Pam Melroy, meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

 Play

Become a subscriber
More video



Station power truss juggled between robotic arms
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: October 29, 2007

The space station's robot arm handed a 35,000-pound solar array truss segment to the shuttle's arm today as part of a carefully choreographed, step-by-step procedure to move the stowed arrays to the far left end of the station's main power truss.

Detached from its central mounting point during a spacewalk Sunday, the P6 array will be held by the shuttle arm until a transporter on the front face of the power truss can carry the station arm 80 feet or so to an outboard work site. Once in place, the station arm will take the array truss back and hold it in place until a spacewalk Tuesday to bolt P6 to the P5 spacer truss on the outboard side of an identical set of arrays known as P4.

At that point, the stowed solar panels will be re-extended, a radiator will be deployed and the left side of the station's power truss will be complete. A final set of arrays for the right side of the truss, S6, will be attached next fall.

Earlier today, flight controllers sent commands to deploy two folding radiator panels on the S1 truss segment as part of an ongoing procedure to fully activate the station's power and cooling systems. Additional radiators on the port side of the power truss will be deployed later.

The astronauts will enjoy four hours of off-duty time this morning, winding up with a joint crew meal at 8:08 a.m. After lunch, the station arm will lock onto the P6 solar array to complete the handoff procedure.

The entire crew plans to participate in a spacewalk review session this afternoon to go over the flight plan for Tuesday's excursion by Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock to bolt P6 to the station's main power truss.

In an overnight message to the astronauts, flight controllers said the timeline for Tuesday's spacewalk had been amended to let Parazynski carry out a brief inspection of the station's left-side solar alpha rotary joint to collect data for comparison to the right-side SARJ. The two SARJ joints turn the station's solar arrays to keep them face-on to the sun.

During an inspection of the starboard SARJ Sunday, spacewalker Dan Tani reported seeing what appeared to be metal shavings or filings on the joint's 10-foot wide outboard drive gear and bearing race. He also reported an apparent discoloration, or mottling, of the bearing race ring. Engineers asked for the inspection because of recently observed vibration and higher-than-normal power consumption, both signs of unwanted friction in the mechanism.

The source of the debris is not clear and engineers at the Johnson Space Center are evaluation a variety of options for additional inspections on an upcoming spacewalk. For Tuesday's outing, the only additional task is an inspection of the port SARJ, which is operating normally, to see if any similar debris and discoloration might be present.

"Anytime we run into these unknowns we end up with a lot of options on the table at once initially and we have to sort through them," station flight director Heather Rarick said late Sunday. "One of the things we've talked about is sending someone during the next EVA to the port side and see the SARJ, or the rotational ring out there, and find out what it looks like nominally because we haven't experienced any issues out there. That's one of the things we're considering doing."

The revised flight plan for Tuesday now includes a 40-minute block of time for Parazynski, starting just over five hours into the EVA, to remove one of 22 thermal blankets and inspect the interior of the port SARJ.

"Big picture for EVA 3: On the way back from deploying the P6 radiator, Scott will be stopping by the port SARJ, removing cover 12, and performing an inspection, picture snapping (with flash!) and sample-taking similar to EVA 2," flight controllers said in the overnight message to the crew. "This will give us a baseline to use for comparison in the (starboard) SARJ troubleshooting activities."

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time; includes revision E of the NASA TV schedule):


EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

01:23 AM...05...13...45...S1 radiator deploy
12:38 AM...05...13...00...STS/ISS crew wakeup
02:38 AM...05...15...00...Spacesuit resizing
03:08 AM...05...15...30...Shuttle arm (SRMS): P6 grapple
03:38 AM...05...16...00...Station arm (SSRMS): P6 ungrapple
03:53 AM...05...16...15...Mobile transporter moves SSRMS to work site 8
04:08 AM...05...16...30...Spacesuit swap
04:18 AM...05...16...40...Nespoli ham radio opportunity
04:38 AM...05...17...00...Shuttle crew off duty
05:38 AM...05...18...00...Station crew off duty
08:08 AM...05...20...30...Joint crew meal
09:08 AM...05...21...30...SSRMS: P6 grapple
09:28 AM...05...21...50...Equipment lock preps
09:38 AM...05...22...00...Harmony module avionics rack outfitting
09:53 AM...05...22...15...SRMS: P6 ungrapple
10:13 AM...05...22...35...EVA-3 tools configured
10:30 AM...05...22...52...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
12:38 PM...06...01...00...EVA-3: Procedures review
01:43 PM...06...02...05...ABC, NBC, CNN crew interviews on NASA TV
02:38 PM...06...03...00...Crew choice downlink
02:53 PM...06...03...15...EVA-3: prebreathe and tools configured
04:08 PM...06...04...30...ISS crew sleep begins
04:38 PM...06...05...00...STS crew sleep begins
05:00 PM...06...05...22...Daily video highlights reel
10:30 PM...06...10...52...Flight director update on NASA TV

Designed as the sixth and final segment of the port, or left, side of the station's main power truss, P6 was mounted at the center of the station in December 2000 to provide power to the U.S. segment during the initial stages of assembly.

Now, with identical solar panels in place on the left and right sides of the main power truss, NASA is moving P6 to its permanent position on the far left end of the beam. The segment's huge arrays, stretching 240 feet from tip to tip, were stowed during shuttle missions last December and June. Power and cooling lines were disconnected during an August flight, setting the stage for the massive truss's detachment, relocation and re-extension during Discovery's mission.

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-SPACEWALK MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ROBOT ARM GRAPPLE BASE INSTALLED ON HARMONY PLAY
VIDEO: STATION CABLING FOR P6 TRUSS CONFIGURED PLAY
VIDEO: TANI COLLECTS SAMPLES OF DEBRIS IN ROTARY JOINT PLAY
VIDEO: TANI DISCOVERS UNKNOWN DEBRIS INSIDE ROTARY JOINT PLAY
VIDEO: THE PORT 6 TRUSS DETACHED FROM THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS UNBOLT THE PORT 6 TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF PORT 6 REMOVAL PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF SUNDAY'S SPACEWALK PLAY
VIDEO: BIOGRAPHY MOVIE ON DISCOVERY'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY
VIDEO: BIOGRAPHY MOVIE ON EXPEDITION 16 CREW PLAY
VIDEO: BIOGRAPHY ON NEW EXPEDITION 16 MEMBER DAN TANI PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEWED BY CBS NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEWED BY FOX NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEWED BY WHAM-TV PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ENTER HARMONY FOR FIRST TIME PLAY
VIDEO: CREW COMMENTS FROM INSIDE HARMONY PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-EVA MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST STS-120 SPACEWALK CONCLUDES PLAY
VIDEO: ROBOT ARM INSTALLS HARMONY ON THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: HARMONY MODULE LIFTED OUT OF PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: S-BAND ANTENNA STOWED IN DISCOVERY'S BAY PLAY
VIDEO: WHEELOCK RIDES STATION ARM WITH ANTENNA PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION STS-120'S SPACEWALK NO. 1 BEGINS PLAY

VIDEO: ANIMATED PREVIEW OF HARMONY INSTALLATION PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF SHUTTLE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: HARMONY'S PRE-LAUNCH PREPS AT THE CAPE PLAY
VIDEO: BACKGROUND INFO ON HARMONY MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF FRIDAY'S SPACEWALK PLAY

VIDEO: THURSDAY MANAGEMENT TEAM NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: POST-DOCKING MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: INSPECTION BOOM HANDED BETWEEN ROBOT ARMS PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: RING BETWEEN THE DOCKING PORTS RETRACTED PLAY
VIDEO: REPLAY OF DOCKING FROM PAYLOAD BAY CAMERAS PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE DISCOVERY DOCKS TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE APPROACHES STATION FROM BELOW PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF THE DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON LAUNCH IMAGERY AND TANK'S PERFORMANCE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS EXPLAINED PLAY
VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH AS SEEN LIVE PLAY
VIDEO: EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA FROM LIFTOFF TO ORBIT PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: KSC RUNWAY PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 WIDESCREEN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA WIDESCREEN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 009 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 041 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 049 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 050 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 051 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 054 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 060 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 061 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 063 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA UCS-12 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA UCS-15 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY

VIDEO: THE CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR THE PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUITS UP ON LAUNCH MORNING PLAY
VIDEO: A LOOK BACK AT SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S HISTORY PLAY
VIDEO: PAD 39A'S ROTATING GANTRY MOVED BACK PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW CLIPS WITH THE ASTRONAUTS PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING'S STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: WATCH THE CREW'S ARRIVAL FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: NEWS CONFERENCE AFTER FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE DISCOVERY ROLLS TO LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: CRANE HOISTS DISCOVERY FOR MATING TO TANK PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY MOVED TO THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
VIDEO: HYDRAULIC SEALS REPLACED ON LANDING GEAR STRUT PLAY
VIDEO: FUEL TANK ATTACHED TO SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS PLAY
VIDEO: FOAM REMOVED FROM FUEL TANK FEEDLINE BRACKETS PLAY

VIDEO: STS-120 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PART 1 | PART 2
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF THE MISSION'S FIVE SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S ASTRONAUTS MEET THE PRESS PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON SHUTTLE AND ISS PROGRAMS PLAY
MORE: STS-120 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW