June 2007 - Sarex (INACTIVE) - mailman.amsat.org

Flight Controllers Work on Computer Problem
by Arthur Rowe 15 Jun '07

15 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 The Expedition 15 crew continues to conduct joint operations with its visitors on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Russian flight controllers are troubleshooting a problem with backup navigation computers. The computers were restarted Thursday morning. Flight controllers continue efforts to bring the computers back up to full operation. Throughout the week, the two crews have been activating the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment that was attached to the station on Monday. The STS-117 crew has conducted two spacewalks to prepare the new segment for activation and to retract arrays on the Port 6 (P6) truss. The P6 will be relocated from atop the station to the end of the Port 5 truss by a future shuttle crew. The S3/S4, which is 45 feet long and weighs 35,678 pounds, contains a new set of solar arrays that will increase the station’s power-generation capabilities. The S3/S4 also contains a rotary joint that will allow its arrays to track the sun. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117’s stay. In addition to a new truss segment, NASA Astronaut Clayton Anderson joined the Expedition 15 crew on Sunday, replacing Flight Engineer Suni Williams. Anderson arrived at the station as a member of Space Shuttle Atlantis’ crew. Atlantis docked to the station on Sunday. Williams spent six months as an Expedition crew member. Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the station June 19. + Read more about Expedition 15 <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.ht…> + View crew daily timelines <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>

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Astronauts Fold Arrays, Prepare for Spacewalk
by Arthur Rowe 14 Jun '07

14 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Astronauts Fold Arrays, Prepare for Spacewalk* Image above: The partially retracted solar array on the Port 6 truss. Image credit: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html The STS-117 and Expedition 15 crews are moving through a busy day aboard the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Atlantis. They have been retracting solar arrays and preparing for STS-117’s third spacewalk. The STS-117 crew resumed retraction of the starboard P6 solar array at 12:25 p.m. today. The crew and flight controllers decided to conclude the efforts just before 2000 UTC. with about half of the 31½ array bays retracted. The crew will resume retraction activities Friday with the help of the spacewalkers if needed. The schedule for STS-117 Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas includes a review of procedures and the practice of techniques they will use during the spacewalk set to begin at 1738 UTC Friday. The first task of the extravehicular activity is the repair of a thermal blanket that pulled away from the orbital maneuvering system pod on the rear of the shuttle. About an hour and 20 minutes before this morning’s scheduled wakeup call, the crews were awakened by a false alarm on the station. The alarm was triggered by the restart of Russian navigation computers that provide backup attitude control and orbital altitude adjustments. Flight controllers continue efforts to bring the computers back up to full operation. For now, the station’s control moment gyroscopes are handling attitude control, with the shuttle’s propulsion system providing backup.

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LAUNCH COVERAGE
by Arthur Rowe 14 Jun '07

14 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 LAUNCH COVERAGE *Space Shuttle Mission STS-117 * *Orbiter:* Atlantis <http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/atlantis-inf…> *Mission*: Space Station Assembly Building - 13A <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/mission_ov…> *Primary Payload:* S3/S4 Truss *Launch Date:* June 8 * Launch Time*: 7:38:04 p.m. EDT *Launch Pad*: 39A <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html> *Landing Date:* June 21 *Landing Time:* 1:54 p.m. EDT *Mission Duration*: 13 days *Inclination/Altitude:* 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles Image above: Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off into a clear blue Florida sky. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann TO VIEW LAUNCH IMAGE GO TOl http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html + View High-res Image <http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170897main_liftoff-lg.jpg> + Launch Day Photos <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/multimedia…> + Launch Day Videos <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/launch/lau…> *Atlantis Launches!* After a virtually flawless countdown, Space Shuttle Atlantis thundered into the early evening sky over Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The on-time launch headed the STS-117 crew toward the International Space Station where they will deliver a new crew member, truss segment and solar arrays. RELATED NASA SITES

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Crews Work Together;
by Arthur Rowe 14 Jun '07

14 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Crews Work Together; Flight Controllers Work on Computer Problem* Image above: The International Space Station's new S3/S4 truss and solar arrays are viewed from Space Shuttle Atlantis' robotic arm. Image credit: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html The Expedition 15 crew continues to conduct joint operations with its visitors on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Russian flight controllers are troubleshooting a problem with backup navigation computers. The computers were restarted this morning. Flight controllers continue efforts to bring the computers back up to full operation. Throughout the week, the two crews have been activating the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment that was attached to the station on Monday. The STS-117 crew has conducted two spacewalks to prepare the new segment for activation and to retract arrays on the Port 6 (P6) truss. The P6 will be relocated from atop the station to the end of the Port 5 truss by a future shuttle crew. The S3/S4, which is 45 feet long and weighs 35,678 pounds, contains a new set of solar arrays that will increase the station’s power-generation capabilities. The S3/S4 also contains a rotary joint that will allow its arrays to track the sun. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117’s stay. In addition to a new truss segment, NASA Astronaut Clayton Anderson joined the Expedition 15 crew on Sunday, replacing Flight Engineer Suni Williams. Anderson arrived at the station as a member of Space Shuttle Atlantis’ crew. Atlantis docked to the station on Sunday. Williams spent six months as an Expedition crew member. Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the station June 19. + Read more about Expedition 15 <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.ht…> + View crew daily timelines <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>

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Crews to Fold Arrays,
by Arthur Rowe 14 Jun '07

14 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Crews to Fold Arrays, Prep for Spacewalk Repair Tasks* STS-117 spacewalkImage above: Spacewalker Steve Swanson helps with the retraction of a solar array during the mission's second spacewalk. Image credit: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html As Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station sail above Earth today, the STS-117 and Expedition 15 crews will continue retracting solar arrays and preparing for repair work during Friday’s spacewalk. STS-117 Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas will review procedures and practice techniques they will use during the spacewalk set to begin at 1:38 p.m. EDT Friday. The first task of the extravehicular activity is the repair of a thermal blanket that pulled away from the orbital maneuvering system pod on the rear of the shuttle. This afternoon, the STS-117 crew will resume retraction of the starboard P6 solar array. Almost half of the 31½ array bays were retracted Wednesday. If the arrays are not fully retracted today, efforts will resume Friday with the assistance of the spacewalkers. About an hour and 20 minutes before this morning’s scheduled wakeup call, the crews were awakened by a false alarm on the station. The alarm was triggered by the restart of Russian navigation computers that provide backup attitude control and orbital altitude adjustments. For now, the station’s control moment gyroscopes are handling attitude control, with the shuttle’s propulsion system providing backup. *STS-117 Mission* + The Crew <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/index.html> + The Mission <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/mission_ov…> + The Integrated Truss Structure <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html>

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Spacewalkers Prep SARJ for Action
by Arthur Rowe 14 Jun '07

14 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 Astronauts Patrick Forrester and Steve Swanson continued work to activate the International Space Station’s Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment during STS-117’s second spacewalk. The 7-hour, 16-minute excursion wrapped up at 9:44 p.m. EDT Wednesday. The spacewalking duo first assisted with the retraction of the starboard solar array on the Port 6 (P6) truss. They left launch restraints still attached on the S3/S4 Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). Flight controllers want to take a closer look at a drive lock assembly on the SARJ. After the launch restraints are removed on an upcoming spacewalk, the rotary joint will allow the S3/S4 arrays to track the sun as the station orbits Earth. 13 of the P6’s 31.5 array bays were retracted Wednesday, and the crew will send commands Thursday to retract the remaining bays. Before moving on to SARJ, Forrester and Swanson “fluffed” the array to allow easier retraction on Thursday. The retraction of the P6 array clears the line of sight for the S3/S4 arrays to track the sun and sets the stage for the P6’s relocation by a future shuttle crew from atop the station to the end of the Port 5 truss. Mission Specialist Jim Reilly coordinated the spacewalk, and Pilot Lee Archambault operated the station’s robotic arm. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117. The next is set for Friday. In other activities, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clayton Anderson continued to transfer cargo between the station and Space Shuttle Atlantis.

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Spacewalkers Prep SARJ for Action
by Arthur Rowe 13 Jun '07

13 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Spacewalkers Prep SARJ for Action* Image above: Spacewalker Pat Forrester rides on the end of the station's robotic arm to assist with the retraction of a solar array. Image credit: NASA TV . TO VIEW THE IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html Astronauts Patrick Forrester and Steve Swanson continue to work outside the International Space Station to activate the newly installed Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment. They kicked off STS-117’s second spacewalk at 1828 UTC today. The orbital duo is preparing the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) on the S3/S4 truss for operation by removing the remaining launch restraints. The SARJ will allow the arrays to track the sun. The first major task of the spacewalk was to assist with the retraction of the starboard array on the Port 6 (P6) truss. The crew did not retract all of the 31 1/2 bays and will send commands Thursday to retract the remaining bays. Before moving on to the spacewalk’s next task, Forrester and Swanson “fluffed” the array to allow easier retraction on Thursday. The retraction of the P6 array also clears the line of sight for the S3/S4 arrays to track the sun. A future shuttle crew will relocate the P6 from atop the space station to the end of the Port 5 truss. Mission Specialist Jim Reilly is coordinating the spacewalk, and Pilot Lee Archambault is at the controls of the station’s robotic arm. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117. Today’s excursion is slated to wrap up about 0058UTC. In other activities, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clayton Anderson continue to transfer cargo between the station and Space Shuttle Atlantis.

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Astronauts Go Spacewalking,
by Arthur Rowe 13 Jun '07

13 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Astronauts Go Spacewalking, P6 Arrays Continue to Fold* Image above: Spacewalker Pat Forrester rides on the end of the station's robotic arm to assist with the retraction of a solar array. Image credit: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html Astronauts Pat Forrester and Steve Swanson kicked off STS-117’s second spacewalk at 1828 UTC today. The objectives of the excursion are to continue preparing the newly installed Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment for operation and to assist with the retraction of the starboard solar array on the Port 6 (P6) truss. + Watch the spacewalk live on NASA TV <http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html> They will spend most of the first hour of the 6½ hour spacewalk monitoring the retraction of the P6 array and will assist if required. Retraction of the array began at 6:47 a.m., and by 2:30 p.m., 7½ of the 31½ bays had been retracted. Once the P6 arrays are furled, the stage is set for a future shuttle crew to relocate the P6 from atop the space station to the end of the Port 5 truss. After the orbital duo leaves the P6, their attention will turn to the S3/S4 truss. Forrester and Swanson will prepare the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) for operation by removing the remaining launch restraints. The SARJ will allow the arrays to track the sun. Mission Specialist Jim Reilly is coordinating the spacewalk, and Pilot Lee Archambault is at the controls of the station’s robotic arm. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117. Today’s excursion is slated to wrap up about 0058 UTC. In other activities, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clayton Anderson continue to transfer cargo between the station and Space Shuttle Atlantis. *STS-117 Mission* + The Crew <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/index.html> + The Mission <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/mission_ov…> + The Integrated Truss Structure <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html> *Media Resources* + STS-117 TV Schedule <http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/mission_schedule.html> + Certificate of Flight Readiness (3.7 Mb PDF) <http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/178381main_readiness_%20certificate.pdf> + STS-117 Press Kit (5.9 Mb PDF) <http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/169479main_PressKit_117.pdf> + RTF Final Implementation Plan -- May 2007 (19.8 Mb PDF) <http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/178101main_rtfip_final_200705.pdf> + STS-117 Fact Sheet (1.8 Mb PDF) <http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/178546main_STS117%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf> *Visit the STS-117 Educator Resource Page* + Read more <http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/STS117_index.html>

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STS-117 Crew to Conduct Second Spacewalk
by Arthur Rowe 13 Jun '07

13 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *STS-117 Crew to Conduct Second Spacewalk* S117-E-06914 -- Astronaut Jim Reilly participates in the first spacewalk of STS-117Image above: Astronaut Jim Reilly participates in the first spacewalk of STS-117 on Monday, June 11. Image credit: NASA TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html Astronauts Pat Forrester and Steve Swanson will conduct STS-117’s second spacewalk today. The objectives of the excursion are to continue preparing the newly installed Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment for operation and to assist with the retraction of the starboard solar array on the Port 6 (P6) truss. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 1803 UTC and to last 6.5 hours. Retraction of the P6 array began at 1047 UTC Once the P6 arrays are furled, the stage is set for a future shuttle crew to relocate the P6 from atop the space station to the end of the Port 5 truss. Forrester and Swanson will assist in the retraction if needed during the early stages of the spacewalk. The work with the S3/S4 will focus on preparing the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) for operation by removing the remaining launch restraints. The SARJ will allow the starboard arrays to track the sun. Mission Specialist Jim Reilly will coordinate the spacewalk and Mission Specialist Lee Archambault will operate the station’s robotic arm. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117.

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Station Spreads New Wings;
by Arthur Rowe 12 Jun '07

12 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Station Spreads New Wings; Crew to Prep for Spacewalk* Image above: The rear-facing solar array on the space station's S3/S4 truss is fully deployed. Image credit: NASA TV The International Space Station spread its new set of wings today, and now the STS-117 crew members can turn their attention to the mission’s next spacewalk. TO VIEW THE IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html The solar arrays on the newly installed Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment deployed to their full length with the assistance of the STS-117 crew. The S3/S4 was installed onto the station Monday before the start of STS-117’s first spacewalk, during which STS-117 astronauts began activating the truss. The arrays will increase the station’s ability to generate power when they go online. Today’s deployment activities occurred in steps, beginning about 11:43 a.m. EDT. The forward-facing array on the S3/S4 was first deployed to its length of 115 feet. The procedure was repeated for the rear-facing array which was fully deployed about 1:58 p.m. The STS-117 astronauts are scheduled to enjoy a few hours of off duty time this afternoon before beginning preparations for the mission’s second spacewalk on Wednesday. Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Pat Forrester will continue the activation of the S3/S4 and assist in the retraction of the starboard solar array on the Port 6 (P6) truss during the spacewalk. Wednesday’s excursion is scheduled to begin at 2:03 p.m. The P6 will move from its location atop the station to the end of the Port 5 truss during a future mission. Tonight at 9:13, STS-117 crew members will participate in interviews with CBS News and El Paso, Texas, TV stations KFOX-TV and KTSM-TV. The interviews will be aired on NASA TV. *Managers Add Spacewalk, 2 Days to Mission* During a post-mission management briefing Monday, John Shannon, chair of the Mission Management Team, announced NASA will extend the mission two extra days and add a fourth spacewalk. The team extended the mission by two days and added a fourth EVA to provide time to repair the raised thermal blanket on the Orbital Maneuvering System pod. A decision about whether that job will be done on EVA 3 or EVA 4 is expected today. The next Mission Status Briefing is slated to take place at 6 p.m. today and air on NASA TV. *STS-117 Mission* + The Crew <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/index.html> + The Mission <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/mission_ov…> + The Integrated Truss Structure <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html>

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