SPACE.com -- Mission Atlantis: Spacewalks Conclude with Truss Outfitted

Spacewalkers Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers depart the Quest airlock for their 3rd and final EVA of the STS-112 mission on Oct. 14, 2002.

Dave Wolf's helmetcam captured this incredidble view of Atlantis docked to the space station during a spacewalk on Oct. 14, 2002.

Dave Wolf, in red stripes, and Piers Sellers work outside the S1 truss during the third spacewalk of STS-112 on Oct. 14, 2002.

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	Mission Atlantis: Spacewalks Conclude with Truss Outfitted By Jim Banke Senior Producer, Cape Canaveral Bureau posted: 07:30 pm ET 14 October 2002

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Spacewalking astronauts finished everything on their list of things to do Monday, and then some.

Spending six hours and 36 minutes working in the vacuum of space, Atlantis mission specialists Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers completed the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) planned for their stay at the International Space Station.

As a result of their efforts, backed up by their seven American and Russian colleagues inside the orbiting complex, the S-One (S1) truss is now completely attached and fully outfitted for its future role in helping to keep the station cool.

"We're currently on schedule with all of our activities and all our goals being accomplished very nicely and on time," mission operations manager Bob Castle said following the conclusion of Monday's spacewalk. "Things have gone very, very well."

The day began with the successful deployment of a 75-foot-long radiator panel atop the S1 truss just a few minutes after the STS-112 Atlantis crew was awakened.

Although the panel won't actually be used to dispel heat until it is activated next year, engineers on the ground wanted to make sure the device would extend as expected before the final spacewalk. If it hadn't, Mission Control would have asked Wolf and Sellers to take a look at the situation and then manually deploy the hardware.

Then as the spacewalkers were donning their white EVA suits for the final time, commander Jeff Ashby fired Atlantis' thrusters and conducted the second orbit raising maneuver intended to boost the space station's altitude.

The station is now 6.1 miles (9.9 kilometers) higher than when Atlantis docked to the outpost Wednesday.

Having already done two spacewalks, the crew easily slipped into the swing of things such that Wolf and Sellers were ready to begin their final sortie outside 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

After departing the station's Quest airlock, the duo:

Unscrewed an uncooperative bolt that had remain stuck since the S-Zero truss was installed on the station's Destiny science module in April.
The bolt prevented an emergency cable cutting system from triggering during the truss' climb into Earth orbit. In order to make the connected S1 and S0 truss assembly fully operational, the bolt had to be removed.
Using a higher torque setting on his power drill, Wolf was able to remove the bolt and avoid having to do a tedious, 90-minute job to replace the system the bolt was a part of.
Connected ammonia lines so coolant would flow between the S0 and S1 trusses and then through the radiator panels attached to the S1 truss.
Removed the large metal pins that allowed the S1 truss to be securely fastened to the floor of Atlantis' cargo bay during the launch. Too big to throw away into space and no way to easily return them to Earth, the no-longer-needed hardware was stowed in cradles beneath the S1 truss' outer cover.
Installed ten more clamp-like devices that are designed to help prevent ammonia valves from leaking or from jamming in case future spacewalkers need to work with the plumbing.

A small number of other minor tasks were snuck in here and there as the two men crawled around the outside of the station, following a relaxed pace that allowed them more opportunities to take in the view, point their helmetcams to create postcard-perfect pictures and joke about the work they were doing.

"Have you ever tried to build a bicycle in public? You know how embarrassing that can be?" Wolf asked at one point when he was having trouble.

"Or a grill?" Sellers suggested.

On a couple of occasions as the station flew over Great Britain, Atlantis pilot Pam Melroy working inside as the spacewalk manager pointed out that fact to Sellers, who is a U.S. citizen but was born in Great Britain.

Still ahead for the crew: some time off on Tuesday and some final packing before Atlantis is scheduled to undock on Wednesday.

Landing remains set for Friday, and depending on the weather is expected to touch down on time at the Kennedy Space Center. Castle said mission managers have decided not to extend the mission while Atlantis remains docked to the station.

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