The astronauts of the "Endeavor" Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough returned today to complete the decompression compartment of the fourth and final walk around the International Space Station.
The mission of the ship, which originally was expected to be completed by next Saturday, will be extended by a day to continue the testing of a system for purification of urine that will expand the number of occupants of the complex on Earth.
Thus, the ship will undock from the ISS on Friday and return to Earth on Sunday after 16 days in space.
"There is no problem. This group is happy to be here, and if we can extend the stay by one day we will do that," replied Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the commander of the ISS, Michael Fincke.
Bowen and Kimbrough returned to the station at 22h31 (from Australia) this Monday, after more than six hours of "excellent job", according to mission control.
As occurred in the three previous walks, the astronauts are dedicated to lubricate the rotary joints of ISS solar panels, and reinstall the thermal cover that protects the extreme changes in temperature space.
I also noticed that a mechanism had not functioned properly in one of these joints, in addition to collecting materials that will return to Earth.
While the astronauts floating in space, the technicians in Houston worked to solve problems in the new system for processing liquid from the station, designed to transform sweat and urine into drinking water.
The processor net is hung up before expected. Apparently, the flaw is due to the interference of a sensor using a centrifuge used to separate water from urine, and the solution of this problem is vital if the station can receive six people from May.
The mission of the ship, which originally was expected to be completed by next Saturday, will be extended by a day to continue the testing of a system for purification of urine that will expand the number of occupants of the complex on Earth.
Thus, the ship will undock from the ISS on Friday and return to Earth on Sunday after 16 days in space.
"There is no problem. This group is happy to be here, and if we can extend the stay by one day we will do that," replied Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the commander of the ISS, Michael Fincke.
Bowen and Kimbrough returned to the station at 22h31 (from Australia) this Monday, after more than six hours of "excellent job", according to mission control.
As occurred in the three previous walks, the astronauts are dedicated to lubricate the rotary joints of ISS solar panels, and reinstall the thermal cover that protects the extreme changes in temperature space.
I also noticed that a mechanism had not functioned properly in one of these joints, in addition to collecting materials that will return to Earth.
While the astronauts floating in space, the technicians in Houston worked to solve problems in the new system for processing liquid from the station, designed to transform sweat and urine into drinking water.
The processor net is hung up before expected. Apparently, the flaw is due to the interference of a sensor using a centrifuge used to separate water from urine, and the solution of this problem is vital if the station can receive six people from May.
No comments:
Post a Comment