With the third spacewalk in the books, Discovery’s astronauts are continuing their work with the ISS crew. Monday will see a workout of the Japanese robotic arm (the first of two) on the Kibo lab. NASA reports:
Astronauts to Check Out Japanese Robotic Arm
Image above: The STS-124 and Expedition 17 crews have their group portrait taken inside the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory. Photo credit: NASA TVWith the third and final spacewalk completed Sunday, the Expedition 17 and STS-124 crews are heading into the home stretch of their joint mission.
The crew members will maneuver the newly activated robotic arm on the Kibo laboratory to its stowed position today. They also will perform a checkout of the arm’s brakes.
The crews also will work in the Quest airlock of the International Space Station to replace battery charger modules. The modules charge the batteries that provide power to U.S. spacesuits during spacewalks. Flight managers elected to replace the modules, which have shown slightly increased toxicity levels due to their age.
The shuttle and station crews are scheduled to take a break from their activities at 5:02 p.m. EDT for the traditional joint crew news conference.
Flight Day 9 Highlights video here. EVA #3 video highlights here. Flight Day 9 videos are up at the JSC Gallery. More pics and video at KSC. Discussion here. Status Report #18 here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
