Following the first of three spacewalks at the International Space Station, astronauts will get down to work Wednesday to fix what has produced an uncomfortable situation for the crew: the broken toilet.
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NASA Shuttle/ISS News- STS-126 MCC Status Report #14
- NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering
- NASA to Broadcast Shuttle Mission Highlights in High Definition
- STS-126 MCC Status Report #15
- STS-126 MCC Status Report #13
- STS-126 MCC Status Report #12
- Goldman Named Director at Stennis Space Center
- Racers Get Ready! NASA's Great Moonbuggy Registration Begins
- ESA Top News
- New ISS crews: First European to become ISS Commander and next European long-term flight
- Interview with ESA Director General
- Mars Express observes aurorae on the Red Planet
- Earth from Space: The Netherlands
- Ministerial Council 2008
- Small GEO Programme moves forward with contract-signing
- Ministers meet to define the role of space in delivering Europe's global objectives
- ESA supports efforts to protect public health and safety
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights reaches space as the ISS gets ready for crew of six
- OK Space: opening new horizons
STS-124: Flight Day 5
After Tuesday’s successful spacewalk, Wednesday will see the opening of the newly-installed Japanese Kibo lab on the International Space Station, as well as, uh, toilet repair. NASA reports:
Crews to Enter Japanese Lab Today
Image above: The International Space Station’s robot arm moves the Japanese Pressurized Module from space shuttle Discovery’s payload bay to its new home on the station. Photo credit: NASA TVThe shuttle and station crews will open the newly installed Japanese laboratory Kibo for business today. Hatch opening is planned for 4:52 p.m. EDT. The experiment module was installed on the Harmony Node’s port side Tuesday.
After a leak check, mission specialists Karen Nyberg and Akihiko Hoshide will prepare Kibo for activation before opening the hatches. Shortly after entering Kibo with Hoshide, Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov will sample the air and test for contamination. They will wear protective goggles and masks until they are sure the Japanese lab’s air is clean.
Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan will review procedures for their second spacewalk and sleep in the U.S. Quest airlock tonight to purge the nitrogen from their bodies. During Thursday’s spacewalk, the second of the mission, the spacewalkers will outfit the new lab and prepare the Japanese logistics module for relocation.
EVA video clip here. Flight Day 3 pics and video are up at the JSC Gallery. More pics and video at KSC. Discussion here. Status Report #8 here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.