Spaceflight Now




Astronauts to make third spacewalk today
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: August 15, 2007

Shuttle flier Rick Mastracchio and station astronaut Clay Anderson are gearing up for a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk today to upgrade the international space station's S-band communications system and make final preparations for the relocation of a stowed solar array during the next shuttle assembly mission in October.

At the Johnson Space Center in Houston, meanwhile, engineers are continuing tests to determine whether a small gouge in Endeavour's heat shield needs to be repaired before re-entry. The testing is not expected to be complete until late today and NASA's Mission Management Team may opt to defer a decision one way or the other until Thursday.

Today's spacewalk, the third of the Endeavour mission, the 14th so far this year and the 91st since station assembly began in 1998, is scheduled to get underway at 11:01 a.m. when the astronauts, floating in the station's Quest airlock module, switch their spacesuits to internal battery power. This will be Mastracchio's third spacewalk and Anderson's second. Preparations have gone smoothly and as of 9 a.m., the spacewalkers were running about 25 minutes ahead of schedule.

The first item on the agenda is to move the S-band antenna sub-assembly, or SASA, from the P6, or port 6, solar array truss segment down to the P1 segment. P6, located at the top of the Z1 truss extending up from the central Unity module, provided the station's power during initial assembly. The station's power now is provided by solar arrays on each end of a long truss that runs at right angles to the station's pressurized modules. In October, astronauts will use the station's robot arm to move P6 from its perch atop Z1 to its permanent location on the far left end of the solar array truss. Its stowed arrays then will be re-extended.

In preparation for that move, shuttle astornauts stowed the P6 solar panels during assembly flights in December and June. During the Endeavour crew's first spacewalk last Saturday, a large ammonia cooling radiator was folded and locked in place.

Today, Mastracchio and Anderson, assisted by shuttle pilot Charles Hobaugh, operating the station's robot arm, will move the SASA antenna gear from P6 to the P1 truss segment. They then plan to install a new S-band transponder and signal processor that will improve voice communications to and from the station.

With that work complete, the spacewalkers and Hobaugh will move two crew and equipment translation aid - CETA - carts from one side of the station arm's mobile transporter to the other. The CETA carts are coupled to the transporter, which moves along rails on the front face of the main solar array truss to position the robot arm at various work sites. The carts currently are on the port, or left, side of the transporter. They need to be on the opposite side so the transporter can reach the far left work site on the truss for the P6 relocation work planned for October.

Anderson then plans to retrieve a transponder from the P6 array while Mastracchio retrieves two space exposure experiment packages for return to Earth.

"We're going to move the SASA antenna off of P6," Mastracchio said in a NASA interview. "Again, P6 is going to eventually be moved from the zenith part of station to the port side. So, we have to kind of clean up P6. And part of it is to move this large antenna off of P6 and install it on P1. While I'm doing that, Clay Anderson ... will be installing two electronics boxes to support that antenna. That will give the space station its second set of antennas, I should say, communication antenna capability.

"The second part of that EVA is we've got two large CETA carts that run along the rail, the tracks on the truss. We'll be moving those CETA carts from the one side to the other side in preparation for a future mission. And then, there's some other clean-up work after that."

Revision L of the NASA television schedule is posted on the CBS News STS-118 Quick-Look page. Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time):


DATE/EDT...DD...HH...MM...EVENT

08/15/07
06:07 AM...06...11...30...STS/ISS crew wakeup
06:47 AM...06...12...10...EVA-3: Airlock repress to 14.7 psi
07:07 AM...06...12...30...EVA-3: Hygiene break
07:27 AM...06...12...50...EVA-3: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
07:57 AM...06...13...20...EVA-3; Campout EVA prep
09:27 AM...06...14...50...EVA-3: Spacesuit purge
09:42 AM...06...15...05...EVA-3: Spacesuit pre-breathe
10:32 AM...06...15...55...EVA-3: Airlock depressurization
11:07 AM...06...16...30...EVA-3: Airlock egress
11:07 AM...06...16...30...Station arm (SSRMS) maneuvers for SASA support
11:22 AM...06...16...45...EVA-3: Setup
11:42 AM...06...17...05...Russian segment computer work resumes
12:02 PM...06...17...25...EVA-3: EV1: P6 SASA relocation
12:02 PM...06...17...25...SSRMS SASA relocation
12:02 PM...06...17...25...EVA-3: EV3: P1 signal processor and transponder installation
12:37 PM...06...18...00...Spacehab debris shields inspection
01:32 PM...06...18...55...SSRMS maneuvers for CETA cart relocation
01:57 PM...06...19...20...EVA-3: CETA 1 moved to starboard side of transporter
02:42 PM...06...20...05...Crew meals begin
02:57 PM...06...20...20...EVA-3: CETA 2 moved to starboard side of transporter
03:57 PM...06...21...20...EVA-3: EV1: SASA gimbal locks prepared
03:57 PM...06...21...20...EVA-3: EV3: P6 transponder retrieval
04:27 PM...06...21...50...EVA-3: EV1: MISSE 3 and 4 removal
04:57 PM...06...22...20...EVA-3: Payload bay cleanup
05:12 PM...06...22...35...EVA-3: Airlock ingress
05:32 PM...06...22...55...EVA-3: Airlock repressurization
05:57 PM...06...23...20...MISSE-3 transfer to shuttle
06:17 PM...06...23...40...MISSE-4 transfer to shuttle
07:00 PM...07...00...24...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
07:12 PM...07...00...35...Logistics transfer tagup
09:07 PM...07...02...30...ISS crew sleep begins
09:37 PM...07...03...00...STS crew sleep begins
10:00 PM...07...03...24...Daily video highlights reel on NASA TV

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: EDUCATIONAL EVENT WITH CHILDREN IN IDAHO PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH ABC NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH CBS NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH CNN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH NBC NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH FOX NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: STOWAGE PLATFORM ATTACHED TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: THE PLATFORM IS RAISED OUT OF PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ARM GRAPPLES THE STOWAGE PLATFORM PLAY
VIDEO: STOWAGE PLATFORM INSTALLATION EXPLAINED PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SHANNON GIVES UPDATE ON TILE DAMAGE ANALYSIS PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 2 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS UNBOLT THE FAILED GYROSCOPE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FAILED GYRO IS REMOVED FROM THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: NEW GYRO IS RETRIEVED FROM SHUTTLE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS BRING NEW GYRO UP TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: THE NEW GYRO IS INSTALLED AND BOLTED DOWN PLAY
VIDEO: FAILED GYRO PUT ON STATION STOWAGE PLATFORM PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: HURRICANE FLOSSIE ON SUNDAY EVENING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INSPECTIONS SHUTTLE TILE DAMAGE PLAY
VIDEO: INSPECTION BOOM FOR DAMAGE CHECK PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 1 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS REMOVE LAUNCH LOCKS ON S5 TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: ROBOT ARM INSTALLS STARBOARD 5 TRUSS ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: STARBOARD 5 TRUSS BOLTED TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: TRUSS'S GRAPPLE FIXTURE REMOVED PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: STARBOARD 5 TRUSS INSTALLATION EXPLAINED PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: STARBOARD 5 TRUSS PULLED OUT OF PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: TRUSS HANDED FROM SHUTTLE ARM TO STATION ARM PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE DOCKS TO THE STATION AS SEEN LIVE PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR AND STATION FLY INTO ORBITAL SUNRISE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE DOES BACKFLIP BELOW THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR INTERCEPTS THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE TI BURN SEEN FROM STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATED PREVIEW OF DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FIRST IN-SPACE COMMENTS FROM BARBARA MORGAN PLAY
VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE INSPECTIONS EXPLAINED PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: JETTISONED EXTERNAL TANK FALLS AWAY PLAY
VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 WIDESCREEN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA WIDESCREEN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 009 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: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: COMPLEX 41 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: KSC RUNWAY PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA UCS-12 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY

VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S LAUNCH MORNING PHOTO IN DINING ROOM PLAY
VIDEO: UPCLOSE FOOTAGE OF THE GANTRY ROLLBACK PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF GANTRY ROLLBACK PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING'S STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: STS-118 PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING'S STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY COUNTDOWN AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER PLAY
VIDEO: COMMENTS FROM EACH OF THE ASTRONAUTS PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: SCOTT KELLY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: CHARLIE HOBAUGH PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: TRACY CALDWELL PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: RICK MASTRACCHIO PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: DAVE WILLIAMS PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: BARBARA MORGAN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW: ALVIN DREW PLAY
MORE: STS-118 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW

MISSION INDEX