[Waspie_Dwarf]

First STS-129 Spacewalk Complete


Image above: Mission Specialist Robert Satcher works outside the International
Space Station during the first spacewalk of the STS-129 mission.
Credit: NASA TV

Spacewalkers Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr. completed a 6-hour, 37-minute spacewalk at 4:01 p.m. EST.

After finishing all their scheduled chores with two hours to spare, Foreman and Satcher were assigned a task that had been planned for the second spacewalk. They deployed the outboard Payload Attach System on the Earth-facing side of the Starboard 3 truss, after overcoming some initial difficulties.

This was the first of three STS-129 spacewalks, the 228th conducted by U.S. astronauts, the fourth for Foreman and the first for Satcher. It was the 134th in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance, totaling 837 hours, 28 minutes. It was the 106th spacewalk out of the space station, totaling 650 hours, 13 minutes.

The STS-129 mission will focus on storing spare hardware on the exterior of the station. The 11-day flight will include three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. This equipment is large and can only be transported using the unique capability of the shuttle.

Source: NASA - Station

[Waspie_Dwarf]

False Alarms Awaken Crew; Spacewalk Preps Friday


Image above: A portion of the International Space Station, including the
Columbus laboratory (bottom), is featured in this image photographed by
an STS-129 crew member.
Credit: NASA

False depressurization caution alarms sounded on the International Space Station Thursday just after 8:30 p.m. EST waking the shuttle and station crew. The flight control teams on the ground were able to determine there was no depressurization occurring. The crew was never in any danger and ventilation fans were shutoff as a precaution. That shutoff kicked up dust that resulted in a fire alarm in the European Columbus laboratory also sounding.

By 9:15 p.m., the flight control teams in Houston were working to bring the station back into its normal configuration, and Atlantis’ crew was told it could go back to sleep. The space station crew members were required to stay up a bit longer as the station’s ventilation system was reactivated. That work took a little over an hour, after which the station crew was able to resume its sleep period as well. Flight control teams are looking into the cause of the initial false alarm.

The day’s tasks will be unaffected by the night’s activities. The crew will be focusing on preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk.

The STS-129 mission will focus on storing spare hardware on the exterior of the station. The 11-day flight will include three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. This equipment is large and can only be transported using the unique capability of the shuttle.

Source: NASA - Station

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Spacewalk Preps for Crews


Image above: A portion of the International Space Station, including the
Columbus laboratory (bottom), is featured in this image photographed by
an STS-129 crew member.
Credit: NASA

The Expedition 21 and STS-129 crews were busy Friday with preparations for the second spacewalk of Atlantis’ visit to the International Space Station and the transfer of material between the spacecraft. They also tackled various maintenance, troubleshooting and science activities.

Mission Spacialists Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik, the Saturday spacewalkers, prepared spacesuits and configured tools for their excursion. Both crews spent an hour shortly before bedtime reviewing spacewalk procedures. The spacewalk is set to begin at 8:18 a.m. EST Saturday.

The movement of materials between Atlantis and the station continued to go well Friday. Well over half the mission’s transfer activities have been completed.

The STS-129 mission is focused on the storage of spare hardware on the exterior of the station. The 11-day flight includes three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. This equipment is large and can only be transported using the unique capability of the shuttle.

Source: NASA - Station

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Second STS-129 Spacewalk Begins


Image above: A portion of the International Space Station, including the
Columbus laboratory (bottom), is featured in this image photographed by
an STS-129 crew member.
Credit: NASA

The second spacewalk of the STS-129 mission began at 9:31 a.m. EST Saturday. Even though they are starting late, Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik plan to get all the scheduled tasks complete during what will now be a six-hour-long spacewalk. That is 30 minutes shorter than was originally planned, which means that they will not have extra time in the schedule for get ahead work.

Foreman and Bresnik still intend to install the Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing assembly (or GATOR) on the Columbus module, relocate a floating potential measurement unit to the P1 truss segment, set up a cargo attachment system on the zenith face of the S3 truss segment and install a wireless video system external transceiver assembly.

The spacewalkers exercised 10 minutes on the Destiny laboratory’s cycle ergometer, wearing masks and breathing pure oxygen to help purge their bodies of nitrogen. They spent a total of two hours and 20 minutes breathing oxygen before the spacewalk. This procedure was used for years by spacewalkers prior to the arrival of the space station’s Quest Airlock and will help prevent them from experiencing decompression sickness, or the bends, when they enter the vacuum of space.

The International Space Station again experienced a false depressurization alarm that originated from the new Poisk Mini-Research Module overnight. The station’s automatic response resulted in a shutdown of ventilation systems, which led to two smoke detectors issuing a false alarm, as well – one in the Columbus European laboratory and one in the Quest airlock, where Foreman and Bresnik were camping out as part of the pre-breathe protocol that precedes spacewalks.

The alarm sounded at 9:53 p.m., more than two hours after Atlantis’ crew went to sleep for the night. Emergency procedures required the spacewalkers to move out of the airlock while teams on the ground verified that the alarms were false.

At this time, flight controllers do not know why the Poisk module generated another false rapid depressurization alarm.

The STS-129 mission is focused on the storage of spare hardware on the exterior of the station. The 11-day flight includes three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. This equipment is large and can only be transported using the unique capability of the shuttle.

Source: NASA - Station

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Second STS-129 Spacewalk Complete


Image above: Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik work
outside the International Space Station during the second spacewalk of the
STS-129 mission.
Credit: NASA TV

The second spacewalk of the STS-129 mission ended at 3:39 p.m. EST Saturday. Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik wound up a successful six-hour, eight-minute outing after completing their scheduled tasks ahead of schedule. It was the second of the three scheduled during Atlantis’ visit to the International Space Station.

Members of the Expedition 21 and STS-129 crews are involved with preparations and execution of the spacewalks while Atlantis is at the station.

Just before the beginning of the Saturday spacewalk, Express Logistics Carrier 2 was installed on S3 by the station’s robotic arm. It holds almost 10,000 pounds of large spares for the station, including an attitude-control gyroscope, a high-pressure oxygen tank and a pump module.

A sister cargo carrier, ELC 1, also came to the station on Atlantis and was installed at about the time the first spacewalk began on Thursday.

The STS-129 mission is focused on the storage of spare hardware on the exterior of the station. The 11-day flight includes three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. This equipment is large and can only be transported using the unique capability of the shuttle.

Source: NASA - Station