Thu, Nov 27, 2008
STS-126 Crew Will Return To Shuttle Thursday Afternoon
The STS-126 and Expedition 18 crews spent their last full day
together Wednesday in low-Earth orbit.
NASA reports crew members' work on the Regenerative
Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is going
well. The Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) ran without problems
Tuesday and processed around 65 pounds of distillate, following days of problematic
performance. The UPA was turned off, and mission
managers do not plan to run it any longer during STS-126.
Transfers from the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
(MPLM) and shuttle middeck to the space station totaled 16,390
pounds. The total from the station back to the MPLM and shuttle
middeck is 3,642 pounds. Leonardo was placed back into
Endeavour’s payload bay at 4:52 pm EST Wednesday.
Both crews on the shuttle/station complex will have time off on
Thursday to spend the first part of the day as a team, and enjoy a
Thanksgiving meal including smoked turkey, green beans and
yams.
If that sounds appetizing... well, consider those meals were
also irradiated, freeze dried and vacuum packed for the flight into
orbit. But then again, it's really not about the food.
"It gives us a moment to pause and reflect just how fortunate we
are as a country and as global community," Endeavour commander
Christopher Ferguson said from the ISS, reports The Associated
Press. "We're thankful for that, in addition to the opportunity to
fly in space."
The crews will bid one another farewell Thursday afternoon.
Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the International Space
Station Friday, in preparation for landing Sunday.
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