[sarex] SPACE WALK COMPLETED

[Arthur Rowe]

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 
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| + S5 Truss Installation 
<javascript:watchNASAOnDemandTV('http://mfile.akamai.com/18566/wmv/etouchsyst2.download.akamai.com/18355/wm.nasa-global/STS-118/S5_Install.asx')>