NASA STS-135 Report #07 4:30 p.m. CDT Monday, July 11, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
HOUSTON – Atlantis astronauts moved the Raffaello cargo carrier from the shuttle’s cargo bay to the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony node early Monday.
Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus moved the multi-purpose logistics module using the station’s Canadarm2. The installation of Raffaello was completed a little after 5:45 a.m. CDT.
After leak checks, hatches between Raffaello and the station were opened before noon. Unloading of the more than 9,400 pounds of supplies and equipment aboard Raffaello was scheduled to begin early Tuesday.
The module is to be unloaded, then filled with 5,666 pounds of equipment and discards no longer needed on the station. It is scheduled to be taken from the Harmony node port and reinstalled in Atlantis, cargo bay on Monday, July 18, several hours before crews of the two spacecraft say goodbye and close hatches. Atlantis is now scheduled to undock from the station that evening at 11:56 p.m.
Mission managers said Monday afternoon Atlantis, stay at the station would be extended for one day. The first Kennedy Space Center landing opportunity for Atlantis would be at 4:56 a.m. July 21. Landing had been scheduled for July 20, but conservation of power-generating consumables made the extension possible.
Managers also determined that after Saturday’s inspection, further detailed inspections of Atlantis, heat shield are not required. A customary, final inspection will be completed after Atlantis undocks from the station.
Other activities on the crews, schedules today included continuing transfer of items between the shuttle’s middeck and the station. Atlantis brought almost 2,300 pounds of experiments, equipment and supplies for the station in the shuttle’s middeck lockers.
Shortly before the end of their workday, the four shuttle crew members and station Flight Engineers Ron Garan, Mike Fossum and Satoshi Furuakawa met for about an hour to review procedures for Tuesday’s spacewalk. Beginning about 7:45 a.m., Garan and Fossum, who did three spacewalks together during STS-124 in June 2008, will leave the Quest airlock for the 6.5-hour outing.
Major spacewalk activities include retrieving a failed 1,400-pound pump module and installing it in the shuttle cargo bay for return to Earth, installing a robotic satellite refueling experiment and setting up a materials experiment.
The next status report will be issued after crew wakeup or earlier if warranted. The crew is scheduled to awaken just before 2 a.m. Tuesday.
