Author: Rainer Gerhards

STS-120
Report #26
2:15 p.m. CST Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON –Spacefarers aboard Discovery and the International Space Station congratulated one another on a successful docked mission, shared hugs and farewells and closed the hatches 210 miles above the Pacific Northwest at 2:03 p.m. CST.

With Dan Tani now a member of the station’s Expedition 16 crew and Clay Anderson now a member of the STS-120 crew, the two teams then began getting ready for Monday’s 4:32 a.m. CST undocking.

Before closing the hatches, Commander Pam Melroy and her STS-120 crew – Pilot George Zamka, Mission Specialists Paolo Nespoli, Scott Parazynski, Doug Wheelock, Stephanie Wilson and Anderson – transferred final items to the shuttle. A total of 2,020 pounds of equipment and scientific samples is being returned to Earth. Included among the cargo are metal filings that may help engineers narrow down the cause of resistance in the starboard solar arrays rotary joint.

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani made sure that all 33,834 pounds of items delivered by Discovery – including the 31,648-pound Harmony module and 2,186 pounds of supplies and equipment – were accounted for on the station.

The port solar array repaired by Parazynski and Wheelock during a Saturday spacewalk is generating electricity but flight controllers are continuing tests before they begin using power from the relocated, repaired and redeployed 4B array to the station’s systems. The station already is using power from the other relocated and redeployed array, 2B.

Whitson and Malenchenko will have a day-and-a-half of rest wrapped around a day of preparations for their first of three spacewalks on Friday. That spacewalk will be devoted to preparing Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 for its move from the end of the Destiny module to the Harmony module. Whitson and Malenchenko were scheduled to do the work while Discovery was docked, but schedule adjustments due to the solar array repair spacewalk moved it later.

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

STS-120
Report #25
2 a.m. CST Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The astronauts on space shuttle Discovery got up this morning prepared to complete the final cargo transfers between the two vehicles and bid farewell to the Expedition 16 crew.

Farewells are scheduled to begin at 12:28 p.m. CST, followed by hatch closing at 12:43 p.m. CST.

The crews of Discovery and the International Space Station were awakened before the change from daylight to standard time. The crew was roused at 1:08 a.m. CDT with the song “The Presence of the Lord,” written by gospel musician Kurt Carr, originally recorded by Byron Cage. Cage’s rendition was played for Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson.

After the transfers are complete the two crews will enjoy some well-deserved time off before they bid farewell. The most important transfer from station to shuttle is the return of astronaut Clay Anderson. Anderson, who joined the station’s Expedition 15 crew in June, is being replaced by Dan Tani, who arrived at the station with the STS-120 crew.

Yesterday, Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski repaired a damaged solar array during a spacewalk that lasted 7 hours, 19 minutes. Fellow spacewalker Doug Wheelock helped from the truss by keeping an eye on the distance between Parazynski and the array.

The repair was completed at just after 10 a.m. Friday and then the crew deployed the P6 array to its full extension. The array repair became the priority of space shuttle Discovery’s mission on Tuesday after two tears were noticed during the array’s unfurling.

The spacewalk was the 4th of the STS-120 mission and the 96th in support of station assembly and maintenance.

Monday will be another busy day with undocking scheduled for 4:32 a.m. CST followed by a fly around of the station and an inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield. Landing is set for just after noon on Wednesday.

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

STS-120
Report #24
Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 – 4 p.m. CDT
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – With a few pieces of aluminum and a little bit of wire, Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski today repaired a damaged solar array during a spacewalk that lasted 7 hours, 19 minutes.

Parazynski and fellow spacewalker Doug Wheelock left the International Space Station at 5:03 a.m., and spent about an hour and a half riding the station’s robotic arm out to the torn array – about 165 feet down the station’s truss and 90 feet up to the damage.

Once there, Parazynski cut a snagged wire and installed homemade stabilizers designed to strengthen the array’s structure and stability in the vicinity of the damage. Wheelock helped from the truss by keeping an eye on the distance between Parazynski and the array.

They completed the repair just after 10 a.m., and then stood back to watch for complications as flight controllers on the ground finished the deploy, which began on Tuesday. The delicate deploy sequence called for the array mast to be deployed one half bay at a time. Fifteen minutes and 13 computer commands later, the array was fully extended.

“One of the most satisfying days that I’ve ever had in Mission Control,” Derek Hassman, lead station flight director, said of the operation.

Parazynski and Wheelock then made their way back to the station’s airlock, to end the spacewalk at 12:22 p.m.

The array repair became the priority of space shuttle Discovery’s mission on Tuesday, after two tears were noticed during the array’s unfurling. Teams on the ground worked around the clock to develop a plan for the repair, and the crew spent much of the past two days studying and making tools.
complete final transfer work, say their farewells, and close the hatch between the shuttle and the station at 12:43 p.m. CST Sunday.

Monday will be another busy day with undocking scheduled for 4:32 a.m. followed by a fly around of the station and an inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield.

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

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.