Friday will feel like launch day for the seven astronauts of Discovery’s STS-128 mission. Almost. The crew will suit up in their orange launch-and-entry ensembles and climb into the Astrovan at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They’ll get taken out to Launch Pad 39A and technicians will help them into their seats. The countdown clock will roll backward and the astronauts will run through their launch-day protocols of radio checks and liftoff procedures. Then, it’ll all be over. The clock will stop and the crew will practice a few skills they hope to never need: emergency evacuation. Called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, it’s a routine exercise for shuttle crews. It also caps the astronaut’s visit to Kennedy that began Wednesday. As for Discovery, the “Leonardo” supply module full of supplies and equipment for the International Space Station was being loaded into its payload bay Thursday. With launch targeted for Aug. 25, technicians at Kennedy will spend the next couple of weeks prepping the craft for its real liftoff.
Launch Pad instruction Day for the Astronauts
Discovery’s seven astronauts will spend much of the day at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A reacquainting themselves with the pad’s myriad systems and emergency procedures. The crew, preparing to fly the STS-128 mission, also spoke with news media representatives in the morning before visiting the launch pad. Later today, Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford again will take the controls of the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing the space shuttle. Friday’s schedule includes an all-up practice countdown that will involve the crew and their support team, the launch team at Kennedy and the Mission Control ascent team based at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Crew Due Today for Practice Countdown
The astronauts who will fly Discovery to the International Space Station will fly to NASA's Kennedy Space Center today for several days of training that includes a complete launch rehearsal. Commander Rick "C.J." Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas, Christer Fuglesang and Nicole Stott are due at Kennedy later this morning in T-38 training jets. Soon after arriving, they are to train in the M113 emergency evacuation vehicles. Later, Sturckow and Ford will fly simulated shuttle landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft. Discovery is being prepped at Launch Pad 39A for its part during Friday's countdown rehearsal, when the astronauts will be strapped in while they and the launch teams at Kennedy and Mission Control practice the complex choreography of liftoff.
Space shuttle Discovery Reaches The Launch Pad
Space shuttle Discovery reached Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon following a slow drive on the top of the crawler-transporter from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The move took longer than expected because of weather conditions, including lightning. The crawler also had to pause occasionally so mud could be removed from its treads and bearings. Technicians will quickly ready the shuttle to host the crew’s countdown dress rehearsal known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT. Discovery’s seven astronauts plan to fly to Kennedy on Wednesday for the training activity which concludes later in the week with a complete practice countdown, minus liftoff, involving the crew and the launch team.
Discovery Space Shuttle Expected at Launch Pad by Noon
Riding atop the huge crawler-transporter, space shuttle Discovery is expected to arrive at Launch Pad 39A between 11:30 a.m. and noon and then to be secured to the pad by about 1 p.m. today. It has been making a slow move to the pad this morning from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Aug. 25 is the targeted launch date for Discovery’s STS-128 mission to the International Space Station.
Discovery Readies for Station Resupply Flight
Space shuttle Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station during STS-128, along with a new crew member for the station, Nicole Stott. Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick "C.J." Sturckow, the mission is targeted to liftoff Aug. 25 to deliver refrigerator-sized racks full of equipment, including the COLBERT treadmill, an exercise device named after comedian Stephen Colbert. Stott will take the place of Tim Kopra, who moved into the station during STS-127. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John "Danny" Olivas and Sweden's Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.
Discovery Readies for Station Resupply Flight
Space shuttle Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station during STS-128, along with a new crew member for the station, Nicole Stott. Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick "C.J." Sturckow, the mission is targeted to liftoff Aug. 25 to deliver refrigerator-sized racks full of equipment, including the COLBERT treadmill, an exercise device named after comedian Stephen Colbert. Stott will take the place of Tim Kopra, who moved into the station during STS-127. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John "Danny" Olivas and Sweden's Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.
Safe Landing for Space shuttle Endeavour STS-127
Space shuttle Endeavour touched down at 10:48: a.m. EDT. at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Commander Mark Polansky is expected to make a brief statement on the runway after the post-landing walk-around of the shuttle. The post-landing news conference is set for approximately 1 p.m. and will air live on NASA Television. The crew’s news conference is set to begin at about 3:15 p.m. The astronauts return to Houston's Ellington Field is tentatively set for about 5 p.m. Saturday.
STS-127 was the 127th space shuttle mission, the 23rd flight for Endeavour and the 29th shuttle visit to the station.
Leaving behind in orbit a new porch for the International Space Station, two pair of small research satellites, and a new space station resident, the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour is turning its attention toward home.
Endeavour is scheduled to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Friday with a touchdown at 9:48 a.m. CDT. The shuttle would begin its descent from orbit with a deorbit engine firing at 8:42 a.m. CDT. In preparation for that landing, Endeavour's payload bay doors would be closed at 6:02 a.m. CDT. Weather conditions at Kennedy are forecast to be favorable for landing, although a slight chance of rain is possible.
A second opportunity exists for a landing in Florida on Friday, beginning with a deorbit engine firing at 10:17 a.m. CDT, leading to an 11:22 a.m. CDT touchdown. No other shuttle landing sites are being considered for a Friday landing. If weather prevents a landing Friday, alternate landing sites would be called up for Saturday’s landing opportunities.
Today, Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky and Pilot Doug Hurley checked out the systems the shuttle will use as it returns home, finding everything in excellent shape. The crew also deployed two pairs of small satellites from canisters in the shuttle’s payload bay. The first, called Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat), studies the independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite data. The two satellites were designed and built by students at the University of Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University, College Station.
The second pair of satellites, called Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment-2 (ANDE-2), measure the density and composition of the rarified atmosphere 200 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Endeavour will bring home Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has spent 138 days in space and was a member of three station expedition crews. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra launched aboard Endeavour and remains on the station as a resident.
Commander Mark Polansky is expected to make a brief statement on the runway after the post-landing walk-around of the shuttle. The post-landing news conference is set for approximately 1 p.m. and will air live on NASA Television. The crew’s news conference is set to begin at about 3:15 p.m. The astronauts return to Houston's Ellington Field is tentatively set for about 5 p.m. Saturday.
STS-127 was the 127th space shuttle mission, the 23rd flight for Endeavour and the 29th shuttle visit to the station.
Leaving behind in orbit a new porch for the International Space Station, two pair of small research satellites, and a new space station resident, the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour is turning its attention toward home.
Endeavour is scheduled to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Friday with a touchdown at 9:48 a.m. CDT. The shuttle would begin its descent from orbit with a deorbit engine firing at 8:42 a.m. CDT. In preparation for that landing, Endeavour's payload bay doors would be closed at 6:02 a.m. CDT. Weather conditions at Kennedy are forecast to be favorable for landing, although a slight chance of rain is possible.
A second opportunity exists for a landing in Florida on Friday, beginning with a deorbit engine firing at 10:17 a.m. CDT, leading to an 11:22 a.m. CDT touchdown. No other shuttle landing sites are being considered for a Friday landing. If weather prevents a landing Friday, alternate landing sites would be called up for Saturday’s landing opportunities.
Today, Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky and Pilot Doug Hurley checked out the systems the shuttle will use as it returns home, finding everything in excellent shape. The crew also deployed two pairs of small satellites from canisters in the shuttle’s payload bay. The first, called Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat), studies the independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite data. The two satellites were designed and built by students at the University of Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University, College Station.
The second pair of satellites, called Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment-2 (ANDE-2), measure the density and composition of the rarified atmosphere 200 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Endeavour will bring home Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has spent 138 days in space and was a member of three station expedition crews. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra launched aboard Endeavour and remains on the station as a resident.
Shuttle Crew Completes Landing Systems Tests
The shuttle crew earlier this morning checked out two systems for tomorrow’s landing. The astronauts completed a test of the Reaction Control System steering thrusters that will help control Endeavour’s attitude and speed after the deorbit burn. During that test, one of the jets, F2F, failed. This will not be an issue for landing. The crew also tested the shuttle aerosurfaces and flight control system that will be used once the shuttle enters the atmosphere.
Twin satellite deployments and a check of the systems that will control Endeavour’s return home to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, are on tap today as the shuttle leads the International Space Station in orbit.
The crew was awakened at 1:03 a.m. CDT to the sounds of “I Got You Babe,” performed by Sonny and Cher. The song was a special request for Koichi Wakata, the first Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut to serve as a long-duration resident of the station. Wakata spent 133 days as an Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crewmember, and will be returning home after 138 days in space.
Early in the day, STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky and Pilot Doug Hurley will test the thruster jets and aerodynamic control surfaces that will be used to guide Endeavour to a landing planned for 9:48 a.m. Friday. Flight Director Bryan Lunney and the entry team of flight controllers will be in Mission Control to monitor the tests.
Once those checks are complete, the crew will deploy two pairs of small satellites.
The first, called Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat), will look at independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite data. The two satellites, to be ejected from Endeavour’s cargo bay at 7:33 a.m., were designed and built by students at the University of Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University, College Station.
The second, called Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment-2 (ANDE-2), will be deployed at 12:22 p.m. The ANDE-2 microsatellites will measure the density and composition of the rarified atmosphere 200 miles above the Earth’s surface.
On the space station, the Expedition 20 crew is scheduled to “walk” Canadarm2 away from its current base on the Harmony module to the Mobile Base System on the station’s truss backbone. That will position the arm for a ground-controlled move of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator from the Destiny Laboratory to the mobile base later in the day. Body mass measurements, housekeeping and research also are planned.
Twin satellite deployments and a check of the systems that will control Endeavour’s return home to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, are on tap today as the shuttle leads the International Space Station in orbit.
The crew was awakened at 1:03 a.m. CDT to the sounds of “I Got You Babe,” performed by Sonny and Cher. The song was a special request for Koichi Wakata, the first Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut to serve as a long-duration resident of the station. Wakata spent 133 days as an Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crewmember, and will be returning home after 138 days in space.
Early in the day, STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky and Pilot Doug Hurley will test the thruster jets and aerodynamic control surfaces that will be used to guide Endeavour to a landing planned for 9:48 a.m. Friday. Flight Director Bryan Lunney and the entry team of flight controllers will be in Mission Control to monitor the tests.
Once those checks are complete, the crew will deploy two pairs of small satellites.
The first, called Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat), will look at independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite data. The two satellites, to be ejected from Endeavour’s cargo bay at 7:33 a.m., were designed and built by students at the University of Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University, College Station.
The second, called Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment-2 (ANDE-2), will be deployed at 12:22 p.m. The ANDE-2 microsatellites will measure the density and composition of the rarified atmosphere 200 miles above the Earth’s surface.
On the space station, the Expedition 20 crew is scheduled to “walk” Canadarm2 away from its current base on the Harmony module to the Mobile Base System on the station’s truss backbone. That will position the arm for a ground-controlled move of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator from the Destiny Laboratory to the mobile base later in the day. Body mass measurements, housekeeping and research also are planned.
Late Heat Shield Inspections for Shuttle
The seven-member crew was awakened Wednesday morning to the song “Yellow” by the band Coldplay, uplinked for Pilot Doug Hurley in honor of his International Space Station fly-around.
Space shuttle Endeavour undocked Tuesday from the International Space Station at 1:26 p.m. EDT. After completing a fly-around of the space station, Endeavour performed a maneuver to separate from the station.
Shuttle astronauts will inspect Endeavour’s heat shield one more time today as they begin to set their sights on a Friday landing.
Endeavour’s thermal protection system was cleared for landing earlier in the flight. This late inspection will ensure that there has been no impact damage from micrometeoroids or space junk during its docked operations or fly-around of the station.
Shuttle astronauts will inspect Endeavour’s heat shield one more time today as they begin to set their sights on a Friday landing.
The seven-member crew was awakened to the song “Yellow” by the band Coldplay, uplinked for Pilot Doug Hurley in honor of his International Space Station fly-around.
Commander Mark Polansky, Mission Specialist Julie Payette and Hurley will use Canadarm to grapple the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and pull it out of its moorings in the cargo bay at 4:18 a.m. They’ll use the boom’s sensors to inspect the starboard wing leading edge, the nose cap and finally the port wing leading edge.
Endeavour’s thermal protection system was cleared for landing earlier in the flight. This late inspection will ensure that there has been no impact damage from micrometeoroids or space junk during its docked operations or fly-around of the station.
Spacewalkers Dave Wolf, Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will pack up their gear and stow it in the shuttle’s airlock for the return to Earth, and assist with early stowage of items no longer needed for shuttle operations after Tuesday’s undocking.
The six-person Expedition 20 crew, led by Commander Gennady Padalka, will make final preparations for docking of Progress 34. The cargo craft is scheduled to link up at the station’s aft Zvezda docking port at 6:16 a.m.
Flight Engineers Mike Barratt, Bob Thirsk and Frank De Winne will continue research into the changes microgravity brings to their bodies’ disease-fighting systems with the Integrated Immune study. Kopra has finished his first session with the Bodies in Space Environment experiment, a Canadian comparison of how the human mind perceives its position during spaceflight and on Earth.
Space shuttle Endeavour undocked Tuesday from the International Space Station at 1:26 p.m. EDT. After completing a fly-around of the space station, Endeavour performed a maneuver to separate from the station.
Shuttle astronauts will inspect Endeavour’s heat shield one more time today as they begin to set their sights on a Friday landing.
Endeavour’s thermal protection system was cleared for landing earlier in the flight. This late inspection will ensure that there has been no impact damage from micrometeoroids or space junk during its docked operations or fly-around of the station.
Shuttle astronauts will inspect Endeavour’s heat shield one more time today as they begin to set their sights on a Friday landing.
The seven-member crew was awakened to the song “Yellow” by the band Coldplay, uplinked for Pilot Doug Hurley in honor of his International Space Station fly-around.
Commander Mark Polansky, Mission Specialist Julie Payette and Hurley will use Canadarm to grapple the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and pull it out of its moorings in the cargo bay at 4:18 a.m. They’ll use the boom’s sensors to inspect the starboard wing leading edge, the nose cap and finally the port wing leading edge.
Endeavour’s thermal protection system was cleared for landing earlier in the flight. This late inspection will ensure that there has been no impact damage from micrometeoroids or space junk during its docked operations or fly-around of the station.
Spacewalkers Dave Wolf, Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will pack up their gear and stow it in the shuttle’s airlock for the return to Earth, and assist with early stowage of items no longer needed for shuttle operations after Tuesday’s undocking.
The six-person Expedition 20 crew, led by Commander Gennady Padalka, will make final preparations for docking of Progress 34. The cargo craft is scheduled to link up at the station’s aft Zvezda docking port at 6:16 a.m.
Flight Engineers Mike Barratt, Bob Thirsk and Frank De Winne will continue research into the changes microgravity brings to their bodies’ disease-fighting systems with the Integrated Immune study. Kopra has finished his first session with the Bodies in Space Environment experiment, a Canadian comparison of how the human mind perceives its position during spaceflight and on Earth.
Date Changed by NASA for Next Space Shuttle Mission
A series of media briefings to preview NASA's STS-128 space shuttle mission has been rescheduled for Thursday, Aug. 13.
NASA Television and the agency's Web site will provide live coverage of the mission briefings from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston beginning at 8 a.m. CDT. Questions will be taken from reporters at participating NASA centers and journalists in Europe. A feed of video and animation of the mission and crew training will precede the briefings at 7 a.m.
U.S. reporters planning to attend the briefings in Houston must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m., Aug. 6, for credentials. Journalists representing foreign news organizations, regardless of citizenship, must contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m., July 30.
Discovery's seven astronauts will be available for round-robin interviews at Johnson on Aug. 13. Reporters must contact Gayle Frere at 281-483-8645 by Aug. 6 to reserve an interview opportunity.
NASA Television and the agency's Web site will provide live coverage of the mission briefings from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston beginning at 8 a.m. CDT. Questions will be taken from reporters at participating NASA centers and journalists in Europe. A feed of video and animation of the mission and crew training will precede the briefings at 7 a.m.
U.S. reporters planning to attend the briefings in Houston must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m., Aug. 6, for credentials. Journalists representing foreign news organizations, regardless of citizenship, must contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m., July 30.
Discovery's seven astronauts will be available for round-robin interviews at Johnson on Aug. 13. Reporters must contact Gayle Frere at 281-483-8645 by Aug. 6 to reserve an interview opportunity.
Endeavour and Crew Prepare for Undocking
The shuttle crew was awakened at 3:03 a.m. EDT to the strains of “Proud to Be an American” performed by Lee Greenwood. The song was selected for spacewalker Chris Cassidy, a former Navy SEAL, who now has 18 hours, five minutes of extravehicular activity to his credit over three spacewalks.
Commander Mark Polansky and his team will begin checking out the laser rangefinders and other equipment that will be used to provide precise readings on the distance between the two spacecraft.
The station will be reoriented for undocking by 12:38 p.m., and docking latches will open at 1:26 p.m. allowing Endeavour to drift free. Pilot Doug Hurley will guide Endeavour on a fly-around of the station at a distance of 400 feet, with final separation from the orbiting outpost at 2:41 p.m.
The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station will part company today, with all of the docked mission’s objectives complete.
The shuttle crew was awakened at 2:03 a.m. CDT to the strains of “Proud to Be an American” performed by Lee Greenwood. The song was selected for spacewalker Chris Cassidy, a former Navy SEAL, who now has 18 hours, five minutes of extravehicular activity to his credit over three spacewalks.
Commander Mark Polansky and his team will begin checking out the laser rangefinders and other equipment that will be used to provide precise readings on the distance between the two spacecraft at 6:03 a.m.
The joint crew – the largest ever assembled on one space vehicle – will transfer the last frozen science samples from the station to the shuttle at 9:08 a.m. Then, farewells will commence at 9:23 a.m., and hatches will close at 9:38 a.m.
The Expedition 20 crew on the station will be losing one crew member and gaining another. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata will be returning home on Endeavour after four months as a member of the Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crews. He will do so after providing a thorough handover to the station’s new NASA flight engineer, Tim Kopra, who arrived aboard Endeavour.
The station will be reoriented for undocking by 11:38 a.m., and docking latches will open at 12:26 p.m. allowing Endeavour to drift free. Pilot Doug Hurley will guide Endeavour on a fly-around of the station at a distance of 400 feet, with final separation from the orbiting outpost at 1:41 p.m.
The station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly is once again working in automatic mode following a software update that was uplinked by Mission Control on Monday. Commander Gennady Padalka and his crew will now turn their attention to preparations for the arrival of the Progress 34 cargo craft at 6:16 a.m. Wednesday.
Commander Mark Polansky and his team will begin checking out the laser rangefinders and other equipment that will be used to provide precise readings on the distance between the two spacecraft.
The station will be reoriented for undocking by 12:38 p.m., and docking latches will open at 1:26 p.m. allowing Endeavour to drift free. Pilot Doug Hurley will guide Endeavour on a fly-around of the station at a distance of 400 feet, with final separation from the orbiting outpost at 2:41 p.m.
The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station will part company today, with all of the docked mission’s objectives complete.
The shuttle crew was awakened at 2:03 a.m. CDT to the strains of “Proud to Be an American” performed by Lee Greenwood. The song was selected for spacewalker Chris Cassidy, a former Navy SEAL, who now has 18 hours, five minutes of extravehicular activity to his credit over three spacewalks.
Commander Mark Polansky and his team will begin checking out the laser rangefinders and other equipment that will be used to provide precise readings on the distance between the two spacecraft at 6:03 a.m.
The joint crew – the largest ever assembled on one space vehicle – will transfer the last frozen science samples from the station to the shuttle at 9:08 a.m. Then, farewells will commence at 9:23 a.m., and hatches will close at 9:38 a.m.
The Expedition 20 crew on the station will be losing one crew member and gaining another. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata will be returning home on Endeavour after four months as a member of the Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crews. He will do so after providing a thorough handover to the station’s new NASA flight engineer, Tim Kopra, who arrived aboard Endeavour.
The station will be reoriented for undocking by 11:38 a.m., and docking latches will open at 12:26 p.m. allowing Endeavour to drift free. Pilot Doug Hurley will guide Endeavour on a fly-around of the station at a distance of 400 feet, with final separation from the orbiting outpost at 1:41 p.m.
The station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly is once again working in automatic mode following a software update that was uplinked by Mission Control on Monday. Commander Gennady Padalka and his crew will now turn their attention to preparations for the arrival of the Progress 34 cargo craft at 6:16 a.m. Wednesday.
Veteran Astronaut Pam Melroy Leaves NASA
NASA astronaut Pam Melroy is leaving the agency to take a job in the private sector. Melroy, a retired Air Force colonel, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights and the second woman to command one.
"Pam has performed superbly as an astronaut," said Steve Lindsey, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "She has flown three highly successful space shuttle missions and contributed in several other technical areas during her 14 years of service with the Astronaut Office. Her leadership as the commander of the STS-120 space shuttle mission paved the way to six-person crew operations on the International Space Station."
"As a classmate and a friend, I feel privileged to have served beside her. We wish Pam the best of luck in her new career -- she will be missed," Lindsey added.
Melroy flew on shuttle missions STS-92 in 2000, STS-112 in 2002 and STS-120 in 2007. She served as pilot on her first two flights and commanded the third. She has logged more than 924 hours in space, contributing to the construction of the space station on every mission. She was selected as an astronaut in December 1994.
Melroy made history with Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson in October 2007 when the hatches between the space shuttle and space station were opened. They became the first female spacecraft commanders to lead space shuttle and space station missions concurrently.
"Pam has performed superbly as an astronaut," said Steve Lindsey, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "She has flown three highly successful space shuttle missions and contributed in several other technical areas during her 14 years of service with the Astronaut Office. Her leadership as the commander of the STS-120 space shuttle mission paved the way to six-person crew operations on the International Space Station."
"As a classmate and a friend, I feel privileged to have served beside her. We wish Pam the best of luck in her new career -- she will be missed," Lindsey added.
Melroy flew on shuttle missions STS-92 in 2000, STS-112 in 2002 and STS-120 in 2007. She served as pilot on her first two flights and commanded the third. She has logged more than 924 hours in space, contributing to the construction of the space station on every mission. She was selected as an astronaut in December 1994.
Melroy made history with Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson in October 2007 when the hatches between the space shuttle and space station were opened. They became the first female spacecraft commanders to lead space shuttle and space station missions concurrently.
Get Ahead Tasks for Spacewalkers
Two hours, 45 minutes into the spacewalk, Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy completed installing two video cameras on the Japanese Exposed Facility that will provide views to help with rendezvous and berthing of Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) later this year. Based on the amount of time needed to clean up after the spacewalk, Mission Control decided to defer the deployment of a Payload Attachment System on the Starboard 3 truss. Instead, the spacewalkers will undertake a few “get ahead tasks.”
The final full day of activities for the joint crew of Endeavour and the International Space Station will focus on the fifth and final spacewalk of the mission.
The crew was awakened by the song “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” performed by Steve Tyrell. The song was uplinked especially for Commander Mark Polansky.
Spacewalkers Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, who spent the night camped out in the Quest airlock, are scheduled to begin their construction work at 7:28 a.m. The primary objective of the spacewalk is to install two cameras on Japan’s Kibo laboratory that will provide views to help with rendezvous and berthing of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The HTV is scheduled to make its first deliveries to the station in September.
The six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk also includes an electrical cable swap and adjustment of insulation blankets on the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. If time permits, the pair also will deploy a Payload Attachment System on the Starboard 3 truss structure that will allow an external spare parts stowage platform to be installed on a future shuttle mission.
Inside the complex, Polansky and Mission Specialist Dave Wolf will support the spacewalkers, and Pilot Doug Hurley will continue cargo transfers, which are more than 80 percent complete.
Expedition 20 Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Tim Kopra will work on several scientific experiments, and departing station crew member Koichi Wakata will continue handovers with Kopra, the newest station crew member. Flight engineer Bob Thirsk will install brackets that will allow the new C.O.L.B.E.R.T., or the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, to be set up in the station’s Harmony module when it is delivered on the STS-128 shuttle mission.
The station crew is scheduled to begin its sleep period at 5:33 p.m. followed 30 minutes later by the shuttle crew.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the conclusion of the spacewalk, or earlier if warranted.
The final full day of activities for the joint crew of Endeavour and the International Space Station will focus on the fifth and final spacewalk of the mission.
The crew was awakened by the song “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” performed by Steve Tyrell. The song was uplinked especially for Commander Mark Polansky.
Spacewalkers Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, who spent the night camped out in the Quest airlock, are scheduled to begin their construction work at 7:28 a.m. The primary objective of the spacewalk is to install two cameras on Japan’s Kibo laboratory that will provide views to help with rendezvous and berthing of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The HTV is scheduled to make its first deliveries to the station in September.
The six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk also includes an electrical cable swap and adjustment of insulation blankets on the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. If time permits, the pair also will deploy a Payload Attachment System on the Starboard 3 truss structure that will allow an external spare parts stowage platform to be installed on a future shuttle mission.
Inside the complex, Polansky and Mission Specialist Dave Wolf will support the spacewalkers, and Pilot Doug Hurley will continue cargo transfers, which are more than 80 percent complete.
Expedition 20 Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Tim Kopra will work on several scientific experiments, and departing station crew member Koichi Wakata will continue handovers with Kopra, the newest station crew member. Flight engineer Bob Thirsk will install brackets that will allow the new C.O.L.B.E.R.T., or the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, to be set up in the station’s Harmony module when it is delivered on the STS-128 shuttle mission.
The station crew is scheduled to begin its sleep period at 5:33 p.m. followed 30 minutes later by the shuttle crew.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the conclusion of the spacewalk, or earlier if warranted.
Astronauts Answer Media Questions, Enjoy Off-Duty Time
Today is an off-duty day for all 13 aboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Endeavour. Before taking time off, Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Chris Cassidy, Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Dave Wolf answered media questions from WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Ind., CBS News and WREG-TV in Memphis, Tenn.
Astronauts Enjoy Day Off
The combined crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station will enjoy a day off to rest up after a challenging first half of the STS-127 assembly mission.
Mission specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn finished replacing batteries on the International Space Station’s oldest solar arrays during a seven-hour, 12-minute spacewalk Friday – the fourth of five planned during space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-127 mission.
The spacewalkers completed the final four battery swaps for the Port 6 Truss structure, and those batteries are now being charged. Later in the day, the new batteries are expected to be integrated into the station’s power grid.
Astronauts Enjoy Day Off
The combined crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station will enjoy a day off to rest up after a challenging first half of the STS-127 assembly mission.
Mission specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn finished replacing batteries on the International Space Station’s oldest solar arrays during a seven-hour, 12-minute spacewalk Friday – the fourth of five planned during space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-127 mission.
The spacewalkers completed the final four battery swaps for the Port 6 Truss structure, and those batteries are now being charged. Later in the day, the new batteries are expected to be integrated into the station’s power grid.
First Battery Replaced
At 11:17 a.m. EDT, STS-127 Mission Specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn replaced the first of four batteries they plan to exchange during today’s spacewalk. They just completed releasing the fourth old battery from its location on the space station’s Port 6 truss.
An hour and 35 minutes into the spacewalk, they are on the planned timeline and their spacesuit consumable levels are normal.
Battery Replacements During Fourth Spacewalk
STS-127 Mission Specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will tackle a challenging 7 ½-hour spacewalk today to finish swapping out batteries for the International Space Station’s oldest set of solar arrays.
Their outing will be devoted entirely to finishing the work started on the third spacewalk of the mission – removing old batteries from the Port 6 truss structure and transferring new batteries from the Integrated Cargo Carrier on the end of the station’s robotic arm to the empty sockets on the truss.
Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Julie Payette will position Canadarm2 near the truss for the spacewalk and, once all of the battery swaps are complete, maneuver the carrier back into Endeavour’s cargo bay. That maneuver will require them to hand off the carrier to the shuttle’s arm for re-berthing by Hurley and Commander Mark Polansky.
Their outing will be devoted entirely to finishing the work started on the third spacewalk of the mission – removing old batteries from the Port 6 truss structure and transferring new batteries from the Integrated Cargo Carrier on the end of the station’s robotic arm to the empty sockets on the truss.
Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Julie Payette will position Canadarm2 near the truss for the spacewalk and, once all of the battery swaps are complete, maneuver the carrier back into Endeavour’s cargo bay. That maneuver will require them to hand off the carrier to the shuttle’s arm for re-berthing by Hurley and Commander Mark Polansky.
Fourth Spacewalk Begins at 9:54 a.m. EDT
Spacewalkers Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn began the STS-127 mission’s fourth spacewalk at 9:54 a.m. EDT when they switched their spacesuits to battery power.
They will replace four of the remaining Port 6 truss batteries in a planned seven and a half hour spacewalk. Two of the six original P6 batteries were changed out during the mission’s third spacewalk on Wednesday before work was cut short because of anomalous carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy’s suit. The lithium hydroxide canister that scrubs CO2 from the suit was replaced for today’s spacewalk.
The new batteries are stored on the Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical Light Deployable, or ICC-VLD positioned near the Port 6 truss. Cassidy and Marshburn will work together to remove insulation from the old Port 6 batteries, install scoops to gently remove them, pass the batteries back and forth to a stowage location on the ICC-VLD, and repeat the process to replace them with the new batteries.
Each new battery assembly consists of 38 lightweight Nickel Hydrogen cells and associated electrical and mechanical equipment. Two battery assemblies connected in series are capable of storing a total of 8 kW of electrical power. This power is fed to the space station via the Battery Charge/Discharge Unit and Direct Current Switching Unit respectively. The batteries have a design life of 6.5 years and can exceed 38,000 charge/discharge cycles at 35% depth of discharge. Each battery measures 40” by 36” by 18” and weighs 375 pounds.
STS-127 Mission Specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will tackle a challenging 7 ½-hour spacewalk today to finish swapping out batteries for the International Space Station’s oldest set of solar arrays.
Their outing will be devoted entirely to finishing the work started on the third spacewalk of the mission – removing old batteries from the Port 6 truss structure and transferring new batteries from the Integrated Cargo Carrier on the end of the station’s robotic arm to the empty sockets on the truss.
Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Julie Payette will position Canadarm2 near the truss for the spacewalk and, once all of the battery swaps are complete, maneuver the carrier back into Endeavour’s cargo bay. That maneuver will require them to hand off the carrier to the shuttle’s arm for re-berthing by Hurley and Commander Mark Polansky.
They will replace four of the remaining Port 6 truss batteries in a planned seven and a half hour spacewalk. Two of the six original P6 batteries were changed out during the mission’s third spacewalk on Wednesday before work was cut short because of anomalous carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy’s suit. The lithium hydroxide canister that scrubs CO2 from the suit was replaced for today’s spacewalk.
The new batteries are stored on the Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical Light Deployable, or ICC-VLD positioned near the Port 6 truss. Cassidy and Marshburn will work together to remove insulation from the old Port 6 batteries, install scoops to gently remove them, pass the batteries back and forth to a stowage location on the ICC-VLD, and repeat the process to replace them with the new batteries.
Each new battery assembly consists of 38 lightweight Nickel Hydrogen cells and associated electrical and mechanical equipment. Two battery assemblies connected in series are capable of storing a total of 8 kW of electrical power. This power is fed to the space station via the Battery Charge/Discharge Unit and Direct Current Switching Unit respectively. The batteries have a design life of 6.5 years and can exceed 38,000 charge/discharge cycles at 35% depth of discharge. Each battery measures 40” by 36” by 18” and weighs 375 pounds.
STS-127 Mission Specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will tackle a challenging 7 ½-hour spacewalk today to finish swapping out batteries for the International Space Station’s oldest set of solar arrays.
Their outing will be devoted entirely to finishing the work started on the third spacewalk of the mission – removing old batteries from the Port 6 truss structure and transferring new batteries from the Integrated Cargo Carrier on the end of the station’s robotic arm to the empty sockets on the truss.
Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Julie Payette will position Canadarm2 near the truss for the spacewalk and, once all of the battery swaps are complete, maneuver the carrier back into Endeavour’s cargo bay. That maneuver will require them to hand off the carrier to the shuttle’s arm for re-berthing by Hurley and Commander Mark Polansky.
The Grand Space Walk
Astronaut Tom Marshburn performs his first spacewalk and the Endeavour crew’s second of the five scheduled for the STS-127 mission. Astronauts Marshburn and Dave Wolf (out of frame) successfully transferred a spare KU-band antenna to long-term storage on the space station, along with a backup coolant system pump module and a spare drive motor for the station's robot arm transporter.
NASA Commemorates Chandra X-Ray Observatory's 10th Anniversary
Ten years ago, on July 23, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia and deployed into orbit. Chandra has doubled its original five-year mission, ushering in an unprecedented decade of discovery for the high-energy universe.
With its unrivaled ability to create high-resolution X- ray images, Chandra has enabled astronomers to investigate phenomena as diverse as comets, black holes, dark matter and dark energy.
"Chandra's discoveries are truly astonishing and have made dramatic changes to our understanding of the universe and its constituents," said Martin Weisskopf, Chandra project scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The science that has been generated by Chandra -- both on its own and in conjunction with other telescopes in space and on the ground -- has had a widespread, transformative impact on 21st century astrophysics. Chandra has provided the strongest evidence yet that dark matter must exist. It has independently confirmed the existence of dark energy and made spectacular images of titanic explosions produced by matter swirling toward supermassive black holes.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Chandra, three new versions of classic Chandra images will be released during the next three months. These images, the first of which is available Thursday, provide new data and a more complete view of objects that Chandra observed in earlier stages of its mission. The image being released today is of E0102-72, the spectacular remains of an exploded star.
"The Great Observatories program -- of which Chandra is a major part -- shows how astronomers need as many tools as possible to tackle the big questions out there," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA's other "Great Observatories" are the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope.
The next image will be released in August to highlight the anniversary of when Chandra opened up for the first time and gathered light on its detectors. The third image will be released during "Chandra's First Decade of Discovery" symposium in Boston, which begins Sept. 22.
"I am extremely proud of the tremendous team of people who worked so hard to make Chandra a success," said Harvey Tananbaum, director of the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. "It has taken partners at NASA, industry and academia to make Chandra the crown jewel of high-energy astrophysics."
Tananbaum and Nobel Prize winner Riccardo Giacconi originally proposed Chandra to NASA in 1976. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra is in a highly elliptical orbit that takes it almost one third of the way to the moon, and was not designed to be serviced after it was deployed.
Marshall manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center.
With its unrivaled ability to create high-resolution X- ray images, Chandra has enabled astronomers to investigate phenomena as diverse as comets, black holes, dark matter and dark energy.
"Chandra's discoveries are truly astonishing and have made dramatic changes to our understanding of the universe and its constituents," said Martin Weisskopf, Chandra project scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The science that has been generated by Chandra -- both on its own and in conjunction with other telescopes in space and on the ground -- has had a widespread, transformative impact on 21st century astrophysics. Chandra has provided the strongest evidence yet that dark matter must exist. It has independently confirmed the existence of dark energy and made spectacular images of titanic explosions produced by matter swirling toward supermassive black holes.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Chandra, three new versions of classic Chandra images will be released during the next three months. These images, the first of which is available Thursday, provide new data and a more complete view of objects that Chandra observed in earlier stages of its mission. The image being released today is of E0102-72, the spectacular remains of an exploded star.
"The Great Observatories program -- of which Chandra is a major part -- shows how astronomers need as many tools as possible to tackle the big questions out there," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA's other "Great Observatories" are the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope.
The next image will be released in August to highlight the anniversary of when Chandra opened up for the first time and gathered light on its detectors. The third image will be released during "Chandra's First Decade of Discovery" symposium in Boston, which begins Sept. 22.
"I am extremely proud of the tremendous team of people who worked so hard to make Chandra a success," said Harvey Tananbaum, director of the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. "It has taken partners at NASA, industry and academia to make Chandra the crown jewel of high-energy astrophysics."
Tananbaum and Nobel Prize winner Riccardo Giacconi originally proposed Chandra to NASA in 1976. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra is in a highly elliptical orbit that takes it almost one third of the way to the moon, and was not designed to be serviced after it was deployed.
Marshall manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center.
Third Spacewalk Begins at 10:32 a.m. EDT
Spacewalkers Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy began the STS-127 mission’s third spacewalk about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, at 10:32 a.m. EDT.
Wolf and Cassidy first will remove multilayer insulation from the Kibo module and prepare the Japanese Exposed Section payloads for their transfer from the Exposed Section to the Exposed Facility on Thursday. Then they will focus on battery replacements. The space station power system is a photovoltaic system that gathers solar power and stores it in batteries. Wolf and Cassidy will replace four of six old batteries in one of the six station power channels, channel 2B. In preparation for the task, the old batteries have been drained and the electrical loads normally handled by 2B have been placed on different power channels.
The new batteries are stored on the Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical Light Deployable, or ICC-VLD. Endeavour astronauts Doug Hurley and Julie Payette are using the space station robotic arm to move the ICC-VLD to the spacewalk worksite area near the Port 6 truss. Wolf and Cassidy will work together in a carefully rehearsed process to remove insulation from the old Port 6 batteries, install scoops to gently remove them, pass the batteries back and forth to a stowage location on the ICC-VLD, and repeat the process to replace them with the new batteries.
Each new battery assembly consists of 38 lightweight Nickel Hydrogen cells and associated electrical and mechanical equipment. Two battery assemblies connected in series are capable of storing a total of 8 kW of electrical power. This power is fed to the space station via the Battery Charge/Discharge Unit and Direct Current Switching Unit respectively. The batteries have a design life of 6.5 years and can exceed 38,000 charge/discharge cycles at 35% depth of discharge. Each battery measures 40” by 36” by 18” and weighs 375 pounds.
During today's spacewalk mission specialists Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy will focus on the first set of battery replacements for the oldest solar array assembly on the International Space Station. The spacewalkers also will remove multilayer insulation from the Kibo module and prepare the Japanese Exposed Section payloads for transfer from the Japanese cargo carrier to the scientific front porch.
Shuttle pilot Doug Hurley and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette will use the station’s Canadarm2 to assist Wolf and Cassidy during the mission's third spacewalk.
Wolf and Cassidy first will remove multilayer insulation from the Kibo module and prepare the Japanese Exposed Section payloads for their transfer from the Exposed Section to the Exposed Facility on Thursday. Then they will focus on battery replacements. The space station power system is a photovoltaic system that gathers solar power and stores it in batteries. Wolf and Cassidy will replace four of six old batteries in one of the six station power channels, channel 2B. In preparation for the task, the old batteries have been drained and the electrical loads normally handled by 2B have been placed on different power channels.
The new batteries are stored on the Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical Light Deployable, or ICC-VLD. Endeavour astronauts Doug Hurley and Julie Payette are using the space station robotic arm to move the ICC-VLD to the spacewalk worksite area near the Port 6 truss. Wolf and Cassidy will work together in a carefully rehearsed process to remove insulation from the old Port 6 batteries, install scoops to gently remove them, pass the batteries back and forth to a stowage location on the ICC-VLD, and repeat the process to replace them with the new batteries.
Each new battery assembly consists of 38 lightweight Nickel Hydrogen cells and associated electrical and mechanical equipment. Two battery assemblies connected in series are capable of storing a total of 8 kW of electrical power. This power is fed to the space station via the Battery Charge/Discharge Unit and Direct Current Switching Unit respectively. The batteries have a design life of 6.5 years and can exceed 38,000 charge/discharge cycles at 35% depth of discharge. Each battery measures 40” by 36” by 18” and weighs 375 pounds.
During today's spacewalk mission specialists Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy will focus on the first set of battery replacements for the oldest solar array assembly on the International Space Station. The spacewalkers also will remove multilayer insulation from the Kibo module and prepare the Japanese Exposed Section payloads for transfer from the Japanese cargo carrier to the scientific front porch.
Shuttle pilot Doug Hurley and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette will use the station’s Canadarm2 to assist Wolf and Cassidy during the mission's third spacewalk.
Last Planned Space Shuttle Main Engine Test
NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center invites journalists to view the last planned space shuttle main engine test scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 29.
The 520-second test ends a 34-year era of space shuttle main engine testing at the facility. Stennis engineers conducted their first space shuttle main engine test in 1975. The first shuttle mission was launched in 1981. Since then, 126 missions have flown, all with main engines tested by Stennis. Seven flights remain before the space shuttle fleet is retired.
The primary work at Stennis has been space shuttle main engine testing, but the center also is helping NASA prepare for the next era of human spaceflight. Between 2007 and 2008, Stennis conducted component testing as part of early development of the J-2X engine for NASA's Constellation Program. The J-2X will be tested at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet on the 300-foot A-3 test stand currently under construction at the center.
Journalists wishing to view the final space shuttle main engine test should contact Chris McGee, the news chief at Stennis, at 228-688-3249 by noon on Tuesday, July 28. Reporters must arrive at Stennis by 1 p.m. on the day of the event to be credentialed and escorted to the site.
The 520-second test ends a 34-year era of space shuttle main engine testing at the facility. Stennis engineers conducted their first space shuttle main engine test in 1975. The first shuttle mission was launched in 1981. Since then, 126 missions have flown, all with main engines tested by Stennis. Seven flights remain before the space shuttle fleet is retired.
The primary work at Stennis has been space shuttle main engine testing, but the center also is helping NASA prepare for the next era of human spaceflight. Between 2007 and 2008, Stennis conducted component testing as part of early development of the J-2X engine for NASA's Constellation Program. The J-2X will be tested at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet on the 300-foot A-3 test stand currently under construction at the center.
Journalists wishing to view the final space shuttle main engine test should contact Chris McGee, the news chief at Stennis, at 228-688-3249 by noon on Tuesday, July 28. Reporters must arrive at Stennis by 1 p.m. on the day of the event to be credentialed and escorted to the site.
Astronauts Move Japanese Exposed Section to Station
Space shuttle Endeavour's astronauts completed the delicate move of the Japanese Experiment Section from Endeavour's payload bay to the end of the Japanese Exposed Section, the so-called "porch" on the Kibo laboratory. At 8:28 a.m. EDT, Commander Mark Polansky and Julie Payette attached the shuttle robotic arm to the Exposed Section and lifted it out of the bay. They moved it away from Endeavour to a point where the space station arm, operated by Koichi Wakata and Doug Hurley, grasped it at about 9:33 a.m.
When the handoff was complete, the station arm installed it on the Exposed Facility at about 10:36 a.m., as the International Space Station had just passed over Japan. Payette radioed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Mission Control team in Tsukuba, Japan, that the hard mate was complete.
The Exposed Section carries three Japanese experiments that the Kibo robotic arm will move to the "porch" on Thursday.
Later this morning, the station arm will grab the Integrated Cargo Carrier from the station's mobile base system and move it to an overnight park position in preparation for Wednesday's spacewalk.
When the handoff was complete, the station arm installed it on the Exposed Facility at about 10:36 a.m., as the International Space Station had just passed over Japan. Payette radioed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Mission Control team in Tsukuba, Japan, that the hard mate was complete.
The Exposed Section carries three Japanese experiments that the Kibo robotic arm will move to the "porch" on Thursday.
Later this morning, the station arm will grab the Integrated Cargo Carrier from the station's mobile base system and move it to an overnight park position in preparation for Wednesday's spacewalk.
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