STS-126 Shuttle Mission - Page 4

Nicolas · #91 (**permalink**) 17-November-2008, 04:18 PM

Are there always 2 people on board of a shuttle that can land it? Just imagine the pilot gets something in his eye during the mission, that isn't too farfetched.

Or would they in such case use the automatic landing possibility of the shuttle for the first time ever?

01101001 · #92 (**permalink**) 17-November-2008, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicolas

Are there always 2 people on board of a shuttle that can land it?

Or would they in such case use the automatic landing possibility of the shuttle for the first time ever?

Both the commander and pilot should be able to fly it.

With AORP, Autonomous Orbiter Rapid Prototype, they don't need no stinking humans.

NASASpaceflight.com: NASA enhancing unmanned orbiter capability

For when you keep the crew on the ISS, but try to return the damaged shuttle to earth.

Quote:

The modification, which flew with Discovery on STS-121, is also manifested on Atlantis’ “Return to Assembly” flight STS-115, allowing an orbiter to return home unmanned in the event of a safe haven contingency being called.
[...]
While the opportunity to give an orbiter a fighting chance of returning home is desirable and should be seen as a positive addition to the orbiter’s capabilities, NASA continue to be cagey towards releasing information, as requests though official lines with NASA PAO (Public Affairs Office) continue to go unanswered, possibly through fear of a negative media spin on the modification.

===

Fresh Spring links grown in the fertile valleys of Chile, picked at the peak of perfection, and jet-freighted to you next day:
NASA Space Shuttle Mission Pages
NASA STS-126 Mission Status Updates
NASA STS-126 Mission Information
NASA STS-126 Mission Overview (may not be active yet)
Wikipedia: STS-126
NASA Launch Schedule
NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Countdown Status
NASA Shuttle Launch and Landing
NASA Shuttle Launch Blog (active about 6 hours before liftoff)
NASA Shuttle Landing Blog (active about 2 hours before touchdown)
National Weather Service, Southeast Sector, Base Reflectivity
National Weather Service, Melbourne Florida, Hourly Weather Forecast Graph
CBS News Space Place
SpaceFlightNow STS-126 Mission Coverage (may not exist yet, will be sparse at first)
BAUT Forum topic STS-124 Space Shuttle Mission (previous mission)
NASA TV (or NASA TV Yahoo! source or high-resolution)

===

MPLM Leonardo, chock-full of toilets and other useful equipment, is attached to the Harmony module now, and will be opened up this evening.

Coming up:

11/17/08 Mon 06:10 PM 02 22 15 Middeck transfers
11/17/08 Mon 06:20 PM 02 22 25 MPLM activation (part 1)
11/17/08 Mon 07:55 PM 03 00 00 Equipment lock preps
11/17/08 Mon 08:15 PM 03 00 20 MPLM activation (part 2)
11/17/08 Mon 08:35 PM 03 00 40 MPLM ingress
11/17/08 Mon 08:50 PM 03 00 55 EVA-1: Procedures review
11/17/08 Mon 11:20 PM 03 03 25 EVA-1: Mask pre-breathe
11/18/08 Tue 12:05 AM 03 04 10 EVA-1: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
11/18/08 Tue 12:25 AM 03 04 30 ISS crew sleep begins
11/18/08 Tue 12:55 AM 03 05 00 STS crew sleep begins

01101001 · #93 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 06:57 AM

Coming up: a nice day for a walk.

CBS News Space Place

Flight Day 5 (times EST, mission elapsed dd hh mm):

Tue 08:55 AM...03...13...00...Crew wakeup
Tue 09:30 AM...03...13...35...EVA-1: 14.7 psi repress/hygiene break
Tue 10:20 AM...03...14...25...EVA-1: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
Tue 10:40 AM...03...14...45...EVA-1: Campout EVA preps
Tue 10:55 AM...03...15...00...ISS daily planning conference
Tue 12:10 PM...03...16...15...EVA-1: Spacesuit purge
Tue 12:15 PM...03...16...20...MPLM transfer
Tue 12:25 PM...03...16...30...EVA-1: Spacesuit prebreathe
Tue 01:15 PM...03...17...20...EVA-1: Crew lock depressurization
Tue 01:45 PM...03...17...50...EVA-1: Spacesuits to battery power
Tue 01:50 PM...03...17...55...EVA-1: Airlock egress/setup
Tue 02:15 PM...03...18...20...EVA-1: NTA removal
Tue 03:10 PM...03...19...15...EVA-1: NTA installation on LMC
Tue 03:40 PM...03...19...45...EVA-1/EV2: FHRC removal
Tue 03:40 PM...03...19...45...EVA-1/EV1: SARJ preps
Tue 04:00 PM...03...20...05...EVA-1/EV1: FHRC installation/SSRMS cleanup
Tue 04:05 PM...03...20...10...EVA-1/EV2: FHRC installation/SSRMS cleanup
Tue 04:25 PM...03...20...30...EVA-1/EV1: EFBM removal
Tue 04:40 PM...03...20...45...EVA-1/EV2: SARJ cleaning, TBA R&R
Tue 05:10 PM...03...21...15...EVA-1/EV1: SARJ cleaning, TBA R&R
Tue 07:40 PM...03...23...45...EVA-1: Cleanup and ingress
Tue 07:55 PM...04...00...00...ZSR installation
Tue 08:15 PM...04...00...20...EVA-1: Airlock pressurization

11/19/08
Wed 12:25 AM...04...04...30...ISS crew sleep begins
Wed 12:55 AM...04...05...00...STS crew sleep begins

01101001 · #94 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PraedSt

No, I was intrigued by the always-tight scheduling.

I was just playing with the NASA "STS-126: Interactive Timeline" (javascript, ptui, so it's hard to link to it; it's on the NASA main page inside an "Interactive Features" box. (Edit: I found a link at the top of the window: NASA STS-126: Interactive Timeline.) It's low on detail, but the high-level view of some days' activities, or large portions thereof, is: crew off duty. Days 8 and 10 have idle time and day 13 is all idle. I could have missed others.

The flight plan offers more detail and day 8 gives an hour, and 10 and 13 four hours each off duty.

I suppose other plans exist that detail activities for each crew member, with high resolution -- time on orbit being precious -- and maybe in them individuals get time off now and then, too. Individuals can probably get ahead of their schedules, too, and go slack now and then.

It's not like they're booked 100% the whole mission.

They'd go on strike without some time off. As I recall ancient history (Skylab 4 "mutiny") they have, when overworked and micro-managed.

PraedSt · #95 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01101001

The flight plan offers more detail and day 8 gives an hour, and 10 and 13 four hours each off duty.

I suppose other plans exist that detail activities for each crew member, with high resolution -- time on orbit being precious -- and maybe in them individuals get time off now and then, too. Individuals can probably get ahead of their schedules, too, and go slack now and then.

It's not like they're booked 100% the whole mission.

They'd go on strike without some time off. As I recall ancient history (Skylab 4 "mutiny") they have, when overworked and micro-managed.

That flight plan link was excellent, thanks 01101001. I like that point about individual down-time- it might not show up on the macro level.

I've been doing some of my own googling about crew scheduling, and I came across the Skylab mutiny, and the earlier Apollo 7 incident. I find it quite hard to imagine astronauts striking- a cultural perception? I think they must have been seriously ticked off. I haven't found any problems with ISS or Shuttle crews, so things must be better now.

Anyway, I also found an old Space.com article with an interview of ISS flight engineer Susan Helms. She's explaining why long-duration ISS stays are better than the short Shuttle trips, partly due to the fact that on long stays they get more time to relax. Makes sense to me. Link.

Quote:

...when one considers the frenetic pace of shuttle missions, typically two-week flights during which every minute of an astronauts time in orbit is micromanaged.

"There have been many shuttle flights where the entire crew could come back and say they didnt even have time to look out the window because there was so much work they were trying to accomplish in just that precious time when the shuttle is in orbit," Helms said in a separate interview.

"However, with a long-duration flight, we do have the ability to slow the pace down a little bit, because this is more like living a life than coming up here on a business trip."

01101001 · #96 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 04:00 PM

I might also add this about the flight plans: it looks like most days have activities scheduled from wakeup for about 12 hours. There is then around 4 hours unscheduled every day before scheduled sleep begins. So they probably eat dinner, hop on the zero-G La-Z-Boy lounge chair and watch some TV just like the rest of us. (Or, astronaut equivalent thereof -- look out the window, surf the Web, polish their magnetic space boots...)

Coming up (times EST):

Tue 12:10 PM...03...16...15...EVA-1: Spacesuit purge
Tue 12:15 PM...03...16...20...MPLM transfer
[...]
Tue 01:50 PM...03...17...55...EVA-1: Airlock egress/setup

slang · #97 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 04:13 PM

The NASA News and Media Resources page for the Shuttle missions has an entry called "Execute Packages" with lots of detail. Some other goodies too there.

01101001 · #98 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slang

"Execute Packages"

Cool. Half-megabyte PDFs with graphical schedules for each member, up-to-date. (Know your PDF-viewer rotate button so you don't have to rotate your display.)

Looks like they all get around 2 or 3 hours of "pre-sleep" to unwind every day.

PraedSt · #99 (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slang

The NASA News and Media Resources page for the Shuttle missions has an entry called "Execute Packages" with lots of detail. Some other goodies too there.

Yeah, those are really cool. Thanks Slang.
Their days are very regimented aren't they? Months of planning must have gone into preparing these timetables.

01101001 · #**100** (**permalink**) 18-November-2008, 06:39 PM

NASA TV (or NASA TV Yahoo! source or high-resolution)

The EVA is underway. They must be ahead of schedule a bit.

Let the lubing begin.

Update at 1500 EST: About 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

01101001 · #**101** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 01:59 AM

CBS News Space Place

Quote:

All of the primary goals of the spacewalk, the first of four planned for Endeavour's mission, were accomplished, but the excursion was marred somewhat by a grease gun malfunction that released lubricant inside a tool bag. While Stefanyshyn-Piper struggled to clean up the mess, the untethered bag, carrying two grease guns, a scraper tool and other gear, floated away. Stefanyshyn-Piper tried to grab it, but it was too late.

But sharing Bowen's tools, the spacewalkers still managed to clean and lubricate the starboard solar alpha rotary joint as required.

Coming up tomorrow (times EST, mission elapsed dd hh mm):

Flight Day 6

08:55 AM...04...13...00...Crew wakeup
10:25 AM...04...14...30...ISS daily planning conference
11:10 AM...04...15...15...Port crew quarters installation
11:50 AM...04...15...55...Water rack equipment transfer
12:10 PM...04...16...15...Node 2 RSR to cargo module
12:10 PM...04...16...15...Middeck transfers
12:15 PM...04...16...20...Water rack setup
12:55 PM...04...17...00...SAFER jet pack checkout
01:10 PM...04...17...15...Starboard crew quarters installation
01:10 PM...04...17...15...Russian PAO event
01:55 PM...04...18...00...MPLM transfers
02:40 PM...04...18...45...Port crew quarters installation
02:50 PM...04...18...55...Spacesuit swap
03:50 PM...04...19...55...Media interviews
04:00 PM...04...20...05...Crew meals begin
04:30 PM...04...20...35...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
05:00 PM...04...21...05...Water rack kit 3 install
05:40 PM...04...21...45...Equipment airlock preps
06:25 PM...04...22...30...Tool configuration
08:50 PM...05...00...55...EVA-2: Procedures review
09:50 PM...05...01...55...Evening planning conference
11:20 PM...05...03...25...EVA-2: Mask pre-breathe

11/20/08
12:05 AM...05...04...10...EVA-2: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
12:25 AM...05...04...30...ISS crew sleep begins
12:55 AM...05...05...00...STS crew sleep begins

NASA TV (or NASA TV Yahoo! source or high-resolution)

Mission status briefing begins in 30 minutes, at half-past the hour.

PraedSt · #**102** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 06:59 AM

More space debris.

Oh well, at least the work's progressing nicely.

01101001 · #**103** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PraedSt

More space debris.

The video was sad. She grabbed the bag, wiped some grease off it, and then flicked it to her left as if she was confident it was tethered. It wasn't, and was out of reach in half a second. Bye-bye.

In the briefing, whoever it was, made sure to give her props for the rest of the day, and for her handling it well, and doing a fine job. I bet she felt awful. They lost two of four grease guns. They have two other guns maybe, I didn't catch their name, but guess they might apply goo for tile repairs, that might be converted.

The pair did OK sharing grease guns through the day though, so they might just continue doing that. Apparently during training they were short of grease guns at first and always had to share, so they are pretty good at that. It didn't slow them down today.

Always keep your bag tethered. Throw no more tools away.

PraedSt · #**104** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01101001

The video was sad. She grabbed the bag, wiped some grease off it, and then flicked it to her left as if she was confident it was tethered. It wasn't, and was out of reach in half a second. Bye-bye.

Yeah, I feel really bad for her. Even space enthusiasts like us immediately latch on to her one mistake, rather than concentrating on her successes- I shudder to think what Jay Leno will make of it. I think she showed good character in pulling it together and finishing the job; I'm sure I would have lost it.

I also saw this further down the CBS page.

Quote:

The water racks originally were scheduled for installation Wednesday, but the astronauts ran well ahead of schedule attaching and opening the multi-purpose logistics module Monday. Saving time on another front, mission managers decided Monday that no additional "focused" inspection of the shuttle's heat shield will be required, freeing up about 10-and-a-half hours of crew time Wednesday.

Woohoo!

01101001 · #**105** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 03:07 PM

NASA Space Shuttle Mission Pages

Mission update:

Quote:

Space shuttle Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, were awakened at 8:55 a.m. EST. The wakeup song this morning was Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," played for Boe.

Shortly after the crew wake up call, a smoke alarm went off in the Russian segment of the International Space Station. The crew reported no sign of smoke. As a result, Mission Control Center Moscow determined that it was a false alarm.

Moving of supplies and equipment between Endeavour and the International Space Station and installation of station equipment are on today’s agenda for the crews. They also will begin preparations for the second of four mission spacewalks, set for Thursday.

Swift · #**106** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PraedSt

Yeah, I feel really bad for her. Even space enthusiasts like us immediately latch on to her one mistake, rather than concentrating on her successes- I shudder to think what Jay Leno will make of it. I think she showed good character in pulling it together and finishing the job; I'm sure I would have lost it.

Several local TV and radio stations I happened to catch this morning were already making fun of her, though a couple did end with lines like "well, it is harder in zero g".

KaiYeves · #**107** (**permalink**) 19-November-2008, 10:42 PM

They should have played the song that goes "Everybody makes mistakes/ Everybody has those days." after that.

01101001 · #**108** (**permalink**) 20-November-2008, 01:56 AM

CBS News Space Place

OK. She's sorry.

Quote:

6:00 PM, 11/19/08, Update: Stefanyshyn-Piper expresses remorse for lost tool bag; mission managers optimistic about completing spacewalk chores despite mission tools; water recycling system activation on tap

Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper told reporters today the loss of a $100,000 tool bag during an otherwise successful spacewalk Tuesday was "disheartening" and that it was difficult to face her crewmates when she returned to the shuttle-space station complex. Fellow spacewalker Stephen Bowen, responsible for making a final tether check of the bag before the EVA began, said he was equally to blame for the mishap.

"During the spacewalk, during that time it was easy to put it aside because I know that, you know, we still had five hours of spacewalk work to do and the work needed to get done and you can't dwell on a mistake," Stefanyshyn-Piper told The Associated Press in a brief interview today. "It was hardest when I got back in and having to face everybody else. That's when the hardest part of it, you know, knowing that I'd made a mistake.

"But we still have three more spacewalks to go and we still have a lot of work to do," she said. "You have to learn from your mistakes, we're definitely not going to do it again, you're not going to see us lose another bag, we're going to double and triple check everything from here on out." [...]

01101001 · #**109** (**permalink**) 20-November-2008, 02:00 AM

Coming up tomorrow (times EST, mission elapsed dd hh mm):

EVA 2

Flight Day 7

11/20/08 Thu 08:55 AM 05 13 00 Crew wakeup
11/20/08 Thu 09:30 AM 05 13 35 EVA-2: 14.7 psi repress/hygiene break
11/20/08 Thu 10:15 AM 05 14 20 EVA-2: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
11/20/08 Thu 10:40 AM 05 14 45 EVA-2: Campout EVA preps
11/20/08 Thu 10:55 AM 05 15 00 ISS daily planning conference
11/20/08 Thu 12:10 PM 05 16 15 EVA-2: Spacesuit purge
11/20/08 Thu 12:20 PM 05 16 25 ISS: GPS antenna assembly
11/20/08 Thu 12:25 PM 05 16 30 EVA-2: Spacesuit prebreathe
11/20/08 Thu 01:15 PM 05 17 20 EVA-2: Crew lock depressurization
11/20/08 Thu 01:45 PM 05 17 50 EVA-2: Spacesuits to battery power
11/20/08 Thu 01:50 PM 05 17 55 EVA-2: Airlock egress
11/20/08 Thu 02:05 PM 05 18 10 EVA-2: Setup
11/20/08 Thu 02:15 PM 05 18 20 EVA-2: CETA cart relocation
11/20/08 Thu 04:00 PM 05 20 05 EVA-2/EV1: SARJ cleaning and TBA R&R
11/20/08 Thu 04:00 PM 05 20 05 EVA-2/EV3: LEE A lubrication
11/20/08 Thu 05:00 PM 05 21 05 EVA-2/EV3: SARJ cleaning and TBA R&R
11/20/08 Thu 07:45 PM 05 23 50 EVA-2: Cleanup and ingress
11/20/08 Thu 08:15 PM 06 00 20 EVA-2: Airlock repressurization
11/20/08 Thu 08:25 PM 06 00 30 Spacesuit servicing
11/21/08 Fri 12:25 AM 06 04 30 ISS crew sleep begins
11/21/08 Fri 12:55 AM 06 05 00 STS crew sleep begins

KaiYeves · #**110** (**permalink**) 21-November-2008, 12:36 AM

I really feel sorry for Ms. Stefanyshyn-Piper.

01101001 · #**111** (**permalink**) 21-November-2008, 12:45 AM

CBS News Space Place

Quote:

4:20 PM, 11/20/08, Update: Stefanyshyn-Piper reports modified SARJ cleaning technique works well

Working around lost tools, astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper said an alternative approach, using grease-impregnated wipes to apply a coating of lubricant to a damaged solar array drive gear, works just as well as lubricant from a grease gun to contain debris freed up by a scraper tool.

The success of the alternative cleaning method might make it possible to complete solar array rotary joint cleaning without having to improvise additional tools to take the place of two grease guns that were lost overboard during a spacewalk Tuesday.

So... did I hear those lost grease guns described as costing $100,000 each, or for the pair? (Edit: $100,000 for the entire kit -- and kaboodle. It's mostly guns and some wipes and some putty knives, though.) And how much do the wet wipes cost?

===

Just heard the EVA is over.

01101001 · #**112** (**permalink**) 21-November-2008, 07:04 AM

CBS News Space Place

Coming up tomorrow (times EST, mission elapsed dd hh mm):

Kind of a slow day.

Flight Day 8
11/21/08 Fri 08:55 AM 06 13 00 Crew wakeup
11/21/08 Fri 10:25 AM 06 14 30 ISS daily planning conference
11/21/08 Fri 11:10 AM 06 15 15 ISS: EFBM checkout
11/21/08 Fri 11:11 AM 06 15 16 MPLM transfers
11/21/08 Fri 12:50 PM 06 16 55 Reboost configuration
11/21/08 Fri 01:10 PM 06 17 15 ETVCG assembly
11/21/08 Fri 02:05 PM 06 18 10 Spacesuit component swap
11/21/08 Fri 02:55 PM 06 19 00 Crew conference
11/21/08 Fri 03:35 PM 06 19 40 Crew photo
11/21/08 Fri 03:55 PM 06 20 00 Joint crew meal
11/21/08 Fri 04:55 PM 06 21 00 Crew off duty period begins
11/21/08 Fri 05:55 PM 06 22 00 Equipment lock preps
11/21/08 Fri 06:40 PM 06 22 45 Tool configuration
11/21/08 Fri 08:50 PM 07 00 55 EVA-3: Procedures review
11/21/08 Fri 11:20 PM 07 03 25 EVA-3: Mask pre-breathe
11/22/08 Sat 12:05 AM 07 04 10 EVA-3: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
11/22/08 Sat 12:25 AM 07 04 30 ISS crew sleep begins
11/22/08 Sat 12:55 AM 07 05 00 STS crew sleep begins

PraedSt · #**113** (**permalink**) 21-November-2008, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01101001

So... did I hear those lost grease guns described as costing $100,000 each, or for the pair? (Edit: $100,000 for the entire kit -- and kaboodle. It's mostly guns and some wipes and some putty knives, though.) And how much do the wet wipes cost?

USD100,000? Hope this doesn't turn into another pen-pencil space legend...

01101001 · #**114** (**permalink**) 21-November-2008, 05:38 PM

CBS News Space Place

Quote:

11:10 AM, 11/21/08, Update: Urine processor shuts down again; troubleshooting continues

Nooooo! Do you know how much a plumber will charge to come fix that?

Quote:

The new urine processor assembly aboard the international space station, a key component in a water recycling system needed to convert urine and condensate into drinking water, was re-activated early today after problems Thursday. The processor operated for about two hours and then shut itself down again. Engineers are troubleshooting error messages while the astronauts press on with other work.

What? Just reboot?

I blame the Russian urine they saved up for the initial test run.

Quote:

"But the good news is that it was activated and ran for about two hours. This is typical of a new piece of hardware, with all the software limits and various parameters of of the operation of the system that have to be fine tuned and tweaked in the early stages of its operation. The oxygen generation system in the U.S. segment of the international space station went through similar growing pains last year when it was first installed and activated. It is now up and running in good shape and the full expectation by engineers is that this is only a momentary hiccup that will be overcome through further data analysis by the ground engineers here at mission control."

Swift · #**115** (**permalink**) 21-November-2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01101001

What? Just reboot?

"Roger Houston, We are go for toilet reboot"

And just to be even-handed

01101001 · #**116** (**permalink**) 22-November-2008, 12:30 AM

CBS News Space Place

Quote:

5:10 PM, 11/21/08, Update: Engineers troubleshoot apparent problem with motor in urine processor

Engineers now believe the problem with the space station's new urine processor assembly, a key component in the water recycling system needed to boost the space station's crew size from three to six, involves trouble with a motor or associated sensors in a centrifuge that helps separate pure water from urine in a vacuum distillation system.

The motor ran normally for two hours earlier today before shutting down when sensors indicated the motor in question began slowing down and drawing more current than normal. Station flight director Courtenay McMillan said engineers do not yet understand the nature of the problem or what might be needed to fix it. The astronauts do not have spare parts for major components in the system, but engineers may be able to come up with a work around.

Ah. That's a relief.

Quote:

If the hardware is, in fact broken or unable to operate properly, the station crew could be forced to wait for a spare distillation unit to be launched on the next shuttle flight in February, a delay that presumably would impact NASA's plans to boost the station crew to six next May.

Into each life some rain must fall.

slang · #**117** (**permalink**) 22-November-2008, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01101001

Into each life some rain must fall.

Well, if they had rain they wouldn't need the urine processing, now, would they? *crawls back under rock*

01101001 · #**118** (**permalink**) 22-November-2008, 01:45 AM

CBS News Space Place

Coming up tomorrow (times EST, mission elapsed dd hh mm):

EVA 3

Flight Day 9

11/22/08 Sat 08:55 AM 07 13 00 Crew wakeup
11/22/08 Sat 09:30 AM 07 13 35 EVA-3: 14.7 psi repress/hygiene break
11/22/08 Sat 10:15 AM 07 14 20 EVA-3: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
11/22/08 Sat 10:40 AM 07 14 45 EVA-3: Campout EVA preps
11/22/08 Sat 10:55 AM 07 15 00 ISS daily planning conference
11/22/08 Sat 11:10 AM 07 15 15 ISS: TOCA assembly
11/22/08 Sat 11:10 AM 07 15 15 ISS: RAM installation
11/22/08 Sat 11:50 AM 07 15 55 MPLM transfers
11/22/08 Sat 12:10 PM 07 16 15 EVA-3: Spacesuit purge
11/22/08 Sat 12:25 PM 07 16 30 EVA-3: Spacesuit prebreathe
11/22/08 Sat 01:15 PM 07 17 20 EVA-3: Crew lock depressurization
11/22/08 Sat 01:45 PM 07 17 50 EVA-3: Spacesuits to battery power
11/22/08 Sat 01:50 PM 07 17 55 EVA-3: Airlock egress
11/22/08 Sat 02:05 PM 07 18 10 EVA-3: Setup
11/22/08 Sat 02:15 PM 07 18 20 ISS: MSFC reconfiguration
11/22/08 Sat 02:15 PM 07 18 20 EVA-3: SARJ cleaning and TBA R&R
11/22/08 Sat 08:15 PM 08 00 20 EVA-3: Cleanup and ingress
11/22/08 Sat 08:45 PM 08 00 50 EVA-3: Airlock repressurization
11/22/08 Sat 08:55 PM 08 01 00 Spacesuit servicing
11/23/08 Sun 12:25 AM 08 04 30 ISS crew sleep begins
11/23/08 Sun 12:55 AM 08 05 00 STS crew sleep begins
11/23/08 Sun 03:40 AM 08 07 45 Starboard SARJ auto-track test

KaiYeves · #**119** (**permalink**) 22-November-2008, 06:27 PM

I'm watching the spacewalk now.

Last night, as an experiment, I put on my brother's heavy Lacrosse gloves and attempted a few tasks to try to get a feel for what the spacewalkers have to deal with.

Stuff that was:

Easy
Picking up a pencil.
Tightening screws with a screwdriver.
Picking paperclips up with pliers.
Using a camera.

Medium
Writing my name.
Screwing a lid onto a jar.

Hard
Winding a music box.
Putting earplugs in my ears.
Picking up quarters and putting them in a stack.

01101001 · #**120** (**permalink**) 22-November-2008, 07:01 PM

Now about an hour into EVA 3, getting out a little early, and now ahead of schedule. EVA should last at least 7 hours.

CBS News Space Place

Quote:

1:05 PM, 11/22/08, Update: Spacewalk begins
9:30 AM, 11/22/08, Update: Crew gears up for third spacewalk amid ongoing urine processor troubleshooting

They tried the UPA again, and it stopped the same way.

Heidi's a confirmed wiper now and doesn't miss the lost grease guns.

Quote:

Because of the lost grease guns, Stefanyshyn-Piper used a different technique in her second spacewalk Thursday, using grease-impregnated wipes to provide the lubrication needed to capture scraped-off debris. Mission managers later approved the use of a heat-shield repair grease gun if necessary, but Stefanyshyn-Piper said she preferred to press ahead with the wipes instead.

"I think at this point, having looked at both the NOAX (heat-shield repair) gun and also having two EVAs under my belt so far, I think the greased wipes seems to be the most practicable way to go," she said. "The wipes do lay down quite a bit of grease on the surface and it's sufficient grease to scrape up the debris that's there. It requires a little bit more meticulous work because you don't have quite as much grease there, but it is sufficient and you can get by. That's the way we're going to press going into EVA-3. Definitely, having two EVAs, I've learned a lot of things, I've changed my techniques ... so I'm ready to go into EVA-3 and get going."

If all goes well, they'll test the SARJ tonight to see if the clean-and-lube job helped.

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