Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Michael Good, working at the far left end of the International Space Station's main power truss, successfully replaced four massive solar array batteries today, leaving just two powerpacks to be installed during a third spacewalk Friday.

Credit: NASA TV

Running well ahead of schedule, the astronauts were asked to perform a bit of troubleshooting on a spare Ku-band antenna that was installed during a spacewalk Monday. Working together, Bowen and Good tightened four bolts with a power wrench in a bid to eliminate a 1-millimeter gap between the base of the antenna and its support mast.

"I'm doing a wiggle test and I'm not getting any motion," Good reported, pulling on the boom and looking for any signs of play in the antenna-mast interface.

"I'm seeing absolutely nothing," Bowen agreed. "Nothing like we had the other day, that's for sure. ... And I don't see any gaps."

"Great job, that does it," astronaut Steve Swanson called from mission control a few moments later. "SGANT (space-to-ground antenna) is on firmly."

The spacewalkers then worked to remove gimbal locks from the antenna's steering system that were left in place Monday. The additional work pushed the spacewalk beyond the planned six-hour 30-minute mark, but both astronauts said they were in good shape as they worked to complete their final task.

Earlier in the spacewalk, Bowen freed a snagged cable that was preventing a pan-and-tilt unit on the end of the shuttle's heat shield inspection boom from moving through its full range of motion. He had no problems securing the offending cable.

"You are 'go' to unsnag the LDRI cable," astronaut Steve Swanson radioed from mission control after Bowen was in place.

"OK, I have it unsnagged," Bowen replied a moment later.

"Well done, superhero," called shuttle pilot Dominic Antonelli. "Now let's see if you can handle the tie wraps."

Bowen then tied off the offending cable. A quick test showed the mechanism was still experiencing interference from a different cable tie that was sliding along a group of cables as the pan-and-tile unit moved, preventing a full range of motion.

Mission managers are still considering whether to order any additional inspections while Atlantis is docked to the station or whether to wait until an already planned post-undocking inspection. With Bowen's successful repair work, the sensor package should be available for normal operation whenever it is needed.

The astronauts had no major problems removing the 375-pound batteries from a cargo pallet held in place by the station's fully extended robot arm and installing them in the P6 solar array's integrated electronics assembly.

Each of the station's four main solar array segments includes 12 batteries that are charged during orbital daylight and supply the station's electrical power during orbital darkness. The batteries have a design life of 6.5 years. Launched in November 2000, the P6 arrays are the oldest on the space station. Six of its batteries were replaced in 2009 and the rest are being swapped out during the current flight.

Going into today's spacewalk, the objective was to change out just three batteries. Based on past experience, flight controllers were concerned about possible alignment problems. But after wrestling the first new battery into place, Bowen and Good said they had a good feel for how the hardware behaved.

"What I saw, Steve, I think the H1 side, my side in your left hand, was too far in, so I think we had a little bit of yaw and I think once we brought it back out ... then it seemed to go in," Good observed. "So I think we had a little yaw in it."

"I agree with that," Bowen said. "And I will tell you, I did feel more of a ka-thunk, like it went over a bit of a soft dock that last time when, you know, we kind of rocked it gently. I think that may be the key, get the alignment, get the yaw (corrected), just kind of rock it gently and it should fall into place."

"OK, great," Antonelli, the spacewalk coordinator, called from Atlantis. "I was thinking when you were getting ready to drive it the successful time that H1 was a lot farther out than it had been before and my first thought was oh, you don't have it pushed in far enough. But with the yaw error, it was the exact opposite. So great job."

"So don't push each one in all the way, let it stay level," Good said.

"It'll be a lot easier now," Bowen agreed.

The spacewalk began at 6:38 a.m. and ended at 1:47 p.m. EDT.

This was the 145th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the ninth so far this year and the second of three planned by the Atlantis astronauts. Total space station EVA time now stands at 908 hours and seven minutes, or 37.8 days.

Good, a veteran of two Hubble Space Telescope repair spacewalks, has now logged 23 hours and seven minutes of EVA time through three excursions while Bowen's total through five spacewalks moves him up to 28th on the list of most experienced spacewalkers, with 34 hours and 30 minutes.

The final planned flight of space shuttle Atlantis is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-132. Available in our store!
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VIDEO: CREW'S HOME MOVIES FOR FLIGHT DAY 6 PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: REMOVING GIMBAL LOCKS ON ANTENNA DISH PLAY
VIDEO: ADDING TO TORQUE TO NEW KU-BAND ATENNA PLAY
VIDEO: THE DAY'S FINAL NEW BATTERY INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: THIRD OLD BATTERY PULLED OUT AND STOWED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND FRESH BATTERY PUT INTO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST OF THE NEW BATTERIES INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS REMOVE FIRST OLD BATTERY PLAY
VIDEO: CABLE ON INSPECTION SENSOR UNTANGLED PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP WALKTHROUGH OF EVA NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY

HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: FLIGHT DECK OF ATLANTIS PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: GIVING WATER TO STATION PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: INSIDE DESTINY LABORATORY PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: ROBOTICS WORKSTATION IN CUPOLA PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: LOOKING OUT WINDOW AT EARTH PLAY
HIGH DEFINITION TV DAY 5: DAILY SHUTTLE CHORES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S HOME MOVIES FOR FLIGHT DAY 5 PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MSNBC AND CNN INTERVIEWS OF CREW PLAY
VIDEO: CONGRATULATIONS FROM ALL AROUND PLAY
VIDEO: RASSVET CAPTURED AND SECURED TO ZARYA MODULE! PLAY
VIDEO: TWEAKING FINAL ALIGNMENT OVER DOCKING PORT PLAY
VIDEO: DOCKING PROBE EXTENDED FROM RASSVET NOSE PLAY
VIDEO: SWINGING RASSVET FROM ATLANTIS TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: RASSVET UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 5 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATED OVERVIEW OF RUSSIA'S RASSVET MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATED OVERVIEW OF MISSION'S CARGO CARRIER PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: AN ADDITION TO DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: TORQUING ANTENNA ASSEMBLY INTO PLACE PLAY
VIDEO: FETCHING 6-FOOT-DIAMETER ANTENNA DISH PLAY
VIDEO: BOLTING BOOM ATOP STATION'S Z1 TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS HANDOFF ANTENNA BOOM PLAY
VIDEO: UNPACKING ANTENNA BOOM FROM CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 1 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP WALKTHROUGH OF EVA NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 4 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM CHAIRMAN UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: CARRIER ATTACHED TO STATION'S RAILCAR PLAY
VIDEO: CARGO PALLET LIFTED FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: WELCOMING CEREMONY FOR SHUTTLE CREW PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS DOCKS TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ATLANTIS PERFORMS BACKFLIP MANEUVER PLAY
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VIDEO: ANIMATED PREVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 3 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S HOME MOVIES FOR FLIGHT DAY 2 PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM CHAIRMAN UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-132 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ATLANTIS BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GO INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AFB PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS LEAVE CREW QUARTERS PLAY | HI-DEF
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VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS WEARING TUXEDOS LAUNCH DAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: NARRATED REVIEW OF SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED REVIEW OF PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ATLANTIS ON EVE OF FINAL PLANNED LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH PAD'S SERVICE TOWER RETRACTED PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: PAYLOAD BAY DOORS CLOSED FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS INSPECT THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: JERRY ROSS' LAUNCH ON MISSION STS-61B PLAY
VIDEO: MAIDEN LAUNCH OF ATLANTIS AS SEEN LIVE IN 1985 PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS' FIRST MISSION ENDS WITH LAKEBED LANDING PLAY
VIDEO: AN ASTRONAUT'S TRIBUTE TO SHUTTLE ATLANTIS PLAY

VIDEO: COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER FORECAST PLAY
VIDEO: WATCH NASA'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: GET BRIEFED ON THE LAUNCH COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: HEAR FROM THE COMMANDER AT THE RUNWAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE IN FLORIDA FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH KEN HAM PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TONY ANTONELLI PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH GARRETT REISMAN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MIKE GOOD PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH STEVE BOWEN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH PIERS SELLERS PLAY

VIDEO: STS-132 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: FULL FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: RECAP OF THE FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MANAGERS ASSESS ISSUES BEFORE FLIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: UPDATE ON PRE-LAUNCH PREPS AT PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PROGRAM BRIEFING BY SHUTTLE AND STATION CHIEFS PLAY
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VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE EVACUATION PRACTICE PLAY | HI-DEF
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VIDEO: LAUNCH DAY REHEARSAL BEGINS PLAY | HI-DEF
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VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER RUNWAY PLAY | HI-DEF
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VIDEO: GANTRY PLACED AROUND ATLANTIS PLAY | HI-DEF
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VIDEO: SHUTTLE HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES THE ORBITER VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ATLANTIS RISES OFF THE TRANSPORTER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORBITER EMERGES FROM ITS HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: BUTTONING UP RUDDER/SPEED BRAKE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: DOME SHIELDS AROUND MAIN ENGINES PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: EXTERNAL TANK ATTACHED TO BOOSTERS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PAYLOADS HEAD FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: RASSVET PLACED INTO THE TRANSPORTER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: PALLET LOADED WITH MISSION'S CARGO PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: RUSSIAN RASSVET MODULE ON DISPLAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: RUSSIAN ENGINEERS DISCUSS THEIR RASSVET MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: RASSVET HATCH CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: FILLING MODULE WITH NASA SUPPLIES PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS VISIT THEIR SPACECRAFT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW INSPECTS RASSVET MODULE PLAY | HI-DEF
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