There are 2 messages totalling 72 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. STS-129 MCC Status Report #08
2. STS-129 MCC Status Report #09

Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:07:15 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-129 MCC Status Report #08

STS-129 Report #08 Friday, November 20, 2009 - 4:00 a m CST Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Though it began a little later than planned, the STS-129 crew is awake and starting work on the day’s activities

Their wakeup call came at 3:28 a m , which gave them 30 extra minutes intended to make up for sleep lost overnight when false depressurization caution alarms sounded on the International Space Station That occurred just after 7:30 p m , about 30 minutes after the crew began its sleep period

Although the flight control teams on the ground were able to determine that there was no depressurization occurring, the crew was never in any danger and ventilation fans were shutoff as a precaution That shutoff kicked up dust that resulted in a fire alarm in the European Columbus laboratory also sounding

By 8:15 p m , the flight control teams in Houston were working to bring the station back into its normal configuration, and Atlantis’ crew was told it could go back to sleep The space station crew members were required to stay up a bit longer as the station’s ventilation system was reactivated That work took a little over an hour, after which the station crew was able to resume its sleep period as well Flight control teams are looking into the cause of the initial false alarm

The shuttle crew started its day today with a wakeup call to the tune of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” which was played for Mission Specialist Leland Melvin

The day’s task will be unaffected by the night’s activities As no focused inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield was required, the crew will be focusing on preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk These tasks include recharging batteries, switching out Mission Specialist Robert Satcher’s spacesuit for that of Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik and reviewing procedures before Bresnik and Mission Specialist Mike Foreman begin their overnight campout in the Quest Airlock

In addition, the space shuttle’s robotic arm will be used to grab onto the second cargo pallet of spare equipment brought up by Atlantis in advance of its transfer to the space station on Saturday

Several crew members will also be talking with reporters on the ground over the course of the day At 5:08 a m , Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore will be talking with CBS News, FOXNews Radio and Nashville’s WTVG-TV At 6:28 a m , Melvin and Satcher will be interviewed by the Tom Joyner Morning Show And at 3:33 p m , Hobaugh, Melvin and Satcher will talk with ESPN’s SportCenter, Black Entertainment Television News and WRIC-TV in Richmond, Va

The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant The crew is due to go to sleep just before 6:30 p m

-end-

#

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: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:55:39 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STS-129 MCC Status Report #09

STS-129 Report #09 5 p m CST Friday, Nov 20, 2009 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON – Preparations for the second spacewalk of Atlantis’ STS-129 visit to the International Space Station, transfer of material between the spacecraft and talks with media representatives helped keep astronauts busy Friday

The Atlantis crew, Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher Jr and Nicole Stott, also tackled various maintenance, troubleshooting and science activities

Station Expedition 21 crew members, Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams, Maxim Suraev, Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk, joined in those activities

A little after 6 a m , the shuttle’s robotic arm grappled Express Logistics Carrier 2 in the shuttle cargo bay It will be handed off to the station arm Saturday and attached with its load of large spare parts to the outside of the station Its sister carrier, ELC 1, was attached to the station on Thursday

Foreman and Bresnik, the Saturday spacewalkers, prepared spacesuits and configured tools for their excursion Both crews spent an hour shortly before bedtime reviewing spacewalk procedures

Among spacewalk tasks will be installation of a second Payload Attachment System, this one on the upper part of the Starboard 3 truss It was to have been done on the third spacewalk on Monday, but was moved to Saturday The first PAS installation, initially scheduled for Saturday, was completed as a get-ahead task by Foreman and Satcher during the mission’s first spacewalk on Thursday Satcher will be Saturday’s intravehicular officer

Other spacewalk jobs Saturday include installation of a Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing (GATOR) assembly, which is part of a demonstration of two ship Automatic Identification System receivers, relocation of a Floating Potential Measurement Unit and installation of a Wireless Video System transceiver

The movement of materials between Atlantis and the station continued to go well Friday Well over half the mission’s transfer activities have been completed

Crew members participated in three chats with media representatives Hobaugh and Whitmore spoke with CBS News, Fox News Radio and Nashville’s WTVG-TV shortly after 5 a m Melvin and Satcher were on the Tom Joyner Morning Show at about 6:30 a m A little after 3:30 p m , Hobaugh, Melvin and Satcher talked with ESPN’s SportCenter, Black Entertainment Television News and WRIC-TV in Richmond, Va

Troubleshooting continued on Atlantis’ Orbiter Communication Adapter after difficulties with transmission of high-data-rate material On the station, change out of circuit boards in the Human Research Facility rack was completed

The next shuttle status report will be issued after the Saturday crew wakeup call, scheduled for 2:28 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 - 20 Nov 2009 to 21 Nov 2009 (#2009-128)

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