Spaceflight Now | STS-127 Shuttle Report (original) (raw)

Endeavour crew completes fifth and final spacewalk
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 27, 2009

Astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Christopher Cassidy staged a 4-hour 54-minute spacewalk today, the fifth and final excursion planned for the shuttle Endeavour's space station assembly mission. The spacewalkers installed two Japanese television cameras on a new experiment platform, fixed an insulation problem on a Canadian robot and re-wired a gyro control circuit.

They also completed a variety of minor "get-ahead" tasks after flight controllers decided there might not be enough carbon dioxide absorbent available in Cassidy's spacesuit to complete deployment of a cargo storage mechanism on the right side of the station's main truss. That task will be carried out by station astronauts or a future shuttle crew.

"Great job, outstanding EVA," Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide radioed from Houston after Marshburn and Cassidy floated back into the Quest airlock module. "We're all very happy to work with you, it's a privilege. Thanks and congratulations on five EVAs."

Said lead Flight Director Holly Ridings: "Today was a great day."

"With the completion of our fifth spacewalk, that really marks the end of an amazing list of objectives that have been successfully finished during this mission," she said.

Through five spacewalks, along with near daily work with three robot arms on the shuttle and the space station, the astronauts attached a sophisticated experiment platform to the Japanese Kibo lab module, installed three experiment packages, replaced aging solar array batteries and mounted critical spare parts on the station's main truss.

With today's installation of two television cameras on the Japanese Exposed Facility experiment shelf, or porch, the astronauts completed the assembly and outfitting of the three components making up the Kibo lab complex.

"Congratulations, you guys just completed the JEF assembly," Hoshide called from mission control.

"Well, that is a big deal," David Wolf replied from the shuttle-station complex. "You guys have a fabulous space agency and it's an amazing laboratory, both internal and at vacuum. It's been a privilege to work with you to complete it."

Commander Mark Polansky and his crewmates - pilot Douglas Hurley, Canadian flight engineer Julie Payette, Wolf, Cassidy, Marshburn and returning space station flight engineer Koichi Wakata - plan to undock from the International Space Station on Tuesday and land back at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday to close out a marathon 16-day mission.

"We've had our challenges and as a team," Ridings said. "We've all worked together to overcome those challenges and complete what looks like a very, very nominal mission almost exactly like we planned it."

During his first spacewalk last week, Cassidy, a former Navy SEAL, used up more CO2-absorbing lithium hydroxide than expected, forcing flight controllers to order an early end to the excursion. During his second spacewalk two days later, CO2 levels rose only slightly and he was able to complete a full-duration seven-hour 12-minute spacewalk.

But for today's EVA, Cassidy and Marshburn used a different type of CO-absorbent called METOX, a "rechargeable" compound that is slightly less effective than lithium hydroxide. An analysis of Cassidy's usage early in the spacewalk raised concern he might run into problems by the end of a full-duration EVA.

"Consumables, METOX for Tom is seven (hours) plus zero zero, METOX for Chris is five plus three zero. Those are non-conservative numbers," Hoshide radioed. "When we did the math on the ground, with the 15 minutes out for cleanup, we're past the bingo time for the PAS deploy. Just wondering what you guys think."

"We'll declare bingo. Simple," Wolf replied from orbit.

The payload attach system - PAS - mechanism on the starboard truss must be deployed before a November shuttle mission delivers spare parts and equipment that are scheduled to be stored at that location. It's not yet clear whether the crew of a late-August shuttle mission will inherit the deployment or whether the station crew will have to take it on.

"We had a lot of discussions before this EVA, we were very concerned with how much consumables we would have," lead spacewalk officer Kieth Johnson said later. "So we built a timeline with a full set of activities, hoping to get to those. But we knew if we went at the last task we had assigned without enough time we could get caught in the middle of it.

"And so at a certain point in the EVA, we had to make a decision as to whether or not we were going to do the payload attach system deploy. ... Unfortunately, because of the consumables, we had to back up our bingo time and we made the decision at that point not to go do the payload attach system."

Ridings said the decision might appear conservative to outsiders, but it was the right call given the past problems with Cassidy's suit, earlier trouble with similar attachment mechanisms and the arrival Wednesday or a Russian Progress supply ship.

"When you do the task, you're actually taking structural pieces of the truss apart," she said. "You've got to get the platform out and you've got to get it put back together. We've got a Progress coming less than 48 hours after the end of the EVA today and if you get yourself in a configuration where those beams are not structurally mated to the truss, then it's not a good idea to dock vehicles.

"When you think consumables, which we were tracking a little bit conservatively just based on our previous experience on this mission, plus the Progress in just a couple of days ... it made a lot more sense to be a little conservative. On paper, that task (PAS deploy) was going to take an hour and 30 minutes. The only two we've done, we've had trouble with both of them. ... We did the calculation, we had about an hour and 40 minutes. That was too close to go and do the activity."

Today's spacewalk began at 7:33 a.m. EDT and ended at 12:27 p.m. It was the 130th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the 11th so far this year and the fifth for Endeavour's crew. Total station spacewalk time now stands at 810 hours and 36 minutes, or 33.8 days. Endeavour's total through five spacewalks is 30 hours and 30 minutes.

Additional coverage for subscribers:
**VIDEO:**MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 12 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**INTERNATIONAL NEWS CONFERENCE WITH ASTRONAUTS PLAY
**VIDEO:**SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 12 ACTIVITIES PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**INTERNATIONAL MESSAGE FROM SHUTTLE AND ISS CREWS PLAY
**VIDEO:**INDY, CBS NEWS AND MEMPHIS MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLAY
**VIDEO:**SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**DELIVERY PALLET RETURNS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
**VIDEO:**LAST OF THE OLD BATTERIES STOWED AWAY PLAY
**VIDEO:**SIXTH AND FINAL NEW BATTERY IS PLUGGED IN PLAY
**VIDEO:**SPACEWALKERS RESUME WORK WITH BATTERY CHARLIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**MORE INTERVIEWS WITH LAS VEGAS, HOUSTON AND FOX PLAY
**VIDEO:**NORTH CAROLINA, MAINE AND ORLANDO TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
**VIDEO:**COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE PUT ON SCIENCE DECK PLAY
**VIDEO:**X-RAY ASTRONOMY PAYLOAD INSTALLED ON STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 9 ACTIVITIES PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**EARLY END TO SPACEWALK NO. 3 DECLARED PLAY
**VIDEO:**SECOND FRESH BATTERY PUT INTO STATION TRUSS PLAY
**VIDEO:**FIRST OF THE NEW BATTERIES INSTALLED PLAY
**VIDEO:**SPACEWALKERS REMOVE FIRST OLD BATTERY PLAY
**VIDEO:**CHRIS CASSIDY PREPS JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS PLAY
**VIDEO:**WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
**VIDEO:**STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAY

**VIDEO:**LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
**VIDEO:**LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
**VIDEO:**LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
**VIDEO:**RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
**VIDEO:**RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
**VIDEO:**RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**CREW ANSWERS PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS FROM SPACE PLAY
**VIDEO:**EXPOSED FACILITY RECEIVES EXPERIMENT CARRIER PLAY
**VIDEO:**JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 7 ACTIVITIES PLAY
**VIDEO:**TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**REPLACEMENT COOLING PUMP PUT ON STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**SPARE COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA TRANSFERRED PLAY
**VIDEO:**SPACEWALKER HOPS ABOARD STATION ARM PLAY
**VIDEO:**WOLF AND MARSHBURN BEGIN EVA NO. 2 PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
**VIDEO:**STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
**VIDEO:**MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
**VIDEO:**STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**CANADIANS IN SPACE PLAY
**VIDEO:**SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**PALLET HANDED OFF TO SPACE STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**CARGO CARRIER UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
**VIDEO:**SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 5 ACTIVITIES PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**UPDATE ON ENDEAVOUR'S HEAT SHIELD CHECKS PLAY
**VIDEO:**JAPANESE OUTDOOR SCIENCE PLATFORM ATTACHED PLAY
**VIDEO:**SHUTTLE AND STATION ARMS HANDOFF SCIENCE DECK PLAY
**VIDEO:**JAPAN'S EXPOSED FACILITY UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
**VIDEO:**THERMAL COVER JETTISONED FROM THE KIBO MODULE PLAY
**VIDEO:**HELMET-CAMERA VIEWS AS KOPRA CLIMBS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
**VIDEO:**TIM KOPRA EMERGES FROM AIRLOCK FOR EVA NO. 1 PLAY
**VIDEO:**SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
**VIDEO:**OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 4 ACTIVITIES PLAY
**VIDEO:**STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
**VIDEO:**NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS' ONBOARD CAMCORDER FOOTAGE PLAY
**VIDEO:**SHUTTLE FLIES OUT IN FRONT OF STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**ENDEAVOUR PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
**VIDEO:**BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR APPROACHING PLAY
**VIDEO:**STATION CAMERA CATCHES ENDEAVOUR'S "TI BURN" PLAY
**VIDEO:**NARRATED PREVIEW OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**THE FULL STS-127 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
**VIDEO:**INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: BANANA CREEK VIP SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY

**VIDEO:**SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**STS-127 POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
**VIDEO:**FOOTAGE OF FUEL TANK AFTER JETTISON PLAY
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS REACH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

**VIDEO:**WEATHER SCRUBS LAUNCH AGAIN PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CREW ARRIVES AT PAD 39A ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF

**VIDEO:**THUNDERSTORMS SCRUB SUNDAY'S ATTEMPT PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**NARRATED SUMMARY SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**NARRATED SUMMARY PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF

**VIDEO:**LIGHTNING STRIKES POSTPONE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY
**VIDEO:**FRIDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
**VIDEO:**THURSDAY'S STATUS REPORT ON THE COUNTDOWN PLAY
**VIDEO:**COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

**VIDEO:**NO LEAKS FOUND DURING SPECIAL TEST PLAY
**VIDEO:**EXPLANATION OF THE HYDROGEN LEAK AND THE REPAIR PLAY

**VIDEO:**POST-SCRUB NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**FIRING ROOM UPDATE WITH LAUNCH DIRECTOR PLAY
**VIDEO:**SCRUB NO. 2 DECLARED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK PLAY

**VIDEO:**SUNDAY'S UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY
**VIDEO:**LEAK POSTPONES SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY

**VIDEO:**TIME-LAPSE OF SUN SETTING OVER PAD 39A PLAY
**VIDEO:**ANOTHER TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY RETRACTION PLAY
**VIDEO:**TIME-LAPSE OF LAUNCH PAD TOWER ROLLBACK PLAY

**VIDEO:**PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MARK POLANSKY PLAY
**VIDEO:**PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HURLEY PLAY
**VIDEO:**PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS CASSIDY PLAY
**VIDEO:**PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH JULIE PAYETTE PLAY
**VIDEO:**PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TOM MARSHBURN PLAY
**VIDEO:**PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DAVE WOLF PLAY

**VIDEO:**THE STS-127 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY
**VIDEO:**THURSDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
**VIDEO:**JAPANESE SCIENCE FACILITIES ABOARD STATION PLAY
**VIDEO:**COUNTDOWN BEGINS TICKING FOR SATURDAY'S LAUNCH PLAY
**VIDEO:**LAUNCH COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**CREW ARRIVES JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**GET TO KNOW ENDEAVOUR'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY

**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE EVACUATION OF SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CREW BOARDS SHUTTLE FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP FOR DRESS REHEARSAL PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CREW INSPECTS CARGO IN THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**TRAINING SESSIONS AT LAUNCH PAD AND BUNKER PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**INFORMAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
**VIDEO:**ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

**VIDEO:**FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY

**VIDEO:**PAD 39A GANTRY ENCLOSES SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ROLLAROUND MOVES ENDEAVOUR TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ENDEAVOUR IS HAULED OFF LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**TIME-LAPSE OF SHUTTLE'S LAUNCH PAD SWITCH PLAY

**VIDEO:**SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
**VIDEO:**THE STS-127 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
**VIDEO:**PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
**VIDEO:**THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

**VIDEO:**PAD 39B AND ITS LAST SPACE SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ENDEAVOUR'S SUNRISE ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**MIDNIGHT ROLLOUT FROM ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ENDEAVOUR HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**CRANE ROTATES ENDEAVOUR VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
**VIDEO:**ORION AND ARES ROCKET PROGRESS REPORT PLAY
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