GPS News  
Friday Spacewalk To Prepare For PMA And Harmony Moves

Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth's horizon, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Image credit: NASA
by Staff Writers
Houston TX (SPX) Nov 09, 2007
A spacewalk to prepare for the relocation of Pressurized Mating Adaptor 2 and the subsequent move of the new Harmony node to its permanent International Space Station home is scheduled to begin about 6 a.m. EST on Friday. Station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko will be in U.S. spacesuits and use the Quest airlock. Whitson, the lead spacewalker, will wear the suit with the red stripes. Cosmonaut Malenchenko's suit will be all white. Newly arrived Flight Engineer Dan Tani will be the spacewalk choreographer.

Their first task will be to disconnect the Station to Shuttle Power Transfer System cables between the U.S. laboratory Destiny and PMA-2. Next they'll disconnect eight other cables between PMA-2 and the lab.

Subsequently they will demate connectors on the rigid umbilicals on the side of the lab, temporarily stowing them on the lab and elsewhere. That is so they will be accessible once fluid umbilical trays are installed there after the Harmony move. Malenchenko also will install caps on his side of the lab on receptacles left open by the PMA cable demates.

Whitson also will remove a Crew Equipment Translation Aid light on the lab to make way for the trays. She will take the light to the airlock. It will be reinstalled later. Malenchenko will move to the truss and configure the port Squib firing unit.

The next task takes them to the outboard end of the Harmony node, where PMA-2 will be installed. There they will remove the active Common Berthing Mechanism cover. The cover is held on by a strap that goes around the circumference. They'll bundle the cover and secure it with wire ties. It will be put in a Progress cargo carrier for disposal.

While Whitson completes connections for a power and data grapple fixture on the bottom of Harmony that will provide a base for the station's robotic arm, Malenchenko will move back behind the Z-1 truss to reconfigure a power system, removing an electrical jumper. Next Whitson will work at the right side of the "rats' nest," at the base of Z-1 on another reconfiguration.

Then she'll retrieve a box called the base-band signal processor and return it to the airlock. It will be returned to Earth for refurbishment. Malenchenko will remove and replace a failed electrical circuit box called a remote power controller module. They'll transfer tools between two bags and move a bag to the S0 truss for later spacewalks.

PMA-2 is scheduled to be removed from Destiny and placed on Harmony, using the station's robotic arm, on Monday, Nov. 12. Harmony, brought to the station by Discovery, is to be moved from its temporary position on the left side of the Unity node to the front of Destiny, again using Canadarm2, on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

Related Links
Station at NASA
Station and More at Roscosmos
S.P. Korolev RSC Energia
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Discovery Mission Readies Station For International Partner Labs
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 09, 2007
With the International Space Station's Harmony module set for docking by the European and Japanese laboratories, and sections of the station's truss and solar arrays moved and working, Space Shuttle Discovery's crew returned to Earth November 7, the shuttle glinting in Florida's midday sun.







  • Virgin to offer carbon offsets alongside drinks and perfume
  • NASA sorry over air safety uproar
  • Airbus superjumbo makes first commercial flight
  • Airbus superjumbo takes off on first commercial flight

  • RAND Paper Finds Diesel, Hybrid Vehicles Can Provide More Societal Benefits Than Gas-Powered Autos
  • GM-backed college students win US military's robot car race
  • US military spurs robot car creations with big money race
  • Automakers trying to turn gas-guzzlers green

  • Space Command Striving For Improved Field Communications
  • Most Complex Silicon Phased Array Chip In The World
  • Lockheed Martin Completes Major Test Of First Advanced Military Communications Satellite
  • Raytheon Teams With Industry Best To Pursue Army Satellite Communications Program

  • BMD Watch: S. Korea plans BMD exercises
  • Israel gets US aid for anti-missile system
  • BMD Focus: SM-3s are 'mature'
  • USAF Set To Launch Final Northrop Grumman-Built Defense Support Program Satellite

  • Global pest uses promiscuity to wipe out competition: study
  • Researchers say desalinated water harms crops: report
  • One third of Europe's freshwater fish face extinction: IUCN
  • Tuna fishing quota violators targeted in report

  • Court upholds jail term for Japanese architect
  • GETAC To Showcase Fully Rugged PCs At Firerescue 2007 Conference And Exposition
  • SkyPort Signs Contract With Cisco For Emergency Response Satellite Connectivity
  • China work, road accidents kill nearly 80,000 since January

  • YES2 Team Claims A Space Tether World Record
  • NASA Unveils New Antenna Network
  • Northrop Grumman Awarded Patent For Innovative Payload Positioning System
  • Boeing Demonstrates One-Button Start-Up Of Satellite Ground Station

  • Can A Robot Find A Rock. Interview With David Wettergreen: Part IV
  • Proton Rocket To Launch Glonass Satellites Friday
  • QinetiQ Establishes Service And Support Centre For Talon Robots In Australia
  • UCSD Researchers Give Computers Common Sense

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement