CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A new heat-dispelling radiator panel was successfully extended at the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday, a good start to a busy day that is to see the final planned spacewalk of Atlantis' STS-112 mission.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, the radiator panel deployment was delayed because of an over sensitive electrical sensor. By the time the problem was solved, flight controllers had run out of time to complete the installation. Both the shuttle and station crews had to retire for the day, keeping to a regulated sleeping schedule.
However, within minutes of the shuttle crew rising Monday morning, the 75-foot-long (23-meter-long) panel was commanded open by Mission Control in Houston with first motion marked at 4:01 a.m. EDT (0801 GMT). Within 8.5 minutes the panel was fully extended and music of the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's "Messiah" could be heard on the radio.
This radiator panel is one of three that is part of the new S-One (S1) truss installed at the station during Atlantis' stay. All three heat-dispelling panels sit atop a rotating beam on the truss. A single panel was extended today as a mechanical engineering test. The other two panels will be extended some time next year when the radiator system is activated.
With that task complete, the next event expected Monday morning is for Atlantis commander Jeff Ashby to fire the shuttle's steering thrusters in a maneuver that will raise the space station's orbit by about two miles (3.2 kilometers). This is the second orbit-raising event of the flight and will put the laboratory complex in the proper orbit for two future visiting missions.
Then at about 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT), Atlantis astronauts Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers are expected to head outside one more time to complete the outfitting of the S1 truss during their third 6.5-hour spacewalk.
With two spacewalks under their belts, the duo was asked on Sunday if they thought Monday's spacewalk would be easy.
"We'd like to say it'll be a walk in the park, but it's not over until the fat lady floats, I think," Sellers said. "We're looking forward to it."
Highlights of the third extravehicular activity are expected to be more tedious work:
- The installation of clamps on lines;
- Replacing a device on the truss that was found not to be properly working during previous missions;
- The removal the hardware that helped keep the S1 truss firmly locked in Atlantis' cargo bay during the launch to orbit one week ago.
Meanwhile, mission managers might decide today where Atlantis' mission will be extended a day.
Mission operations manager Bob Castle said during the weekend that although there is no specific need to extend the flight, there are enough supplies to allow for it. Officials had not yet decided on how the Atlantis' crew would spend its extra 24 hours if the mission was extended.
For now, Atlantis is scheduled to undock with the ISS on Wednesday and return home to the Kennedy Space Center on Friday.
advertisement
