Fri, Mar 21, 2008
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.
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