There are 2 messages totalling 69 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. STS-127 MCC Status Report #16
2. STS-127 MCC Status Report #17

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:47:02 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-127 MCC Status Report #16

STS-127 Report #16 Thursday, July 23, 2009 - 6:30 a m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

Japan’s Koichi Wakata will inaugurate the use of Kibo’s robotic arm for scientific purposes today to install a trio of components on the station’s new “front porch ”

Starting about 7:33 a m CDT, Wakata and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra will begin the experiment transfers, moving the equipment from the Japanese payload carrier to the Japanese Exposed Facility outside Kibo They’ll have help along the way from STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky and Canadian Mission Specialist Julie Payette

The combined STS-127 and Expedition 20 crew was awakened at 4:33 a m with the song “Tiny Dancer,” performed by Elton John The song was selected for Polansky

On Wednesday spacewalkers Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy removed insulation covers from the Kibo module and readied the Japanese Exposed Section payloads for their transfer to the Exposed Facility

Today, the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image experiment will be moved first, then the Inter-orbit Communication System and the Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload

After the robotics are complete, the entire shuttle crew will field questions from television reporters in North Carolina, Maine and Florida at 3:23 p m Polansky and Mission Specialists Payette and Wolf will participate in a second set of television interviews at 4:58 p m

The crew also will configure spacesuits and tools, and review the updated procedures for the fourth spacewalk before going to bed about 7:30 p m

While the crew slept, Mission Control updated Friday’s spacewalk plan Mission Specialists Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will swap all four of the remaining Port 6 batteries on the fourth of five spacewalks In addition, they’ll install a camera on the Kibo porch that was deferred from the first spacewalk Cassidy and Wolf completed two of the battery swaps on the third spacewalk, but had to end the excursion early because of rising carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy’s suit

The crew also will transfer experiment samples to be returned home to Earth in the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator

The next mission status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s day, or earlier if events warrant

#

NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:56:03 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-127 MCC Status Report #17

STS-127 Report #17 Thursday, July 23, 2009 - 7 p m CDT Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – On its inaugural operational use, the Japanese robotic arm installed the first experiments and hardware on Kibo’s new porch at the International Space Station

Station and space shuttle Endeavour crew members took turns operating the arm to move equipment from a Japanese payload carrier to the Japanese Exposed Facility outside Kibo The operations were performed by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra, shuttle Commander Mark Polansky, shuttle Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Julie Payette

Although the robotic arm had been checked out previously, the operations ran long as the arm was put through its paces holding experiments and hardware for the first time The initial movement was faster than expected so the arm was stopped and transitioned into a manual mode that was a bit slower moving

All three experiments – the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, Inter-orbit Communication System and Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload – were installed on the Kibo exposed facility

After the robotics operations, crew members took time to discuss their mission with reporters in North Carolina, Maine, Florida, Nevada and Texas

The crew also prepared spacesuits and tools, and reviewed the updated procedures for the fourth spacewalk Mission specialists Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will swap all four of the remaining P6 Truss batteries on the fourth of five spacewalks, which is budgeted to last seven and a half hours

Cassidy and Mission Specialist Dave Wolf completed two of the battery swaps on the third spacewalk, but had to end the excursion early because of rising carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy’s suit A different carbon dioxide removal canister will be used in Cassidy’s suit Friday

Inside, the crew transferred experiment samples to Endeavour’s high-tech freezer for return home Tonight Cassidy and Marshburn will spend the night in the lower-pressure airlock to prepare for Friday’s spacewalk

The next mission status report will be issued Friday after crew wakeup, which is scheduled for 4:03 a m

#

NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail

End of HSFNEWS Digest - 23 Jul 2009 to 24 Jul 2009 (#2009-78)

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