New Repair Method Under Scrutiny

The crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station got some off-duty time this week, at the beginning of their 10th day in orbit. They also spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and participated in interviews with US media.

The astronauts spent the remainder of their day Wednesday configuring tools for the fourth STS-123 spacewalk, and reviewing spacewalk procedures.

During that spacewalk -- which began at 1804 EDT Thursday evening, and was ongoing as of 0001 Friday -- Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman successfully replaced a failed Remote Power Control Module (NASA-speak for "circuit breaker") on the International Space Station’s truss. However, there were difficulties removing a power connecter from the Z1 truss.

Next, the spacewalkers completed tests of  a possible repair method for damaged heat resistant tiles on the space shuttle. This technique uses a caulk-gun-like tool named the Tile Repair Ablator Dispenser to dispense a material called Shuttle Tile Ablator-54 into purposely damaged heat shield tiles. They stowed the test samples in Endeavour's cargo bay.

Next, the spacewalkers then removed a sock that was covering the left "hand" of Dextre and launch locks on the port of the Harmony Node 2. They also will install covers of the Japanese logistics module. Additionally, the astronauts will proceed back to the patch panel on the Z1 truss to work with removing the power connector.

Behnken and Foreman will begin the mission’s fifth and final spacewalk late Saturday afternoon. Among other tasks, they will stow the Orbiter Boom Sensor System on the station’s main truss to be retrieved by the crew of Discovery on STS-124, the next space shuttle mission.

FMI: www.nasa.gov