SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
1:30 a.m. CDT, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
09.10.06 STATUS REPORT: STS-115-02
STS-115 MCC Status Report #02
After days of waking up in quarantine, the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis woke up in weightlessness for its first full day in space.
The six-person crew of Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Dan Burbank, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe Tanner and Steve MacLean awoke at 12:17 a.m. CDT to Audrey Hepburn singing “Moon River,” played for Jett at the request of his wife, Janet.
Today’s busy schedule is typical of the mission ahead. After their initial post-sleep period, the crewmembers will begin preparations for the day’s many tasks.
Jett and Ferguson will start the day with a burn of the orbiter maneuvering system to help position the shuttle on its course to the International Space Station. Jett will then do shuttle system checks and maneuvers, camera setups and water configurations.
For Ferguson, the rest of the workday will be dedicated to shuttle survey activities. Operating the robotics visualization software program, Ferguson will work with Burbank and MacLean to survey Atlantis' thermal protection system. They will grapple and unberth the 50-foot-long orbiter boom sensor system, a crane extension for the shuttle's robotic arm. The extension uses two lasers and a high-resolution television camera to examine the shuttle’s wing leading edges and nose cap for any signs of damage that may have occurred during launch. Imagery analysts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston will examine data from the survey to assess Atlantis’ critical surfaces.
Tanner and Stefanyshyn-Piper will check out the spacesuits and tools that they, Burbank and MacLean will use during the mission’s three scheduled spacewalks. They’ll also make preparations of the items to be transferred to the station as well as perform photo and video setups. At the end of the day, Stefanyshyn-Piper and Ferguson will check out the rendezvous tools.
The next STS-115 status report will be issued Sunday afternoon, or earlier if events warrant.