[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT #SS07-10

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468


Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602

John Ira Petty
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111


	Feb. 22, 2007
STATUS REPORT: SS07-10

International Space Station Status Report: SS07-10

HOUSTON - Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight 
Engineer Mikhail Tyurin retracted a stuck antenna on a cargo spacecraft 
during a 6-hour, 18-minute spacewalk that ended at 10:45 a.m. CST Thursday.

On Oct. 26, the antenna failed to retract when the Progress vehicle 
docked to the station's Zvezda Service Module. Moving the antenna was 
necessary to ensure it would not interfere with the Progress undocking 
in April.

Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin had planned to release the antenna latch with a 
punch and a hammer. When clearance issues prevented that, they cut 
struts supporting the antenna. That enabled them to partly retract the 
antenna and secure it with wire ties. They reported it had about six 
inches of clearance from Zvezda, adequate for undocking.

Early in the spacewalk, Tyurin had problems with his spacesuit's cooling 
system, which caused his visor to fog up. But he and Lopez-Alegria were 
able to complete a number of other tasks. They began the spacewalk by 
photographing a Russian satellite navigation antenna and changing out a 
Russian materials experiment. They also inspected and photographed an 
antenna for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). The European cargo 
craft has more capacity than the Progress and is scheduled to make its 
first trip to the station later this year. The spacewalkers also 
photographed ATV docking targets.

They photographed a German robotics experiment, inspected, remated and 
photographed hardware connectors and inspected retention mechanisms and 
bolted joints on a hand-operated Strela crane that helps transport 
people and equipment outside Pirs. They also stowed two foot restraints 
on a ladder at Pirs before ending the spacewalk.

The spacewalk from the Pirs docking compartment was conducted in Russian 
Orlan spacesuits. It was the 81st for station assembly and maintenance, 
the 53rd from the station, the 20th from Pirs and the fifth for this 
station crew. This was the 10th spacewalk for Lopez-Alegria, a U.S. 
record, and the fifth for Tyurin.

For more about the crew's activities and station sighting opportunities, 
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html>