|
|
|
|
|
Spacewalkers to help install Tranquility module tonight BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: February 11, 2010 
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick suited up for a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Thursday to help connect a new 15-ton habitation module to the International Space Station. Floating in the station's Quest airlock, the spacewalkers were expected to begin the EVA around 9:09 p.m. EST. This will be the 138th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the second so far this year and the first of three by the Endeavour astronauts. Behnken, call sign EV-1, will be wearing a suit with red stripes around the legs. He has three previous spacewalks to his credit, totaling 19 hours and 19 minutes. Patrick, EV-2, will be making his first spacewalk in an unmarked suit. Both astronauts spent the night in the station's airlock at a reduced pressure of 10.2 pounds per square inch to help purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams prior to spending a day in NASA's 5-psi spacesuits. The primary goal of the first spacewalk is to prepare the Tranquility module for extraction from Endeavour's cargo bay and its installation on the left-side port of the station's central Unity module. The spacewalkers will make their way from Quest to the shuttle's payload bay and then split up. Behnken, working at the back of the cargo bay, will remove eight protective blankets from the module's berthing mechanism while Patrick, working at the forward end of Tranquility, disconnects and stows a shuttle power cable. Terry Virts and Kay Hire, working inside the Destiny lab module, will use the station's robot arm to pull Tranquility from Endeavour's payload bay and install it on Unity. While that work is going on, Behnken and Patrick will pre-stage two large bags containing ammonia coolant lines and insulation needed for the second spacewalk. They then will move to the Canadian DEXTRE robot and remove a stowage tray that will be replaced during a subsequent flight. "On the first spacewalk, the biggest concern is getting power to node 3 after it's attached to the space station," Behnken said in an interview. "The timer that's running on it for its keep-alive power is longer than an EVA but not long enough to go to the next EVA." With Tranquility mated to Unity's left port, Behnken will work to connect data cables while Patrick hooks up a "launch-to-activation" cable, providing keep-alive power. The module's internal systems will not be activated until ammonia coolant loops are connected during the second and third spacewalks. If all goes well, Behnken and Patrick will return to the Quest airlock and end the first spacewalk around 3:39 a.m. Friday. Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EST and mission elapsed time; includes revision D of the NASA television schedule): EST........DD...HH...MM...EVENT 04:14 PM...03...12...00...Crew wakeup 04:54 PM...03...12...40...EVA-1: Airlock repress/hygiene break 05:39 PM...03...13...25...EVA-1: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi 07:34 PM...03...15...20...EVA-1: Spacesuit purge 07:49 PM...03...15...35...EVA-1: Spacesuit prebreathe 08:29 PM...03...16...15...SSRMS grapples Node 3 08:39 PM...03...16...25...EVA-1: Crew lock depressurization 09:09 PM...03...16...55...EVA-1: Spacesuits to battery power 09:14 PM...03...17...00...EVA-1: Airlock egress 09:49 PM...03...17...35...EVA-1: EV2: Node 3 prepped for unberth 09:54 PM...03...17...40...EVA-1: EV1: Node 3 prepped for unberth 10:39 PM...03...18...25...EVA-1: EV1: NH3 bag ops 10:49 PM...03...18...35...EVA-1: EV2: NH3 bag ops 10:49 PM...03...18...35...SSRMS moves Node 3 to pre-install location 11:39 PM...03...19...25...EVA-1: OTP removal 02/12 12:24 AM...03...20...10...SSRMS moves Node 3 to RTL location 12:44 AM...03...20...30...Node 3: Stage 1 capture 01:04 AM...03...20...50...Node 3: Stage 2 capture 01:34 AM...03...21...20...EVA-1: EV1: Avionics cable install 01:34 AM...03...21...20...EVA-1: EV2: LTA cable install 02:34 AM...03...22...20...EVA-1: EV2: Get aheads 02:54 AM...03...22...40...EVA-1: EV1: Get aheads 03:09 AM...03...22...55...EVA-1: Cleanup and ingress 03:34 AM...03...23...20...Node 3 vestibule leak check (part 1) 03:39 AM...03...23...25...25...EVA-1: Airlock repressurization 03:54 AM...03...23...40...Post-EVA servicing 04:39 AM...04...25...00...Node 3 vestibule leak check (part 2) 05:30 AM...04...01...16...Mission status briefing on NTV 07:44 AM...04...03...30...ISS crew sleep begins 08:14 AM...04...04...00...STS crew sleep begins 09:00 AM...04...04...46...Daily highlights on NTV 01:30 PM...04...09...16...Flight director's update on NTV 04:14 PM...04...12...00...Crew wakeup
|
|
|
|
Final Shuttle Mission Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses!  The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history! U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STORE STS-134 Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses!  The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREAres 1-X Patch  The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREApollo Collage  This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREProject Orion  The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.U.S. STOREFallen Heroes Patch Collection  The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STORE |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MISSION INDEX INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE ADVERTISE © 2012 Spaceflight Now Inc. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VIDEO:
STEP-BY-STEP PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 