SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*NASA Adds Two Days and a Fourth Spacewalk to Mission*

During a post-mission management briefing held at 8:00 PM EDT, John Shannon, chair of the Mission Management Team, announced NASA will extend the mission two extra days and add a fourth spacewalk to the mission.

*Astronauts Finish First STS-117 Spacewalk*

Jim Reilly (left) and John 'Danny' Olivas conclude the June 11, 2007 spacewalkImage above: Jim Reilly (left) and John "Danny" Olivas conclude the June 11, 2007 spacewalk. Image credit: NASA TV

TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and John “Danny” Olivas successfully completed tasks during STS-117’s first spacewalk to activate the International Space Station’s newest component.

The 6-hour, 15-minute excursion concluded at 10:17 p.m. EDT..

Reilly and Olivas went to work after the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment was installed onto the station. They made power, data and cooling connections between the station and the S3/S4. The spacewalkers also released locks and launch restraints on the segment’s solar arrays and prepared its radiator and rotary joint for operation.

The radiator was deployed during the spacewalk. The solar arrays will be unfurled Tuesday.

STS-117 Pilot Lee Archambault and Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov were at the controls of the station’s robotic arm during the spacewalk. STS-117 Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester coordinated the spacewalk.

The start of the spacewalk and the attachment of the truss were delayed due to the saturation of the control moment gyros that control the attitude of the station. Flight controllers performed standard procedures to bring the CMGs back to normal operations.

S3/S4 activation activities will continue during STS-117’s second spacewalk, slated to take place Wednesday afternoon.