[sarex] STS-116 Leaves New Truss Segment, Crew Member With

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

The STS-116 crew’s stay at the International Space Station came to an 
end Tuesday when Space Shuttle Discovery undocked at 5:10 p.m. EST. 
During its eight-day visit, the STS-116 crew added a new truss segment 
to the station, delivered a new crew member and rewired the orbital 
outpost’s power system.

The STS-116 crew conducted three spacewalks to install the P5 integrated 
truss segment and rewire the station’s power system. The P5 spacer 
segment’s attachment to the P4 sets the stage for the relocation of the 
P6 and its set of solar arrays. The rewiring activities put the 
station’s power system in a permanent setup. A fourth spacewalk was 
conducted to assist in the retraction of the troublesome port solar 
array on the P6.

Astronaut Sunita Williams, who arrived at the station with the STS-116 
mission, replaced European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter on the 
Expedition 14 crew at midnight Tuesday, Dec. 12. Williams will remain a 
member of Expedition 14 until Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight 
Engineer Mikhail Tyurin are relieved by Expedition 15 in March 2007. 
Williams will finish her remaining time of her six-month tour of duty on 
the station as a member of Expedition 15. Reiter will return to Earth 
with STS-116.

Also, the STS-116 and Expedition 14 crews worked together to transfer 
4,292 pounds of supplies and equipment delivered to the station by 
Discovery. The two crews have also transferred 3,725 pounds of cargo 
that will return to Earth with STS-116.

STS-117 is scheduled to visit the station in March.

For the latest news and information on STS-116, visit the main shuttle 
page. + Read more 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html>