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kl90

Update: Spacewalks Still On Track
The loss in space today of a briefcase-sized tool bag shouldn't prevent Endeavour astronauts from completing their remaining three spacewalks, NASA officials said this evening.

The so-called "crew lock" bag - which measured about 20 inches tall and a hand width wide, and weighed about 30 pounds on the ground - should have been tethered within a larger bag but was not, for reasons that aren't known.

"All it takes is one small mistake for a tether just not to be hooked up quite correctly or to slip off where it's supposed to be engaged, and that's what happened here, it appears," said John Ray, lead spacewalk officer for the mission.

Video showed the bag float away after lead spacewalker Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper set it down for a moment. She was trying to clean up tools that were covered in grease because a grease gun had leaked - an event that is also being investigated.

The bag held a set of equipment including two grease guns, one with a straight nozzle and one with a J-hook nozzle. Also lost were a caddy containing six terrycloth wipes, a large trash bag for disposing of used wipes, a scraper and a box for disposing of scraped-up debris "pancakes."

The astronatus started a two-year effort to repair a damaged joint that rotates the station's starboard solar wings like paddle wheels so they continuously track the sun.

Ray said backup equipment is available for all of the tools except the grease guns, and several options are being considered for how to proceed without them.

The shuttle carries two similar guns for repairs of wing leading edges if damage from space junk is discovered after the orbiter undocks from the station.

Ray said those guns could possibly be adapted for applying grease, but maintaining redundancy for the wing repairs must be considered. The quantities of grease required to complete the remaining tasks is also being reviewed.

Or, the spacewalkers could proceed by using just one set of grease guns, as they did today with success. Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen shared the grease guns, a scraper and a large trash bag.

"We've got several options, and we're confident that we'll be able to still get our primary tasks completed on the future (spacewalks), and overall very happy with the way things went today," said Ray.

Two more spacewalks are planned Thursday and Saturday on the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, or SARJ. The station's port rotary joint would be lubricated in a fourth spacewalk Monday.

Ginger Kerrick, the lead space station flight officer, said the lost tool bag was being tracked and would not endanger the station or shuttle as it orbited.

As of about 9:30 p.m., the bag was about 4,000 meters in front of the station and 200 meters below it.

"It is definitely moving away with every orbit," Kerrick said. "(We have) no concern whatsoever for recontact at this moment, with the data we have," she said.

Overall, Ray and Kerrick said they were extremely happy with the day's work, which put activities both inside and outside the station ahead of schedule.

Unloading and installation of racks that are being unloaded from the Leonardo cargo van has moved so quickly that planners are scrambling to decide what to schedule Wednesday.

"We've been having a hard time keeping up with them," Kerrick said.

Racks fastened in place inside the station today included a second toilet, two sleep stations, a second kitchen, two Water Recovery System racks and a Combustion Integration Rack used for science experiments.

The saved time means it may not be necessary to extend the 15-day mission a day, which was under consideration primarily so samples could be taken from a water recycling system.

If the system works properly, it will distill and acid-treat urine, sweat and other wastewater and turn it into drinking water. NASA wants samples from a new potable water dispenser to be taken home for testing, but thought they would need an extra day to acquire them.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 19-11-2008 11:37 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

Crews wake to false alarm


The Endeavour astronauts are up and at it again today after a rousing wake-up song that was followed by a raucous smoke alarm that resounded through the shuttle and the International Space Station.

Specialist in the Russian Mission Control Center quickly determined that it was a false alarm -- word that was quickly radioed up to the astronauts aboard the docked shuttle.

Engineers and the crew still are unsure exactly what set off the alarm in the Russian Zvezda Service Module, which is a command-and-control center that doubles as crew quarters.

Station commander Mike Finicke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov could find no signs of smoke in the cylindrical module, which is an updated version of the core module of the Russian Mir Space Station, which flew between 1986 and the turn of the century.

The false alarm followed the shuttle crew's wake-up music -- Fanfare For The Common Man, by renowned composer Aaron Copeland, one of the most recognizable pieces of 20th century American classical music.

kl90

Orion Rocket Motor Test Spectacular
The primary motor for an escape system that would save astronauts flying aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft successfully passed a spectacular test-firing Thursday as the agency pressed ahead with work aimed at returning Americans to the moon by 2020.

With dozens of spectators watching from a nearby ridge, the Orion Launch Abort System motor roared to life in Promontory, Utah, sending up four pillars of flame in a five-second burst that produced a half-million pounds of thrust.

"It looked perfect. Very impressive. It was beautiful," said former NASA astronaut Charlie Precourt, now a vice president with Alliant Techsystems Inc., which builds both the escape system motor and the first stage of the Ares 1 rockets that Orion spacecraft will fly upon.

"It was stunning. It was outstanding to watch," said company spokesman George Torres. "They predicted it would shoot flames up about 114 feet and it looked like it did."

The 17-foot-tall motor is the propulsive heart of a system that would pull Apollo-style Orion crew capsules and astronauts away from Ares 1 launch vehicles in an emergency.

The Orion Launch Abort System is similar to one that pulled Russian cosmonauts Vladamir Titov and Gennady Strekalov off the top of a rocket that caught fire on its Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad back in 1983.

The Soyuz abort system propelled Strekalov and Titov from the top of the burning rocket to a safe touchdown about a mile-and-a-half from the launch pad.

"It was the only time a Launch Abort System has been used in anger, and it worked," said Precourt, who flew with Strekalov on the first U.S. shuttle mission to the Russian Mir space station in 1995. "It saved those guys."

Mounted on a mast that will top Ares 1 rockets and Orion spacecraft, the motor sports four nozzles that expel flame-filled plumes when fired. For the test-firing, it was fitted into a specially designed stand with its nozzles pointed skyward.

The Orion Launch Abort System will decrease the chance of fatal accidents in flight to 1 in 2,000. The statistical probability of a shuttle accident is 1 in 80.

"Hope we never have to use it," Torres said. "But it would do the job. It certainly did its job today."

The test today was the first of its kind since the launch abort system for Apollo crew capsules were developed in the 1960s.

Here's an ATK PowerPoint that covers its history with Launch Abort Systems dating back to the earliest days of U.S. spaceflight: ATK LAS History.

Here is a fact sheet that outlines the full test program: Constellation Tests

Here is a fact sheet that provides more details on follow-on tests that will be done at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico: White Sands Tests

kl90

Update: Second Spacewalk Complete
Endeavour astronauts have completed the second of four planned spacewalks during their 15-day mission, which launched last Friday from Kennedy Space Center.

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough worked in space for six hours and 45 minutes, exiting an International Space Station hatch at 12:58 p.m. and returning at 7:43 p.m.

"It was a good day," Stefanyshyn-Piper said.

"Super day. Great work Shane and Heidi," said pilot Eric Boe, who coordinated the spacewelk.

"Outstanding job," mission commander Chris Ferguson added later.

Tools lost on the mission's first spacewalk Tuesday didn't keep the duo from completing their objectives.

They removed and replaced two more sets of trundle bearing assemblies from the damaged joint that rotates the station's starboard solar wings. More bearing assemblies were prepared for replacement during a third spacewalk that is supposed to wrap up repair work on the rotary joint, planned Saturday.

A 10 p.m. mission briefing from Johnson Space Center in Houston will update the progress made in orbit today, and whether the remaining two spacewalks are on track.

You can watch it live here on The Flame Trench, by clicking on the NASA TV viewer above.

The spacewalkers began their work by relocating two carts that run along rails on the station's main truss. They moved them out of the way for a mission early next year that will deliver a final set of solar arrays.

Kimbrough also greased snares in the grappling mechanism at the end of the station's robotic arm, which had been sticking.

Though she was short a grease gun, Stefanyshyn-Piper was able to use "wet wipes" instead to clean parts of the starboard solar rotary joint. The wipes are terrycloth mitts coated on one side with Braycote grease, the same grease used in the guns.

Stefanyshyn-Piper, who was working with the untethered tool bag before it floated away Tuesday, seemed to have kept her sense of humor as she returned to the station airlock this evening.

"Hopefully I won't lose anything on the way," she said, noting that everything was tethered.

The STS-126 mission has now logged 13 hours and 37 minutes of spacewalking.

Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen are scheduled to reunite for the third spacewalk on Saturday. Bowen and Kimbrough will team up for the last spacewalk on Monday.

kl90

Update: Urine Processing On Hold
Installation of a urine processor on the International Space Station has paused after a caution alarm unexpectedly tripped today.

NASA officials say they believe it was a false alarm and they think they understand the cause, but they've stopped sending commands to the hardware while crews are sleeping, to avoid waking them with another accidental alarm.

The urine processor is one of the key components of a system shuttle Endeavour shipped to the station after launching last Friday from Kennedy Space Center. It's designed to replenish water supplies so permanent station crews can double to six people by next year.

ISS Flight Director Ginger Kerrick said even if the urine processor takes a bit longer to activate, tests can proceed of a water processor that will recycle sweat and other condensation.

She said it's still possible enough samples can be collected for testing that it won't be necessary to extend the 15-day shuttle mission by a day.

"We think this is just a small setback," she said.

Managers praised the Endeavour and station crews' work today.

A few issues of possible concern arose during the day's spacewalk, the second of the mission, but were not considered major.

Spacewalker Shane Kimbrough's carbon dioxide levels reached the allowable limit, which would have forced him back inside. However, he was already in the process of returning to an airlock at that time, so his workload wasn't cut short.

Officials said Kimbrough was fine and felt no ill effects from the higher carbon dioxide levels.

Kimbrough also had trouble communicating by radio as he returned to the airlock. Officials believe he may have accidentally bumped a volume control knob.

John Ray, the mission's lead spacewalk officer, said he believed Saturday's spacewalk could proceed as planned by continuing today's use of grease-covered wipes instead of a straight-nozzle grease gun, one of which was lost Tuesday.

"It sounds like that technique worked as least as well as the nominal going in plan for wet scraping," he said, referring to a cleaning step during repairs of a starboard rotary joint. "We think that's going to be a technique that can use on rest of (spacewalk) three."

Finally, there was a problem with one trundle bearing assembly installed on the rotary joint's gear ring, when a bolt was inserted with too much torque. Concerned that the bolt could fail, a different bearing assembly was installed.

A change was made late in today's spacewalk plan: Instead of cleaning around one set of bearing assemblies, Kimbrough was diverted to another. The latter area was one where protective thermal covers could be left off until the next spacewalk, saving time.

For those keeping score at home, Endeavour's spacewalkers have completely removed and replaced five of 11 bearing assemblies designated for replacement. Another five must be removed and replaced, and a sixth set removed today will be replaced.

A 12th bearing set was already replaced during the STS-124 mission. Endeavour spacewalkers will take it out and clean around it, then reinstall the same set of bearings.

kl90

Update: Water Samples Are Sufficient
Trouble setting up a urine processor on the International Space Station won't prevent Endeavour's crew from returning home with water samples that NASA wants to analyze on the ground, mission managers said this evening.

Since the processor has run for up to two hours before shutting down, enough urine has been processed to provide the necessary water samples by Tuesday.

The samples will include only 10 percent processed urine, rather then the 30 percent targeted.

As a result, there is no need to extend Endeavour's 15-day mission for a day to collect samples, though it's still an option if anything else goes wrong. Endeavour is now scheduled to undock from the station on Thanksgiving and land at Kennedy Space Center next Saturday.

Engineers believe the processor problem lies with a centrifuge mounted on isolators in a component that distills water from urine. They say a sensor is aggravated by the jostling centrifuge, and have proposed removing the isolators and hard mounting the centrifuge.

Mike Fincke, commander of the station's three-person Expedition 18 crew, is scheduled to work on that fix for about two hours Sunday morning.

"We'll see if that solves the source of the problem," said Ginger Kerrick, a lead space station flight director.

Samples have been run through a processor that purifies sweat and other condensation captured from the air inside the station, and an on board apparatus that tests water quality is also functioning well.

Though the water samples needed for this mission appear to be satisfactory, a broader question remains about whether the urine processor will function well enough to support six-person crews, which is the system's primary purpose.

"Those numbers have not been crunched yet," Kerrick said. "We do need to be able to answer that question."

Officials were enthusiastic about today's spacewalk, even though it did not complete repairs to a solar wing rotary joint as hoped before the mission.

They say there is ample time to do that Monday, without sacrificing any critical activities in the mission's fourth and final spacewalk.

"The crew executed as perfect an (spacewalk) as I've ever seen," said John Ray, the mission's lead spacewalk officer. "They were right on top of their game right out the door, and they just stayed at a very steady, even pace."

Final work left on the rotary joint consists of cleaning and greasing a section measuring about 30 degrees of the circular joint, and replacing one bearing assembly. Ray estimated it will take about two hours Monday, including preparation and clean-up.

Today's spacewalkers could have been pushed another 30 minutes, but the remaining tasks were expected to take a bit longer, so they were called in.

"We knew it was going to be very challenging to get it all done in three (spacewalks)," said Ray. "It's just a lot of work, it's a tough job, time consuming and it requires a lot of tools to be handled in each section."

The Endeavour crew has about five hours of downtime to look forward to Sunday, after a packed first nine days of the mission.

"It's been a long mission," said Kerrick. "Tomorrow will be Flight Day 10, and they really need to take that time off."

kl90

Update: Third Spacewalk Done, SARJ Not
The third spacewalk of shuttle Endeavour's 15-day mission is in the books.

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen worked for nearly seven hours to repair a faulty International Space Station rotary joint.

They nearly finished the job, but were called inside with one trundle bearing assembly still needing to be replaced.

"I know it's painful to call it quits like that, but we think it's the right thing to do," flight communicator Marke Vande Hei said from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston.

The final touches will be put on the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, or SARJ, during Monday's fourth and final spacewalk.

That spacewalk, expected to last more than six hours, is also scheduled to lubricate the port rotary joint, hoping to prevent the kind of damage that occurred on the starboard side because of grinding bearings.

Bowen and Shane Kimbrough, both first-time shuttle flyers, are assigned to the fourth spacewalk.

"It's time for the new guys," joked Stefanyshyn-Piper, shown at left with Bowen after returning inside the station's pressurized Quest airlock.

Stefanyshyn-Piper's completed her fifth spacewalk and probably her last, since she intends to retire from NASA after the mission. Her career total spacewalking time of 33 hours and 42 seconds now ranks 25th all-time among NASA astronauts, and second among women.

A test of the rotary joint must wait until after Monday's spacewalk and will probably be done Tuesday, two day's before the shuttle’s planned departure from the outpost.

That will give the Endeavour crew an idea of how successful their repairs were.

Meanwhile, NASA engineers are still troubleshooting problems activating a urine processor, which sensors have shut down several times.

Endeavour is scheduled to depart the space station Thanksgiving morning, and land at Kennedy Space Center next Saturday.

But the crew and mission managers have said they will extend the mission one day if that allows them to collect a water sample from the urine processor.

A water sample was collected today from a related system that processes sweat and other condensation.

A mission status briefing at 10:30 p.m. should provide more insight on the urine processor's condition and the possibility of a mission extension.

You can watch it live at The Flame Trench by clicking the NASA TV picture above or on the right side of this page.

kl90

The Spacewalk: Five Steps to Fix SARJ
Endeavour astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper has replaced the first of four sets of bearings she hopes to replace today on a damaged International Space Station rotary joint.

She and Steve Bowen are said to be 30 minutes ahead of schedule. You can watch live by clicking the NASA TV picture at left.

Their rather unglamorous repair job 225 miles above Earth boils down to the following five steps, which take roughly two hours to complete:

First, remove thermal covers protecting a the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, or SARJ.

The joint should allow the starboard solar wings to constantly track the sun, but a breakdown of lubrication last year made it risky to turn the joint.

Second, use a cordless drill to remove one of 12 trundle bearing assemblies, as shown at left.

By the end of today, the astronauts hope to have replaced 11 sets of bearings, which will be taken back to the ground for a failure analysis. NASA believes gold-plated lubrication failed to work properly, causing the bearings to grind against the outer surface of the rotary joint's gear ring, or race ring.

The picture above shows the joint's two exposed steel gear rings with their covers removed. Only one half, the outboard side, is used to turn the solar wings. NASA plans to ship up a new ring to replace the damaged one in 2010, to preserve the joint's backup capacity.

Third, clean the gear ring. Use a "wet wipe" like the one shown at left to spread grease over the gear ring. The wipe is a terrycloth mitt impregnated with a space grease called Braycote, which is dry and has the consistency of toothpaste.

Then use a scraper to pry up "pancakes" of metal debris ground into the gear ring, and a dry wipe to collect any loose metal shavings.

Fourth, lubricate the gear ring. Using a wet wipe or a grease gun like the one shown at left, spread a bead of grease over the three surfaces of the gear ring over which the bearings roll.

A grease gun with a J-hook nozzle is required to reach an inside surface of the ring.

Fifth, install a new bearing assembly and replace the joint's protective thermal covers, then move on to the next set.

kl90

Astronauts End Spacewalk
Spacewalkers Shane Kimbrough and Steve Bowen are back inside the U.S. Quest airlock at the International Space Station.

The two completed a six-hour and seven-minute excursion that started at 1:24 p.m. EST and ended at 7:31 p.m. It was the fourth and final spacewalk of the mission. A cumulative time of 26 hours and 41 minutes was logged on those excursions.

The spacewalk was the 118th performed in the assembly and maintenance of the station, the first two building blocks of which were linked in orbit in late 1998 -- 10 years ago next month.

Total time tallied during those spacewalks: 745 hours and 29 minutes.

It was the 90th spacewalk staged from station airlocks. The remainder all were carried out from shuttle airlocks.

Bowen now has three spacewalks to his credit. He's chalked up 19 hours and 56 minutes of spacewalking time.

Kimbrough finished his second spacewalk. His cumulative spacewalk time: 12 hours and 52 minutes.

Stefanyshyn-Piper now is a veteran of five spacewalks. She's recorded 33 hours and 42 minutes working in the vacuum environment of low Earth orbit.

A two-orbit test of the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint is scheduled to begin around 5:30 a.m. EST Tuesday.

kl90

NASA Cuts Spacewalk Short
Spacewalkers Shane Kimbrough and Steve Bowen are cutting short their excursion outside the International Space Station because carbon dioxide levels inside Kimbrough's suit are approaching dangerous levels.

Flight surgeons in NASA's Mission Control Center told Kimbrough to take it easy as he heads back to the U.S. Quest airlock -- an attempt to lower CO2 levels in the suit. High CO2 concentrations can cause dizziness and headaches. People can have trouble seeing and hearing, and high concentrations also can render people unconscious within minutes.

The concentrations within Kimbrough's suit were caused by heavy breathing prompted by the difficult spacewalking work the astronauts have tackled.

The astronauts already have finished most if not all planned work, so mission managers decided the prudent course would be to send Kimbrough and Bowen back to safe haven in the station's American airlock.

kl90

Crew Caps Outstanding Day

LIVE IMAGES: Refresh this page for updates and the latest still image from NASA TV.

The joined crews of shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station are wrapping up a highly successful day in space, one in which they made great strides toward doubling the size of outpost crews next May.

Nine astronauts and a cosmonaut working 220 miles above the planet finally got a new urine recycling system to work, converting "yesterday's coffee into today's coffee," shuttle skipper Chris Ferguson said.

The processing assembly finally began operating as intended, turning urine, sweat and condensate into potable water after three false starts and two orbital fix-it attempts.

The news got even better when the station's starboard solar wing made two full revolutions without trouble -- a sign that spacewalking repairs to a giant rotary mechanism worked as intended.

"We're well on our way in both of these cases," NASA station program manager Mike Suffredini said.

Endeavour blasted off Nov. 14 on a mission to outfit the station for crews of six and repair the faulty solar wing rotary mechanism. The device had not been operating properly since September 2007, limiting the amount of power that could be produced on the station.

The astronauts delivered extra crew quarters, a toilet, a kitchen galley and parts of a $250 million life support system designed to recycle wastewater and generate oxygen, greatly reducing the amount of supplies that have to be space-trucked to the station.

Three more months of testing will be required before water from the system is blessed for human consumption. But NASA officials expect the system will be put into service without delay.

"It's better than what you get out of the tap," said Suffredini. "It's very purified."

A two-orbit test of a 10-foot-diameter rotary mechanism on the starboard side of the station's central truss showed four spacewalks aimed at fixing the faulty device paid off.

The giant, saw-toothed gear slowly turned a set of solar wings like a giant steamboat paddlewheel as the outpost circled Earth. Doing so enabled the wings to stay optimally pointed at the sun, maximizing electrical output.

Internal damage caused by inadequate lubricant forced NASA to keep the wings - which stretch 240 feet from tip to tip - in stationary positions, limiting the production of electricity.

Three of Endeavour's astronauts cleaned and lubricated the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint during the spacewalks. They also replaced 11 of 12 trundle bearing assemblies situated around the circumference of the device. The other already had been swapped out.

More testing will be required before the wings are put back into full-time rotation. But preliminary data from Tuesday's test looked good.

Plans to build and launch a spare rotary joint and then install it on 10 difficult spacewalks might be scrapped if tests show an annual lube job will keep the mechanism operating properly over the long haul, Suffredini said.

Endeavour is scheduled to depart the station Friday and land back at Kennedy Space Center at 1:18 p.m. Sunday.

kl90

Station Tests Signal Success

The International Space Station's starboard solar wing made two compelete revolutions without inducing excessive vibrations today, signaling unprecedented spacewalking repairs by a visiting shuttle fix-it crew worked as intended.

NASA engineers still are poring over data generated during the two-orbit test of a giant rotary joint designed to turn the 240-foot wing like a steamboat paddlewheel so it can track the sun as the station circles Earth. Doing so maximizes solar energy collection and electrical power output.

Preliminary results indicate the rotary mechanism drew much less voltage as it turned -- an indication that a spacewalking lube job and bearing replacements may have fixed the wheel-like gear, which has not been operating properly since September 2007.

"The test went very well last night," NASA astronaut Terry Virts told the station crew from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston. "It was a pretty good reduction in rotation current."

"That is excellent news, and it shows that the efforts -- valiant efforts -- from our (spacewalking) team were well worth it," said station commander Mike Fincke.

"It was an amazing four (spacewalks). That was a lot of work those guys did, and they did well," Virts said.

"Well, we're certainly very proud of them," Fincke said.

Endeavour mission specialists Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough cleaned and lubricated the 10-foot-diameter rotary joint during a quartet of spacewalks and they also replaced 11 of its 12 trundle bearing assemblies.

During today's test, the current generated by the motor that drives the joint drew 18 amps -- well less than the 25 amps that alarmed engineers enough to halt the automatic rotation of the mechanism in September 2007.

In comparison, current drawn by the solar wing rotary mechanism on the port side of the station's central truss typically is 13 amps.

The high voltage detected in late 2007 was an indication of internal trouble, and subsequent spacewalking inspections showed the saw-toothed gear was grinding against its bearings, creating metal shavings that fouled the joint.

The repair work done by the Endeavour astronauts is considered important to plans to increase to six the size of resident crews at the outpost. A starboard joint that can being rotated -- rather than held in stationary positions -- will generate more electricity to run station systems as well as science research experiments.

The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts on the shuttle-station complex also got some good news about a newly delivered urine processing assembly. After three start-up shutdowns and two attempts to fix it, the assembly has completed two consecutive four-hour runs without significant problems. Another run is under way now.

kl90

Leonardo Move Nears
Endeavour astronauts are preparing to depressurize the small vestibule separating the International Space Station's Harmony from the Leonardo cargo module attached to it.

That's the last step before the crew picks up the cylindrical module with the station's 57.7-foot robotic arm and returns it to the shuttle's payload bay.

Meanwhile, Russian space officials report that an antenna that failed to deploy from a Progress cargo ship after it launched this morning is now functioning properly. They are analyzing whether an automated docking can proceed Sunday, or whether a manual docking might be necessary.

The roughly three-hour move of Leonardo is scheduled to begin just after 3:30 p.m., when the arm operated by Don Pettit and Shane Kimbrough grapples the cargo module.

The module will be disconnected from the station about a half-hour later, and latched into the payload bay by about 6:20 p.m.

Leonardo, one of three Italian-built cargo containers that may be launched in a shuttle, is making its fifth flight and was the heaviest multi-purpose logistics module ever launched.

About 3,500 pounds of gear is stowed inside Leonardo for the return trip - about 11,000 pounds less than when Endeavour arrived at the station. Leonardo itself weighs more than four tons, and measures 21 feet long and 15 feet in diameter.

Pettit, shown at right in the picture above (next to Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke, center, and Endeavour mission commander Chris Ferguson), served as the loadmaster who oversaw transfer of all the cargo.

The vestibule depressurization should start at 1:15 p.m.

kl90

Moving Van Goes For Ride

Blogger update, 6:25 p.m.: The station's robotic arm has let go of Leonardo, which has been latched securely in Endeavour's payload bay. That completes this mission's use of the station's robotic arm.

Blogger update: 5:45 p.m.: Leonardo has been safely lowered into Endeavour's payload bay and is ready for latches to secure it in place for the flight home.

NASA's Leonardo "cargo van" is hitching a ride from the International Space Station back to Endeavour's payload bay, courtesy of the station's Canadian-made robotic arm.

Endeavour astronauts Don Pettit and Shane Kimbrough grappled the cargo container with the arm and are orchestrating Leonardo's relocation.

The cylindrical, 4.5-ton container now holds about 3,500 pounds of mostly trash that is being returned to the ground. It was connected to the station 11 days ago, and left behind more than 14,00 pounds of equipment.

see a sequence of pictures showing the move in progress.

kl90

Turkey, Then Goodbyes
Endeavour's seven astronauts today are the sixth shuttle crew to spend Thanksgiving in orbit.

They'll join the International Space Station's three residents - two astronauts and a cosmonaut - for a quiet morning of personal time when they may contact family members.

Then they'll feast on a traditional meal of smoked turkey with cornbread stuffing, candied yams, a green bean and mushroom casserole and a cran-apple desert. Tea with sugar is available to wash it down.

"We can give thanks for what we have, and never stop dreaming," said Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Endeavour's lead spacewalker, after the crew was awakened this morning to Electric Light Orchestra's "Hold On Tight".

After eating around 1 p.m., the two crews will prepare to say goodbyes as their nearly two-week stay together nears an end. They'll transfer final pieces of equipment, including water samples, laptops and spacesuits between the shuttle and station.

Just before 6 p.m., they'll hold a farewell ceremony before closing the hatches between the two vehicles.

Endeavour is scheduled to end a 13-day visit with the station at 9:47 a.m. Friday.

The shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center at 7:55 p.m. Nov. 14, and docked two days later. It's scheduled to land at the spaceport at 1:18 p.m. Sunday.

You can follow the astronauts' Thanksgiving in orbit here at The Flame Trench. Just click on the NASA TV still image above to launch a live viewer.

NASA TV's broadcast schedule includes crew interviews with several media outlets starting at 1:21 p.m. sharp.

The Endeavour crew has accomplished its major goals and has nearly completed its work in space.

"It's just been a really great mission," station flight director Emily Nelson said this morning. "We are happy that these guys are going to get a little bit of time off to appreciate the stars and what they can see in low Earth orbit, and to look down on us and see this beautiful planet of ours."

This Flight Day 14 Execute Package offers a detailed schedule and messages from mission controllers.

"Happy Thanksgiving!!!!" one message reads. "We are all very thankful that STS 126 has been such an outstanding flight! Make the most of your last day of docked ops!"

Today is the last day on the station for astronaut Greg Chamitoff, who arrived at the outpost in May and will return home on Endeavour.

He's taking the seat Sandra Magnus used for the ride up. Magnus has begun a planned four-month tour as a station flight engineer for Expedition 18, replacing Chamitoff.

American astronauts first spent Thanksgiving in space in 1973 aboard Skylab, and have routinely done so this decade aboard the space station.

These five previous shuttle crews spent the holiday in orbit:
1989: STS-33 (Discovery)
1991: STS-44 (Atlantis)
1996: STS-80 (Columbia)
1997: STS-87 (Columbia)
2002: STS-113 (Endeavour)

Endeavour mission specialist Don Pettit was part of the last mission that spanned the holiday, also on Endeavour in 2002. He was just beginning a six-month tour as a science officer on the space station's sixth expedition.

But retired astronaut Story Musgrave holds the NASA record, having flown on three of those Thanksgiving shuttle flights.

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Thanksgiving Wishes, Toasts
Endeavour astrounats this morning offered Thanksgiving wishes and toasts to mission controllers and all Americans in videos beamed to NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston, where a turkey has replaced the International Space Station symbol on a giant monitor tracking its orbit.

"Thanksgiving is one of those truly American holidays that isn't celebrated anywhere else, a time when we have an opportunity to reflect on everything we've been given, and all the privileges we have to live in the fine country that we live in," said mission commander Chris Ferguson. "We generally spend it with family. For us today, we have the opportunity to spend it with our once-removed family if you will, our space family, and I think the same holds true for everybody down there in Mission Control."

"We just wanted to once again come up live and thank everybody down there who is working this Thanksgiving to support this mission," Ferguson added. "We wish you all well, we wish your families well, and please have a little bit of turkey for us. Thank you."

"Happy Thanksgiving!" six crew members said in unison.

Pictured are, clockwise from the top left, mission specialist Steve Bowen, pilot Eric Boe, lead spacewalker Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, mission specialists Shane Kimbrough and Don Pettit, and Ferguson. Greg Chamitoff is not shown.

Then Don Pettit, joined by Steve Bowen, followed by offering a series of toasts drinking tea from plastic "zero-gravity" cups he said he modified to work like rocket fuel tanks, so no straws were needed.

"And now we're going to propose a toast to Thanksgiving, wishing everyone on Earth and off Earth a good Thanksgiving," Pettit said. "And now we're proposing a toast for future space explorers. And finally, we're proposing a toast just because we're in space and we can."

"Due to this contact angle wetting phenomenon," Pettit concluded, "we can sip most of the fluid out of these cups, until it's practically dry, and we no longer have to drink our beverages by sucking through a straw in a pouch.

In about an hour, at 1:20 p.m., you can listen to some crew members respond to questions from several media outlets. Just click on the NASA TV still picture on the right side of the page to launch a viewer.

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Turkey Is Served
After finishing interviews with several media outlets, Endeavour astronauts retired to the Harmony module for Thanksgiving dinner with three International Space Station crew members.

"It's actually warming up in the oven," mission commander Chris Ferguson told a TV station in his hometown of Philadelphia. "We got the oven all started, and we had our thermo-stabilized turkey all ready to go in. But we do have all the trimmings today. We have cornbread stuffing, turkey, candied yams, beans - we have it all."

Hot water will added to the stuffing and a dehydrated casserole of beans and mushrooms. The yams and a cran-apple desert come wrapped in ready-to-eat foil packages. The main course of irradiated turkey slices resemble what is on most Americans' plates today.

The two crews only have about four hours left together. A farewell ceremony is planned just before 6 p.m., as the seven shuttle astronauts prepare to return to their vehicle and close the hatch behind them for the trip home.

Endeavour is scheduled to depart the station Friday morning. Pilot Eric Boe will execute a final fly-around of the outpost as part of final inspections of heat shields on the orbiter's wing edges and nose cap.

Ferguson said his crew would end a 13-day stay at the station satisfied that all the STS-126 mission's objectives have been accomplished.

"I'd like to think that we achieved our goals and we're ready to move on," he said.

Endeavour launched Nov. 14 from Kennedy Space Center, and is scheduled to land there Sunday at 1:18 p.m.

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Endeavour Heading Home



Endeavour has undocked from the International Space Station, officially beginning a two-day journey home to Kennedy Space Center.

"Physical sep, Houston," Endeavour commander Chris Ferguson said.

"Houston copies. Physical separation," replied NASA flight communicator Steve Robinson.

"It was great working with you guys," Ferguson told three station residents.

"Thanks for the incredible makeover, and leaving the station in fantastic shape," responded station commander Mike Fincke.

"Even from 25 feet you look better," Ferguson said.

Station flight engineer Sandra Magnus, who launched with Endeavour's crew on Nov. 14, rang a bell on the station to signify Endeavour's departure.

The shuttle hasn't gone very far yet.

Initial separation of just a few feet was achieved after latches were undone and springs pushed the orbiter from the station.

Endeavour pilot Eric Boe will position the shuttle another 400 feet or so before pausing. Then he'll fly one-and-a-half loops around the station, so pictures can be taken of its exterior.

Endeavour spent a total of 11 days, 16 hours and 46 minutes docked with the station. That's just four hours shy of the record for docked time that Endeavour set earlier this year, during STS-123 in March.

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Russian Cargo Ship Arrives At Station
A Russian cosmonaut took manual control of a robotic spacecraft this morning after an automatic system aboard the cargo carrier failed during its final approach to the International Space Station.

Operating a telerobotic docking system from inside the station's Zvezda command-and-control module, flight engineer Yury Lonchakov guided the Progress 31 spacecraft to a safe mooring at 7:28 a.m.

"Congratulations Yury. Excellent work," a flight controller at the Russian Mission Control Center said.

"Thank you very much," Lonchakov replied.

Filled with more than 2.5 tons of food, water, oxygen, fuel and supplies, the Progress arrived at the Pirs docking compartment as the spacecraft and the station flew 225 miles above the east coast of China.

It was unclear exactly what went wrong with the Ukrainian-built Kurs automatic docking system, but cameras aboard the spacecraft showed it began to sway a bit just before flight controllers told Lonchakov to take manual control of the docking.

The spacecraft was about 20 meters from the station at the time.

Station skipper Mike Fincke and flight engineer Sandra Magnus were onboard the station with Lonchakov.

The Progress was launched earlier this week from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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See Our Shuttle Landing PhotoFest
Shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts are back safely on the ground today after a picture-perfect landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The 225-mph landing on Runway 04 at the Mojave Desert military base marked the end of NASA's 124th shuttle mission -- a 6.6-million-mile flight aimed at outfitting the International Space Station for crews of six.

The 15-day, 20-hour, 30-minute and 34-second mission was the fourth and final shuttle flight of 2008, a year that saw the additional of European and Japanese science laboratories at the station.

The Endeavour mission was commanded by veteran astronaut Chris Ferguson and piloted by Eric Boe. Mission specialists included Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Stephen Bowen, Don Pettit and Shane Kimbrough.

Current station flight engineer Sandra Magnus flew up to the outpost on Endeavour. She replaced NASA astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, who returned to Earth after more than six months on the station.