Month: November 2007

STS-120
Report #23
2 a.m. CDT Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock today will work to repair a torn solar array on the farthest end of the International Space Station’s port truss in the fourth spacewalk of the STS-120 mission.

That spacewalk is slated to begin about 5:30 a.m., but could begin as early as 5 a.m. if the crew’s final preparations move quickly as they have for the rest of the mission’s spacewalks.

The crews of Space Shuttle Discovery and the station were awakened this morning at 12:38 with composer John Williams’ theme song from the original “Star Wars“ movie trilogy. The song was played for Parazynski.

Parazynski and Wheelock spent the evening in the Quest airlock at a lower air pressure to get ready for the 6.5-hour spacewalk. Yesterday, the two reviewed the detailed plans for the spacewalk with flight controllers and engineers who have been working around the clock to prepare the plan.

The day will begin with a hand-off of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) from the shuttle’s robotic arm to the station arm. The OBSS is an extension to the shuttle arm used for inspection of the orbiter’s thermal protection system. This will be the first time the OBSS will be used to reach a worksite, which was simulated on STS-121 in July 2006.

Parazynski will take a 45-minute ride on the mated OBSS to the damaged area of the array, estimated to be about 90 feet up from the P6 truss, to repair the tear in the 4B panel of the array. One of his first tasks will be to test the dynamics of the work platform to better understand how it will move as he moves. Once he arrives at the worksite, Parazynski will install homemade stabilizers and release the snag suspected of causing the tear in the array panel. Wheelock will assist from the base of the solar array.

If all goes as planned, the crew inside will then deploy the array half a bay at a time while Parazynski watches for any new complications. The spacewalk is scheduled to wrap up about Noon.

The astronauts should then be able to spend Sunday preparing to leave the station with Discovery’s undocking scheduled early Monday morning. Landing is set for just after Noon on Wednesday.

The next STS-120 status report will be issued Saturday evening or earlier if events warrant.
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STS-120
Report #22
Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 – 5 p.m. CDT
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crewmembers today finished preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk to repair a torn solar array. The mission’s fourth spacewalk is set to begin about 5:30 a.m.

The astronauts spent the day positioning the station’s mobile transporter and robotic arm at the end of the truss where it will serve as a base and “cherry picker” providing ample reach for the work to free a snag in a solar array panel.

As Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock studied detailed plans for the spacewalk, other crew members assisted by insulating tools with Kapton tape to protect against any electrical currents.

Late in the crew day, the crew reviewed the procedures with Mission Control prior to going to bed. Parazynski and Wheelock will spend the night in the Quest airlock to prepare for the spacewalk focusing on the solar array repair.

As with other spacewalks during the mission, Saturday’s could begin early depending entirely on the crew’s final preparations that begin shortly after waking up at 12:38 a.m. Saturday.

The 6½ -hour spacewalk begins with Parazynski riding the robotic arm up to the damaged area of the array. He will be secured in a foot restraint on the end of the Orbiter Boom and Sensor System – the extension to the shuttle robot arm used for inspection of the orbiter’s thermal protection system.

Though this will be the first operational use of the OBSS to reach a worksite, the task was demonstrated during a spacewalk on the STS-121 mission in July 2006 to prove the boom could provide a stable environment for this type of work.

As Parazynski installs homemade stabilizers and releases the snag suspected of causing the tear in the array panel, Wheelock will assist from the base of the solar array. The distance from the station’s center is about 165 feet out on the truss and approximately 90 feet up to the damaged site.

If all goes as planned, the crew inside will then deploy the array half a bay at a time while Parazynski watches for any new complications. The spacewalk is scheduled to wrap up about Noon.

The astronauts should then be able to spend Sunday preparing to leave the station with Discovery’s undocking scheduled early Monday morning. Landing is set for just after Noon on Wednesday.

The next STS-120 status report will be issued Saturday morning or earlier if events warrant.

STS-120
Report #21
2 a.m. CDT Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews today will focus on reviewing spacewalk procedures and unberthing the shuttle’s Orbiter Boom Sensor System for Saturday’s spacewalk to repair a torn solar array.

The crews were awakened this morning at 12:08 with the song “World” by Five for Fighting for Mission Specialist Doug Wheelock, who will be performing his third spacewalk on Saturday. Wheelock dedicated the song to the ground support team.

Mission managers decided Wednesday it was important that the station’s P6 solar array be stabilized to prevent further tearing. Engineers have been working around the clock to prepare procedures for the robotic operations, tool configuration and the spacewalk.

During the early hours, ground controllers will move the station’s mobile transporter from the end of the port truss to the truss’ center. From there, Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani will then use the station’s robotic arm to grapple the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. The boom will be handed to the shuttle robotic arm for the night and the mobile transporter will then return to the end of the port truss.

On Saturday, the boom will be transferred back to the station’s arm to allow Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski to reach the torn 4B solar array panel. Parazynski will install five solar array hinge stabilizers, also known as cufflinks, to steady the array. Wheelock will assist from the station’s truss.

Inside the Harmony node, Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Mission Specialist Clay Anderson will install a computer router that will be used once the module is moved to its permanent location at the end of the Destiny laboratory. Yesterday, the crew completed the initial outfitting of Harmony.

The STS-120 crew has completed all of the major objectives for this mission, including installing Harmony in a temporary location at the end of the Unity node, relocating the P6 truss from the zenith side of the station to the end of the port truss, and installing a spare main bus switching unit on a storage platform for later use.

The next STS-120 status report will be issued Friday afternoon or earlier if events warrant.

STS-120
Report #20
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 – 4 p.m. CDT
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews spent the day putting together tools and making preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk to repair a torn solar array.

Using strips of aluminum, a hole punch, bolt connector and 66 feet of wire, astronauts constructed solar array hinge stabilizers that should allow them to take the pressure off of the damaged hinges on the solar array. The contraption will work similarly to a cufflink, with the wire fed through a hole on the solar array and the strip of aluminum supporting it from below.

Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski will make the repair while suspended from a boom attached to the space station’s robotic arm, and Mission Specialist Doug Wheelock will assist from the station’s truss. Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani will be operating the station’s robotic arm from the robotic work station inside the Destiny laboratory.

Assuming that the plans can be completed before the crew wakes up at 12:08 a.m. Friday, the spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 5:28 a.m. Saturday. The crew will continue to work on the tools and procedures throughout Friday.

While the ground continued efforts to plan for Saturday’s spacewalk, the crew completed the initial outfitting of the Harmony node. It will remain at its temporary home on the Unity module until later this month when it will be permanently relocated to Destiny. It will serve as the docking port for future science laboratories supplied by the European Space Agency and Japan.

In the midst of all the activity, the two crews were able to take a few minutes out of their work to talk with former President George H.W. Bush as he and his wife Barbara visited the Johnson Space Center and Mission Control.

“We’re so very proud of what you’re doing,” he told the astronauts.

The next STS-120 status report will be issued Friday morning or earlier if events warrant.

STS-120
Report #19
2:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Space Shuttle Discovery’s astronauts today will assemble and configure tools to repair a torn solar array blanket on the International Space Station’s port truss during the mission’s fourth spacewalk, now scheduled for Saturday.

Wednesday, mission managers decided the astronauts would not inspect the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint during the spacewalk, changing the priority to mending the torn array. Managers believe the potential exists for further damage to the partially deployed array if the blanket is torn further.

Early Thursday, crewmembers were told the spacewalk would be postponed until Saturday, to give mission managers and engineers additional time to plan the repair activities.

The wakeup song for the eventful day was, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by Robert John. It was played at 11:08 p.m. CDT Wednesday. The song was chosen by the crew’s training team.

The array is currently providing power, but to ensure that the array receives no further damage it needs to be fully extended. NASA engineers have been working around the clock examining the issue and preparing the plan for the spacewalk.

The leading theory is that one of the three guide wires on the array snagged on one of the grommets that it feeds through, starting the tear. Spacewalkers Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock will attempt to remove the snag and transfer the loads carried by the broken hinge by installing straps that the crew will build today.

The crew also will study the spacewalk procedures delivered today and reconfigure a right-hand spare spacesuit glove to better fit Wheelock.

During the spacewalk, Parazynski will be working from the end of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) grappled by Canadarm2, while Wheelock provides clearance and visual perspective for the robotic arm operator maneuvering Parazynski.

Robotic arm operations to prepare include setting up the station arm for mission control to move the Mobile Transporter from worksite 8, near the P6 segment, to worksite 3, near the center of the station. The OBSS is in better reach of Canadarm2 from worksite 3.

With the spacewalk now planned for Saturday, the schedule still includes the return of Discovery to Earth next Wednesday.

The mission’s fifth spacewalk – which had been planned for Saturday – will be done by the station crew after the shuttle leaves.

The next STS-120 status report will be issued Thursday evening or earlier if events warrant.

STS-120
Report #18
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007 – 5 p.m. CDT
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Space shuttle Discovery astronauts will have an extra day to prepare for their mission’s fourth spacewalk, as the International Space Station Program has changed its priority from inspection of a rotary joint to repair of a solar array.

The spacewalk, planned for Thursday, now has been moved to Friday, or possibly Saturday if extra time is needed for preparation.

The array was left partially deployed on Tuesday, when damage was noted during its deployment. It is currently providing power, but to ensure that the array receives no further damage, it needs to be fully extended.

Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini said finding a way to do so is the priority for the remainder of the mission and plans for possible solutions are already in the works.

“We give this team a little time to start thinking about creative solutions, and it doesn’t take them long to blow you away with what they come up with,” he said.

The inspection of the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint planned for Thursday will be put off until a later date. The mission’s fifth spacewalk – which had been planned for Saturday – will be performed by the station crew after the shuttle leaves. If the spacewalkers are able to repair the array on Friday, the STS-120 crew of Discovery will then begin preparations for its return to Earth next Wednesday. If they are unable to fix the problem, another spacewalk may be added pending further discussion by station and shuttle management.

The crew spent part of today preparing for the spacewalk they would have taken on Thursday, which will put them ahead of schedule for preparations for Friday’s spacewalk. They also participated in a news conference with reporters from the United States, Italy and Russia.

The next STS-120 status report will be issued Thursday morning or earlier if events warrant.