In this image from television shown Monday, Dec. 11, 2006 during a mission status briefing, space shuttle Discovery tiles are highlighted in a photograph. NASA plans to study the tiles for possible damage. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Posted on 12/12/2006 9:14:21 AM PST by NormsRevenge
HOUSTON - The 2-ton, $11 million addition astronauts have delivered to the international space station may be one of the smaller pieces of the structure, but even supporting actors are vital.
The addition will act both as a spacer between a pair of the station's power-generating solar arrays and as a channel through which lines of electricity, data and cooling liquid will run, NASA said.
Two astronauts were scheduled to install the addition on Tuesday, in the first of three harrowing spacewalks during the 12-day mission that left Earth on Saturday.
The space shuttle Discovery crew are continuing the assembly of the station. Besides installing the addition, Discovery will also rewire the station to make use of solar arrays that were installed on the last mission. They will also rotate a space station crew member.
Meanwhile, NASA engineers were looking over images of areas on the space shuttle that caught their attention Monday.
A sensor on the shuttle's left wing detected a "very low" impact while the crew slept the night before, so astronauts took pictures of the area using a camera on the end of the station's robotic arm.
John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team, said late Monday he didn't think specialists were seeing anything of concern in the pictures so far.
Also, tiles on the shuttle's underbelly seemed to be dinged, so specialists were examining images to see how deep the nicks were. Shannon said he was not worried about the tiles, saying astronauts could repair them if they were chipped.
Managers were also looking at images showing an orange cellophane-like material, used to keep nitrogen in place during launch, that was sticking out of the shuttle's left external fuel tank door. The material sometimes burns off by the time shuttles land, Shannon said, but engineers want to make sure it isn't blocking the tank door's seal.
NASA is expected to know by Tuesday whether further inspections are warranted or whether it can declare the shuttle's heat shield healthy.
After praising the shuttle's flawless docking with the station on Monday, lead flight director Tony Ceccacci said the hard work was just beginning.
"We have seven challenging docking days ahead of us," Ceccacci said.
The first part of Tuesday's spacewalk may sound familiar to people on Earth who have sought help trying to fit into a tight parking spot.
Spacewalk veteran Bob Curbeam and first-timer Christer Fuglesang, the first Swede in space, will be guiding mission specialists Sunita "Suni" Williams and Joan Higginbotham as they use the station's robotic arm to install the addition. The clearance at times will be less then 3 inches.
The spacewalking pair will then tighten bolts and connect utility cables to complete the installation process.
The later spacewalks are challenging because power to the station will be shut off in two phases, with astronauts rewiring one half of the station one day, and the other half two days later. This process will put the station on a permanent power system, from the temporary one it had been using. But NASA has never done this so managers are not sure everything will power up after the rewiring. Astronauts can undo their work if that's the case.
Williams, who will perform the third spacewalk with Curbeam, became only the third woman to take up longterm residence at the space station. She replaces German astronaut Thomas Reiter, who will return with the Discovery crew in a little more than a week.
The space agency has been especially alert to damage to the shuttle's heat shield since the Columbia tragedy in 2003. A piece of foam broke off Columbia's external fuel tank during liftoff and gashed a wing, allowing hot gases to penetrate the spacecraft during its return to Earth. All seven astronauts died.
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Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Cape Canaveral contributed to this report.
On the Net:
NASA: http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov
In this image from television shown Monday, Dec. 11, 2006 during a mission status briefing, space shuttle Discovery tiles are highlighted in a photograph. NASA plans to study the tiles for possible damage. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
The left wing of space shuttle Discovery is inspected for possible impact damage in this image from television Monday, Dec. 11, 2006. The shuttle docked with the international space station Monday. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Are they holes?
STS-116 and Expedition 14 crew members take a moment for a group picture shortly after the hatches opened between Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA TV
Astronauts to Add Segment to Station During Spacewalk
STS-116 Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang will go spacewalking today.
The primary objective of the spacewalk is to install a new piece to the space station's girder-like truss. The two-ton piece will be the fifth truss segment added to the port side of the station and is called the P5 spacer.
From inside the space station Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham will use the station's robotic arm to move the new segment with only inches of clearance into its installation position. The spacewalkers will assist by providing two extra pairs of eyes as the exacting operation is carried out.
Once the segment is in place, Curbeam and Fuglesang will bolt it to its permanent position and finalize installation with power, data and heater cable connections.
Pilot Bill Oefelein will coordinate the spacewalk, which is slated to begin at 3:42 p.m. EST and conclude at 9:52 p.m.
Two more spacewalks are slated for STS-116, on Thursday and Saturday. All three will be based out of the station’s Quest Airlock.
All that to get to this, the actual purpose of the mission.
Doesn't sound like it,, maybe more of a smunch effect,
it was described as a pretty low energy bump,, you may get a little scrunching and crackling effect on some tiles, they are pretty delicate, and if gouges were evident, they have stuff they can apply,, not sure if they carry multiple patch kits but they should be OK.
It's sad that the Shuttle has been reduced to spending much of it's time determining if it's safe to come back to earth.
So much promise - so little future.
Too bad - let's hope NASA can one day get its swagger back.
I am not optimistic.
OK, break out the Bondo and duct tape!
OMG how you get that co pilots from Airplane Monk in space shuttle LOL!
hehehehe actually it's her in the Airplane.
Experts recommend no extra shuttle check
RASHA MADKOUR, Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON - NASA engineers studying whether space shuttle Discovery's heat shield was damaged during launch recommended on Tuesday against any extra inspection of the spacecraft's belly and wings.
The engineers' advice doesn't mean the shuttle was cleared of any damage, since experts were still reviewing data, but it was a positive sign. NASA managers still need to approve the recommendation.
"I don't think they're finished with all of their analysis of everything on the heat shield, so I think it's premature," said NASA spokesman James Hartsfield. "When the data says it's clear, then it's clear."
The additional inspection had been considered for Wednesday to get a better look at dings spotted on the heat-resistant tiles on Discovery's belly and at the shuttle's left wing, where a sensor detected a "very low" reading, possibly from a micrometeoroid.
The space agency has been especially alert to damage to the shuttle's heat shield since the Columbia tragedy in 2003 when a piece of insulating foam broke off during launch gashing a wing. The hole allowed hot gases to penetrate the spacecraft during its return to Earth, breaking it apart and killing all seven astronauts.
In post-Columbia missions, NASA has images taken during liftoff as well as meticulous camera inspections using the shuttle's robotic arm attached to a boom. Another inspection of Discovery's heat shield is planned next week after the shuttle undocks from the international space station.
Specialists were examining the images to see how deep the nicks were in tiles on the shuttle belly. John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team, said late Monday he was not worried about the tiles and astronauts could repair them if they were chipped.
Meanwhile, the astronauts made preparations to install a 2-ton addition to the space station during a spacewalk Tuesday. The $11 million addition delivered by Discovery will act both as a spacer between a pair of the station's power-generating solar arrays and as a channel through which lines of electricity, data and cooling liquid will run.
Two spacewalking astronauts, veteran Robert Curbeam and the European Space Agency's Christer Fuglesang, were scheduled to install the addition Tuesday in the first of three spacewalks during the 12-day shuttle mission.
Discovery's crew members were awakened Tuesday morning by "Waterloo" by the Swedish group Abba, in honor of Fuglesang, who is the first Swede in space.
"We wish you well as you step outside the airlock for the first time today," Mission Control told Fuglesang.
Curbeam and Fuglesang will have to guide mission specialists Sunita "Suni" Williams and Joan Higginbotham as they use the station's robotic arm to install the addition in a space where clearance at times will be less than 3 inches. everything will power up after the rewiring. Astronauts can undo their work if that's the case.
Williams became only the third woman to take up long-term residence at the space station. She replaces German astronaut Thomas Reiter, who will return with the Discovery crew in a little more than a week.
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Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Cape Canaveral contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
NASA: http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/
spaceflightnow.com
1950 GMT (2:50 p.m. EST)
Dressed in their spacewalking suits, astronauts Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang have completed the pure-oxygen breathing protocol designed to prevent the decompression condition known as The Bends during the EVA. Now, they are making their way from the suitup area of the airlock module into the section that features the hatchway to exit the station.
spaceflightnow.com
2002 GMT (3:02 p.m. EST)
Depressurization of the airlock is now underway.
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