HOUSTON, Oct. 27, 2007
Astronauts Open Space Station Addition
New Module Expands Station's Living Area By 18 Percent
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Astronauts Peggy Whitson (left) and Paolo Nespoli enter the Harmony module for the first time. They are wearing goggles and masks to avoid contact with possible floating debris in the new module. (NASA TV)
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Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the International Space Station during STS-120 rendezvous and docking operations on Oct. 25, 2007. The Harmony module is visible in Discovery's cargo bay. (NASA)
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Astronaut Pam Melroy, STS-120 commander, floats into the Unity node of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Discovery is docked with the station. (NASA)
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This image provided by NASA-TV shows astronauts Douglas Wheelock, below the antenna and astronaut Scott Parazynski, feet towards camera, work on stowing the broken antenna in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery, Oct. 26, 2007 during their first spacewalk. (AP Photo/NASA-TV)
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Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center October 23, 2007 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)
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The compartment will serve as a docking port for European and Japanese laboratories that will be delivered on the next three shuttle flights.
The grand opening came about a half hour ahead of schedule. Commander Peggy Whitson and astronaut Paolo Nespoli delayed their lunch so the event could happen before the station's orbit temporarily blocked the ability to send a video downlink to Mission Control.
After struggling a bit to unlatch the door, the pair slipped inside the new addition. Nespoli floated around the room while Whitson collected air samples. They wore the protective gear in case any debris was shaken loose inside the module during launch or installation.
"It's a pleasure to be here in this very beautiful piece of hardware," said Nespoli, who joined Discovery's crew to personally deliver the Italian-made pressurized chamber.
The other eight crew members aboard the orbiting complex set aside their work to watch the hatch opening, snapping photographs throughout the process.
Astronauts added the school bus-sized room - called Harmony - during a 6.5-hour spacewalk Friday, using a robotic arm to lift it from the shuttle's cargo bay and install it on the station.
A block of time had been set aside Saturday for more inspections of Discovery for launch damage. But NASA decided Friday that a focused examination wasn't necessary because the shuttle's thermal shielding appeared to be in good shape.
Examining the shield that protects the shuttle from the searing heat of re-entry has been a top priority for NASA since Columbia's loss in 2003.
Columbia disintegrated after a piece of foam broke off its external fuel tank during liftoff and gashed a wing, allowing hot gases to penetrate the ship during its descent. All seven of its astronauts were killed.
NASA examined images of Discovery gathered during launch, a second-day wing and nose scan and a pre-docking backflip maneuver before determining there was no significant damage. Another inspection two days before landing will check for any impacts from orbital debris.
Astronauts Daniel Tani and astronaut Scott Parazynski also were scheduled to spend time Saturday preparing for the next day's spacewalk, the second of a record-tying five outings planned for the mission.
They plan to install spacewalking handrails and other equipment to the outside of Harmony. The spacewalkers also will take a look at a rotary joint for the space station's solar wings that has exhibited electrical current spikes in the past 1½ months. The joint is necessary for turning the solar wings toward the sun.
More computer repairs are also on the crew's Saturday to-do list. Both Discovery and the space station have had some networking problems over the past few days.
NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov
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Can CBS find a way to provide a "Ron Paul" filter? Please?
BTW, what an exciting time to be an astronaut! - Reply to this comment
- Are all Ron Paul supporters such morons? They can''t find a platform where people come to hear their message, so they bombard forums such as these with their inane canned spiel. I am as conservative as they come, but it''ll be a cold day in hell before I ever vote for Ron Paul. Note the Rules of Engagement that you clicked to "accept" when you posted your drivel: "Comments should be limited to the topic of the original posting." I guess that means that Ron Paul, by virtue of his supporters, supports lawlessness and incivility. Not the kind of person I want in the White House.
Can CBS find a way to provide a "Ron Paul" filter? Please?
BTW, what an exciting time to be an astronaut! - Reply to this comment
- I want to report a major fire, friends. CBS isn''t reporting it. Our Constitution is on fire. And it''s currently being burned in Congress. See H.R. 1955, a.k.a., Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. I couldn''t believe it. Apparently, activists with Web sites are really begining to anger the elite insofar as they are publically holding officials accountable for their evil. The bill passed the house on Oct 23, in spite of Congressman, Ron Paul''s opposition. The right to free speech on the Internet is gone, my friends. Look it up for yourself, and weep for your country as I have that our rights have eroded this far. Here''s a short excerpt from the bill''s DEFINITIONS statement: "The development and implementation of methods and processes that can be utilized to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States is critical to combating domestic terrorism." Here''s another excerpt from the bill''s FINDINGS statement: "The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens." And guess who get''s to decide what is "terrorist-related propaganda?" You got it! The Department of Homeland Insecurity, an agency that''s answerable ONLY to The President. If Ron Paul isn''t elected, our country is doomed!
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- this is really fantastic, what a marvelous work
and a wonder. one of this milleniums seven wonders.
i guess you can ''create space''. pro-space.
many are still anti-space. they would rather
remain in the weeds, and wash in the river, and
say ogga booga two times a day. old legends say
at one time, millions of years ago, we went into
space, and we destroyed ourselves soon after.
ancient apache legend say, universe is giant
womb giving birth, it is also tomb too. origin
of space itself? what a ''marvel'' to see.
amazing. - Reply to this comment
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