Space Station Crew Cleans Up; Prepares for Monday Shuttle Departure
With most of their mission objectives successfully completed, the crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station will enjoy some scheduled time off during their last full day of joint operations.
Since Endeavour arrived at the station on November 25, the 10 astronauts and cosmonauts have successfully worked together to install the 14-ton P1 truss segment, outfit and activate it during three spacewalks, transfer equipment, experiments and supplies between the two spacecraft, and exchange resident crews aboard the station.
Today, spacewalkers Mike Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington, along with Pilot Paul Lockhart will clean up and stow away their spacesuits, following the conclusion of Saturday’s final spacewalk of the mission. Endeavour Commander Jim Wetherbee will gently pulse the orbiter’s thrusters this morning to raise the station’s altitude by approximately 2.8 miles. The jet firings will last approximately 45 minutes, and combined with two previous reboost maneuvers earlier in the mission, should increase the station’s total altitude by about 6 1/2 miles.
The crew will also take some today to verify operation of the tools that will be used during Monday morning’s undocking of Endeavour from the International Space Station and to complete the final transfer of equipment. Approximately 95 percent of transfer activities are complete.
About 2 p.m. central time, Wetherbee, Lockhart, Lopez-Alegria and Herrington, Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, will talk with media representatives from CNN Espanol, Indian Country Today and the Native America Calling radio network.
Final handover briefings between the Expedition Five and Expedition Six crews will continue throughout the day, as the 10 astronauts and cosmonauts prepare to bid each other farewell tomorrow. Hatches between the two spacecraft are slated to be closed about 11:15 a.m. central time Monday, with Endeavour undocking from the station about 2:05 p.m.
