NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

STATUS REPORT : SS05-015 International Space Station Status Report: SS05-015 Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov completed preparations for Monday's spacewalk and then rested to prepare for the excursion.

Sharipov and Chiao are ready to step outside for nearly six hours to continue the external outfitting of the Station with antennas for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). They also will deploy a small Russian technology satellite, Nanosatellite, to test control techniques. NASA TV begins live coverage of the space walk just after midnight EST, Monday, March 28. The spacewalk begins at about 1:25 a.m. EST.

Also this week, managers approved a plan to restore power to one of the Station's four stabilizing Control Moment Gyroscopes. The plan calls for Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-114) crewmembers, during the Return to Flight mission, to make connections that will bypass a failed circuit breaker, called a Remote Power Controller. The repair will take place during the mission's first spacewalk. The mission launch window is May 15 - June 3.

Monday's spacewalk is planned as the second and final one for Expedition 10. On Monday, the crew worked out on a stationary bicycle, while doctors on the ground monitored their health. They were pronounced physically fit for the spacewalk. The crew also checked the health of the breadbox-sized satellite, finding it in good order.

The crew will install the fourth, fifth and sixth in a series of communications antennas for the European ATV. The also will install a Global Positioning System antenna on the Station's Zvezda living quarters module, inspect and photograph the large "Lira" antenna on Zvezda to ensure it is in the correct position. Early today, a thermal control loop panel failed in Zvezda that provides cooling to the Pirs airlock. Its backup system was activated to provide the necessary cooling. There are two circulating pumps associated with each panel. Both pump panels are needed to provide adequate backup capability for the spacewalk. The crew will troubleshoot the pump panel early tomorrow and replace one or both of the pumps in the degraded panel.

The crew will close hatches between the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station at 5:55 p.m. (all times EST), Sunday; deactivate nonessential systems at 6:30 p.m. and perform preliminary spacesuit tests at 8 p.m. Airlock systems checks are set for 10:20 p.m., and final suit checks at 10:50 p.m.

Chiao and Sharipov will climb into their Orlan suits at 11:10 p.m. Sunday and begin depressurizing the airlock at 11:40 p.m. The spacewalk will officially begin, when they open the Pirs hatch about 1:25 a.m. EST, Monday.

The new Station repair job during STS-114 is planned as a five-minute task on the first of the mission's three spacewalks. STS-114 spacewalker Steve Robinson will reconfigure power cables to bypass the circuit breaker, providing power to restart a Station Control Moment Gyroscope. Power was removed from that gyroscope last week, when the circuit breaker failed. Later on the mission, Robinson and Soichi Noguchi will replace another gyroscope that failed in June 2002. The work will restore the Station to four operating gyroscopes. The Station's orientation is being maintained well with only two gyroscopes.

Also this week, the crew repressurized the Station using oxygen from tanks on the attached Progress supply ship. Mission managers elected to postpone any further troubleshooting of the balky Elektron oxygen-generating system until after the spacewalk. The Elektron, which converts water into oxygen, is one of several methods used to provide oxygen.

Ground controllers powered up the Mobile Servicing System on Wednesday and confirmed software was working properly after an update last week. The Canadarm2 robotic arm is in position for its cameras to provide television views of the spacewalk. Russian flight controllers commanded Station thrusters to fire and increase the altitude of the complex by about 1.8 statute miles. The reboost places the Station at the correct altitude and trajectory for the launch April 15 of Expedition 11 and a European Space Agency astronaut. Information about crew activities on the Station is available on the Internet at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

NASA TV is available on the Web and via satellite in the continental U.S. on AMC-6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. In Alaska and Hawaii, it's on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.

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