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STS-129 MCC Status Report #06

HOUSTON – After a night spent camping out in the Quest airlock, Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher are awake and into the final preparations for the first spacewalk of the STS-129 mission.
Foreman, Satcher and the rest of Atlantis’ crew were awakened at 3:28 a.m. to the sound of The Newsboys’ song “In Wonder.” It was played for Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik, who will be choreographing today’s spacewalk from inside the station.
The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:18 a.m. and last 6.5 hours. During that time, Foreman and Satcher will be installing a spare S-band antenna structural assembly brought up in Atlantis’ cargo bay. The equipment will be stored on the Z1 segment of the station’s truss system, and to get it there Satcher will be riding the station’s robotic arm, driven by Mission Specialist Leland Melvin, Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore.
Other tasks on the spacewalkers’ agenda include the installation of a set of cables for a future space-to-ground antenna on the Destiny laboratory and the replacement of a handrail on the Unity node with a bracket that will be used to route an ammonia cable required for the Tranquility node when it is delivered next year. Foreman and Satcher will also reposition a cable connector on the Unity node, troubleshoot a cable connection and lubricate two latching end effectors – one on the Japanese robotic arm and one on the mobile base that allows the station’s main robotic arm to travel to different worksites.
Meanwhile, inside the station, further work will be going on to prepare the station for the arrival of the Tranquility node. While Satcher and Foreman are making adjustments on the exterior of the station, station Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams will be working at the port hatch of the Harmony node to rewire data, power and cooling lines and air flow connections that will be connected to Tranquility. Their task is also scheduled to take about 6.5 hours today, however that won’t be the end of it; De Winne and Williams will continue working on the project over several days during the STS-129 mission.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant.

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3:30 a.m. CST Thursday, Nov. 18, 2009
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas