[sarex] Astronauts Continue Spacewalk

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C # 31468

*Astronauts Continue Spacewalk, Hatch Closure Preps*

Astronaut Dave Williams begins spacewalkImage above: Mission Specialist 
Dave Williams emerges from the hatch at the beginning of STS-118's 
fourth spacewalk. Image: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO 
TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Spacewalkers continue working on the exterior of the International Space 
Station as their crew mates are preparing for hatch closure. Mission 
Specialist Dave Williams and Flight Engineer Clay Anderson began the 
spacewalk at 9:17 a.m. EDT(1317 UTC) and are scheduled to wrap up about 
1:47 pm. (1747 UTC)

Williams and Anderson installed a stand for the shuttle’s robotic arm 
extension boom on the station’s truss structure. Other scheduled tasks 
for the shortened spacewalk include the installation an External 
Wireless Instrumentation System antenna and retrieval of two containers 
of the Materials ISS Experiment. Mission Specialist Tracy Caldwell is 
the spacewalk coordinator, a role that she has for all four STS-118 
spacewalks.

Inside the station, astronauts and cosmonauts are preparing for hatch 
closure between Space Shuttle Endeavour and the station, scheduled for 
about 5 p.m. today.

Overnight, mission managers decided to shorten the originally planned 
6.5-hour spacewalk to 4.5 hours so that the crew can close hatches 
between the station and shuttle at the end of the day today. That plan 
preserves the option to have Endeavour undock from the station on Sunday 
and prepare for a landing on Tuesday. The earlier landing is being 
considered in the event Hurricane Dean threatens the Houston area. It 
could allow an opportunity for the shuttle to land before Mission 
Control, Houston, would be shut down in preparation for a storm.

However, managers will review the forecast for Dean and mission 
activities this afternoon during their daily meeting and assess whether 
they will continue to pursue a possible early undocking and landing.