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STS-127: The programs

In advance of shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

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STS-127: The mission

A detailed step-by-step preview of Endeavour's STS-125 mission to install an external exposure platform on the station's Kibo science facility.

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STS-127: The EVAs

The lead spacewalk officer provides indepth explanations of the EVAs on Endeavour's assembly mission to the station.

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STS-127: The crew

The seven astronauts launching on Endeavour meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

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Station to get more fresh batteries during spacewalk
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 24, 2009


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Astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Thomas Marshburn are suiting up for a grueling seven-and-a-half-hour spacewalk today to replace a final four batteries in the International Space Station's oldest set of solar arrays, a critical task that was interrupted during a spacewalk Wednesday because of elevated carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy's spacesuit.


Credit: NASA
 
Spacewalk No. 4 is scheduled to begin at 9:58 a.m. EDT Friday, but it could begin a bit earlier depending on how preparations go. It will be the 129th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began, the 10th so far this year and the fourth of five planned by Endeavour's crew.

Spacewalks are normally scheduled for no more than six-and-a-half hours, but today's excursion was extended to give the astronauts time to complete the battery swap out.

Cassidy and David Wolf attempted to replace four of the six batteries during a spacewalk Wednesday, but the excursion was cut short after just two batteries were installed when engineers noticed rising CO2 levels in Cassidy's suit. He never experienced any symptoms of hypercapnia, which include headaches, confusion and lethargy, and he said Thursday he was surprised when the spacewalk was called off.

"They're getting telemetry from each of our suits," Cassidy said. "They're able to detect any problems long before we inside would have any idea. In fact, it was a total surprise to me that the CO2 was climbing high, and we aborted at conservative numbers, so I felt no symptoms and really was not that concerned. I was confident they had my safety in mind."

Space station Flight Director Holly Ridings said Thursday engineers believe the problem was triggered when Cassidy, a former Navy SEAL, got off to a fast start in his first spacewalk, overtaxing the lithium hydroxide, or LIOH, that is used to scrub carbon dioxide from his air supply.

"There is a feature of the way LIOH works where if you go out and you have a very high metabolic rate at the very beginning, then the canister doesn't work as well for the duration," she said. "It's kind of got a metabolic rate that it's expecting.

"So we talked to the crew and we explained ... to them that it's important that they don't go out really excited and really fast like you normally would on your first spacewalk. They understand they need to take it slow at the beginning and let the LIOH can do its thing and then it will work efficiently for the duration."

Asked if the crew was told to do anything different procedurally, Ridings laughed and said "Chris is a very motivated, very intelligent guy and he was excited about his first spacewalk. And he went all the way from the airlock ... out to the end very, very quickly. He's a Navy SEAL, he's in great shape and so we really just needed to tell him hey, we know you can do this really well and really fast, but we need the LIOH to work right for us. He took that with good humor."

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time; includes revision M of the NASA television schedule; SRMS: shuttle robot arm; SSRMS: station robot arm; ICC: integrated cargo carrier):


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

07/24
05:03 AM...08...11...00...STS/ISS crew wakeup
05:43 AM...08...11...40...EVA-4: 14.7 psi repress/hygiene break
06:28 AM...08...12...25...EVA-4: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
06:48 AM...08...12...45...ISS daily planning conference
06:53 AM...08...12...50...EVA-4: Campout EVA preps
08:23 AM...08...14...20...EVA-4: Spacesuit purge
08:38 AM...08...14...35...EVA-4: Spacesuit prebreathe
09:28 AM...08...15...25...EVA-4: Crew lock depressurization
09:33 AM...08...15...30...SSRMS ICC maneuver to EVA work site
09:58 AM...08...15...55...EVA-4: Spacesuits to battery power
10:03 AM...08...16...00...EVA-4: Airlock egress
10:13 AM...08...16...10...EVA-4: Setup
10:33 AM...08...16...30...EVA-4: P6 battery replacement (4)
04:28 PM...08...22...25...SSRMS ICC maneuver to handoff
04:28 PM...08...22...25...EVA-4: Cleanup and ingress
04:43 PM...08...22...40...SRMS grapples ICC
05:03 PM...08...23...00...SSRMS releases ICC
05:23 PM...08...23...20...SRMS ICC berth
05:28 PM...08...23...25...EVA-4: Airlock repressurization
05:28 PM...08...23...25...Evening planning conference
05:38 PM...08...23...35...Spacesuit servicing
07:00 PM...09...00...57...Mission status briefing
08:03 PM...09...02...00...ISS crew sleep begins
08:33 PM...09...02...30...STS crew sleep begins
09:00 PM...09...02...57...Daily highlights reel

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VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MORE INTERVIEWS WITH LAS VEGAS, HOUSTON AND FOX PLAY
VIDEO: NORTH CAROLINA, MAINE AND ORLANDO TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE PUT ON SCIENCE DECK PLAY
VIDEO: X-RAY ASTRONOMY PAYLOAD INSTALLED ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 9 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: EARLY END TO SPACEWALK NO. 3 DECLARED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND FRESH BATTERY PUT INTO STATION TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST OF THE NEW BATTERIES INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS REMOVE FIRST OLD BATTERY PLAY
VIDEO: CHRIS CASSIDY PREPS JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAY

VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ANSWERS PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS FROM SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: EXPOSED FACILITY RECEIVES EXPERIMENT CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 7 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: REPLACEMENT COOLING PUMP PUT ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPARE COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA TRANSFERRED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER HOPS ABOARD STATION ARM PLAY
VIDEO: WOLF AND MARSHBURN BEGIN EVA NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CANADIANS IN SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PALLET HANDED OFF TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: CARGO CARRIER UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 5 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: UPDATE ON ENDEAVOUR'S HEAT SHIELD CHECKS PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE OUTDOOR SCIENCE PLATFORM ATTACHED PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION ARMS HANDOFF SCIENCE DECK PLAY
VIDEO: JAPAN'S EXPOSED FACILITY UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: THERMAL COVER JETTISONED FROM THE KIBO MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: HELMET-CAMERA VIEWS AS KOPRA CLIMBS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: TIM KOPRA EMERGES FROM AIRLOCK FOR EVA NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 4 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' ONBOARD CAMCORDER FOOTAGE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE FLIES OUT IN FRONT OF STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR APPROACHING PLAY
VIDEO: STATION CAMERA CATCHES ENDEAVOUR'S "TI BURN" PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-127 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BANANA CREEK VIP SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: STS-127 POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF FUEL TANK AFTER JETTISON PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS REACH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: WEATHER SCRUBS LAUNCH AGAIN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT PAD 39A ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: THUNDERSTORMS SCRUB SUNDAY'S ATTEMPT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED SUMMARY SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED SUMMARY PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: LIGHTNING STRIKES POSTPONE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S STATUS REPORT ON THE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: NO LEAKS FOUND DURING SPECIAL TEST PLAY
VIDEO: EXPLANATION OF THE HYDROGEN LEAK AND THE REPAIR PLAY

VIDEO: POST-SCRUB NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FIRING ROOM UPDATE WITH LAUNCH DIRECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: SCRUB NO. 2 DECLARED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK PLAY

VIDEO: SUNDAY'S UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY
VIDEO: LEAK POSTPONES SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SUN SETTING OVER PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: ANOTHER TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY RETRACTION PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF LAUNCH PAD TOWER ROLLBACK PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MARK POLANSKY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HURLEY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS CASSIDY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH JULIE PAYETTE PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TOM MARSHBURN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DAVE WOLF PLAY

VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE SCIENCE FACILITIES ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN BEGINS TICKING FOR SATURDAY'S LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GET TO KNOW ENDEAVOUR'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE EVACUATION OF SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS SHUTTLE FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP FOR DRESS REHEARSAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW INSPECTS CARGO IN THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TRAINING SESSIONS AT LAUNCH PAD AND BUNKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: INFORMAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39A GANTRY ENCLOSES SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ROLLAROUND MOVES ENDEAVOUR TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR IS HAULED OFF LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SHUTTLE'S LAUNCH PAD SWITCH PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39B AND ITS LAST SPACE SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S SUNRISE ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MIDNIGHT ROLLOUT FROM ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES ENDEAVOUR VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORION AND ARES ROCKET PROGRESS REPORT PLAY
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