SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C#31468
Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio and Dave Williams wrapped up STS-118’s first spacewalk at 6:45 p.m. During the 6-hour, 17-minute excursion, they successfully installed the Starboard 5 (S5) truss segment onto the International Space Station and continued preparations to relocate the Port 6 (P6) truss.
With Mastracchio and Williams assisting, Pilot Charles Hobaugh used the station’s robotic arm to attach the S5 about 1:35 p.m. The spacewalker then went to work to permanently bolting the S5 in place on the end of the Starboard 4 truss segment and then performed some scheduled and get-ahead tasks to prepare the S5 for the arrival of the Starboard 6 truss next year.
The final major objective of the spacewalk was the retraction of a radiator on the Port 6 (P6) truss. After the radiator was folded, Mastracchio and Williams secured it. The P6 will be relocated from atop the station to the end of the Port 5 truss during a future shuttle mission.
The spacewalk began at 12:28 p.m. and was the first conducted for Williams and Mastracchio. STS-118 Mission Specialist Tracy Caldwell coordinated spacewalk activities, and Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clay Anderson assisted Hobaugh at the controls of the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm. Two more spacewalks are currently scheduled for STS-118.
The Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System, which was activated after Friday’s docking, was shut down as a precaution during the spacewalk. It will be brought back online later today. The transfer system may allow Space Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-118 crew to stay at the station longer. A decision on a possible mission extension to 14 days is expected to be made Sunday.
Animations: + S5 Truss Overview javascript:watchNASAOnDemandTV('http://mfile.akamai.com/18566/wmv/etouchsyst2.download.akamai.com/18355/wm.nasa-global/STS-118/S5_OV.asx') | + S5 Truss Installation javascript:watchNASAOnDemandTV('http://mfile.akamai.com/18566/wmv/etouchsyst2.download.akamai.com/18355/wm.nasa-global/STS-118/S5_Install.asx')