Spaceflight Now





Astronauts wrapping up supply transfers to station
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: September 6, 2009


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Sailing into the home stretch of a busy space station resupply mission, the Discovery astronauts worked Sunday to wrap up equipment and supply transfers before enjoying a half day off to relax and enjoy the view.


Credit: NASA
 
Overnight, engineers successfully tested a new motor-driven bolt in the berthing mechanism holding the shuttle-delivered Leonardo cargo module in place on the Earth-facing port of the lab's Harmony module. The bolt, one of 16 in the complex interface, jammed during earlier tests and flight engineers Timothy Kopra and Robert Thirsk carried out a lengthy replacement procedure Saturday.

"The checkout activity went perfectly fine, the bolt that jammed on us the other day when we tried to drive it out of the interface ... we worked it this evening and it worked just fine," station Flight Director Royce Renfrew said early Sunday.

"The crew was also interested in watching us do this so they stayed up a little bit late past their bedtime and set a camera up for us and then as my operational support officer, the in-flight maintenance guys drove the mechanisms in there we got to see that on live downlink."

The testing confirmed the astronauts will have no trouble detaching the Leonardo module Monday so it can be stowed in the shuttle Discovery's cargo bay for return to Earth. It also cleared the way for the arrival later this month of Japan's new HTV cargo ship, scheduled for launch Sept. 10, the same day Discovery returns to Earth. The HTV cargo craft will be docked at the same port used by Leonardo.

"All in all, what we wound up doing was verifying for the HTV mission that's coming up that that particular bolt's not going to give us any more problems," Renfrew said. "I was really happy we got all that done."

After the bolt was replaced, flight engineers Michael Barratt and Frank De Winne carried out another lengthy procedure to replace a filter in the U.S. oxygen generation system. Based on a performance degradation, engineers suspected the filter was clogged and sure enough, Barratt and De Winne reported it was 70 to 80 percent blocked by debris.

The astronauts were awakened at 11:35 a.m. Sunday to begin their 10th flight day. As of Sunday morning, the crew had completed about 85 percent of the required logistics transfers to and from the station. The astronauts will continue transfers today before taking a half-day off starting at 8:30 p.m.

The Leonardo module was loaded with some 7.5 tons of equipment and supplies, including two science racks, an experiment sample freezer, a crew sleep station, a carbon dioxide removal assembly, a stowage rack, food, clothing and other gear.

During three spacewalks last Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, John "Danny" Olivas, Christer Fuglesang and Nicole Stott replaced a 1,800-pound ammonia coolant tank, retrieved two space exposure experiments, deployed a cargo mounting mechanism, installed two GPS antennas and replaced a blown circuit breaker and a rate gyro assembly that helps determine the station's orientation in space.

Renfrew said the new equipment had been checked out and was working normally.

"We had planned that we would spend a couple of days calibrating the (rate gyro assembly) before we ever actually integrated them into the system," he said. "But after the EVA, we went ahead and turned them on and started comparing the solutions that our new rate gyro was giving us compared to the solutions our old rate gyro, the one that's still on the vehicle, was giving us. They turned out to be identical. So we're very happy with the rate gyro 2 that we installed. I don't think we're going to have to calibrate it at all."

The only problems of any significance other than the stuck docking system bolt and the clogged filter in the oxygen assembly were two external wiring issues.

During the crew's second spacewalk, Olivas was directed to hook up two power cables to drive heaters in pressurized mating adapter No. 3, a docking port currently mounted on the multi-hatch Unity module's left port. The idea was to open the docking adaptor later to temporarily store supplies.

But Olivas was unable to make the required electrical connections because the cables were not in the correct position. As it turns out, the wiring bundles were attached to PMA-3 assuming the module would be oriented, or "clocked," in a specific way, putting the connectors within reach of their counterparts on the Unity module.

When PMA-3 was docked to Unity's nadir, or Earth-facing port, the cables and connectors were in the expected orientation. But when PMA-3 was recently moved to Unity's left-side port, it was clocked 180 degrees from the orientation the installers of the wiring bundle apparently expected. The module was in the correct orientation, officials said, but the cables ended up 90 degrees away from the corresponding connectors.

"I still don't know why we have a disconnect between what we were expecting to see there and what actually happened," said station Flight Director Heather Rarick. "I do know that HTV was planning for it to be in this orientation, so at least there are no issues with what we need to do ahead of us."

PMA-3 is scheduled to be moved back to Unity's nadir port in December and in the long term, the wiring issue will have no impact. But in the near term, the stubby module will not be used to store supplies because without heaters, condensation control could prove difficult.

"We can certainly live without the PMA-3 heater cables at this point," Rarick said.

The other wiring problem encountered by Discovery's crew occurred during the third spacewalk Saturday. Olivas and Fuglesang routed two 60-foot-long cable bundles to deliver power and data to a new module - node 3, or "Tranquility" - scheduled for launch next year. Seven of eight connectors hooked up properly, but one power cable's connector could not be plugged in. Engineers are looking into possible work arounds.

The astronauts will field questions from reporters in three round-robin interviews starting at 1:54 p.m. A mission status briefing is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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


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

09/06
11:29 AM...08...11...30...Crew wakeup
12:59 PM...08...13...00...ISS daily planning conference
01:54 PM...08...13...55...PAO event
02:34 PM...08...14...35...Logistics transfers resume
03:39 PM...08...15...40...Node 2 nadir CBM controller install
05:00 PM...08...17...01...Mission status briefing
05:59 PM...08...18...00...SAFER jetpack checkout
06:29 PM...08...18...30...Crew meals begin
08:29 PM...08...20...30...Shuttle crew off duty

09/07
12:24 AM...09...25...00...ISS daily planning conference
12:29 AM...09...30...00...Transfer tagup
01:19 AM...09...01...20...European Space Agency PAO event
02:59 AM...09...03...00...ISS crew sleep begins
03:29 AM...09...03...30...STS crew sleep begins
04:00 AM...09...04...01...Daily highlights reel
08:30 AM...09...08...31...Flight director's update
11:29 AM...09...11...30...Crew wakeup

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' HOME MOVIES: DAY 8 PLAY
VIDEO: INTERNATIONAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY AFTERNOON'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 7: SPACEWALKERS COME BACK INSIDE PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 7: MORE WORK WITH LEONARDO PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 7: OLIVAS AND FUGLESANG ON EVA PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' HOME MOVIES: DAY 7 PLAY
VIDEO: POST-EVA MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: OLD TANK MOVED TO SHUTTLE FOR RECYCLING PLAY
VIDEO: NEW TANK HOOKED UP TO STATION UMBILICALS PLAY
VIDEO: CHRISTER FUGLESANG CARRIES NEW AMMONIA TANK PLAY
VIDEO: PREPS IN SHUTTLE BAY TO UNPACK NEW AMMONIA TANK PLAY
VIDEO: DANNY OLIVAS FLOATS OUT OF AIRLOCK TO START EVA PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY

HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 6: PREPPING FOR NEXT EVA PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 6: MOVING FROZEN SCIENCE PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 6: EMPTYING OUT LEONARDO PLAY

HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: SPACEWALKERS CELEBRATE PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: OLIVAS AND STOTT ON EVA NO. 1 PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: COLBERT TREADMILL UNPACKED PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: SPACEWALKERS GET SUITED UP PLAY

HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 4: LEONARDO MODULE OPENED PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 4: MOVING ITEMS FROM SHUTTLE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' HOME MOVIES: DAY 6 PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-EVA MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS PUT THIRD EXPERIMENT IN SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFCASE-LIKE PACKAGE RETRIEVED FROM STATION PLAY
VIDEO: EUROPEAN PAYLOAD MOVED FROM STATION TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS FREE COOLANT TANK FROM TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: DANNY OLIVAS DISCONNECTS OLD AMMONIA TANK PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS EMERGE FROM AIRLOCK TO START EVA PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 5 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED OVERVIEW OF THE LEONARDO PAYLOAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS OPEN UP AND ENTER LEONARDO MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF LEONARDO MODULE'S INSTALLATION PLAY
VIDEO: LEONARDO CARGO MODULE ATTACHED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 3: NICOLE STOTT ABOARD STATION PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 3: UNITING STATION AND SHUTTLE PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 3: JOIN THE CREW DURING DOCKING PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 3: LIFE ON RENDEZVOUS DAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DOCKING RING RETRACTED TO JOIN TWO CRAFT PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF DOCKING FROM CENTERLINE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE FLIES OUT IN FRONT OF STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF DISCOVERY APPROACHING PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE VIEW FROM SHUTTLE DOCKING PORT PLAY
VIDEO: STATION CAMERA CATCHES DISCOVERY'S "TI BURN" PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY
VIDEO: THE MOON SINKS BELOW TAIL OF DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' HOME MOVIES: DAY 2 PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' HOME MOVIES: DAY 1 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SHUTTLE INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL ROOM 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: PAD CAEMRA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAEMRA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: LIFTOFF OF SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: COMMANDER RICK STURCKOW BOARDS DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT KEVIN FORD BOARDS SHUTTLE DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST PAT FORRESTER BOARDS DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST JOSE HERNANDEZ BOARDS SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST DANNY OLIVAS BOARDS DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST CHRISTER FUGLESANG BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST NICOLE STOTT BOARDS DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS LEAVE CREW QUARTERS BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW FINISHES GETTING SUITED UP PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: NARRATED MISSION OVERVIEW MOVIE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MEET SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED REVIEW OF SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED REVIEW OF PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: THE "COLBERT" TREADMILL PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: MANAGERS EXPLAIN REASON FOR SECOND SCRUB PLAY
VIDEO: WEATHER SCRUBS FIRST COUNTDOWN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DEPART QUARTERS FOR PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW GETS SUITED UP FOR LAUNCH ATTEMPT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH PAD SERVICE GANTRY ROLLED BACK PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH RICK STURCKOW PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN FORD PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH PAT FORRESTER PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH JOSE HERNANDEZ PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DANNY OLIVAS PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTER FUGLESANG PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH NICOLE STOTT PLAY

VIDEO: AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: THE LAUNCH COUNTDOWN GETS UNDERWAY PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT THE CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-128 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER EXPLAINS FOAM ISSUES PLAY

VIDEO: PAYLOAD BAY DOORS CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MISSION CARGO LOADED ABOARD DISCOVERY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CREW TOURS PAD'S CLEANROOM PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: SHUTTLE EVACUATION PRACTICE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS BOARD DISCOVERY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: THE LAUNCH DAY SIMULATION BEGINS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: PAD BUNKER TRAINING FOR THE CREW PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW BRIEFED ON EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NIGHTTIME APPROACHES IN TRAINING AIRCRAFT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TEST-DRIVING EMERGENCY ARMORED TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: INFORMAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE DISCOVERY ROLLS OUT PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORBITER HOISTED FOR MATING TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: DISCOVERY MOVED TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF DISCOVERY ARRIVING IN VAB PLAY

VIDEO: PAYLOADS DELIVERED TO LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LEONARDO PUT INTO TRANSPORTER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: STATION'S NEW AMMONIA TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MPLM HATCH CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: INSIDE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINE SHOP PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW EQUIPMENT INTERFACE TEST PLAY | HI-DEF
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