Status Report

NASA STS-135 Report #16 Friday, July 15, 2011 – 10:30 p.m. CDT

By SpaceRef Editor
July 16, 2011
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NASA STS-135 Report #16  Friday, July 15, 2011 – 10:30 p.m. CDT

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – The crew of the final space shuttle mission woke up today to well wishes from a former neighbor of sorts.

“Good morning, Atlantis” Houston native Beyonce Knowles said in a prerecorded message for the STS-135 astronauts. ,This is Beyonce. Sandy, Chris, Doug and Rex, you inspire all of us to dare to live our dreams, to know that we,re smart enough and strong enough to achieve them. 0/00

The message was preceded by Knowles, song ,Run the World (Girls), 0/00 and before the singer wrapped up her greeting, she had a special shout out for the crew’s female member, Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus.

“This song is especially for my girl, Sandy” she said, “and all the women who,ve taken us to space with them, and the girls who are our future explorers. “

Magnus, along with Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim are scheduled to spend more time today filling the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module up for return to Earth.

But as the list of items left to be packed grows shorter, they,ll be branching out to other activities, picking up some station work and performing spacesuit maintenance and even unpacking some of the cargo they,ve delivered.

Ferguson and Hurley will also spend some time working to repair the door that gives the crew access to the shuttle’s air revitalization system. The latch on the door was reported by the crew to have broken on Friday. The door is located in the floor of the shuttle’s middeck and opened by the crew when they change out the lithium hydroxide canisters that remove carbon dioxide from the shuttle’s atmosphere.

The next status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s day or earlier if warranted. The crew is scheduled to go to sleep just before 2 p.m. on Saturday.

SpaceRef staff editor.