Feb. 22, 2007
Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602
John Ira Petty
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
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:
-end-