STS-123 MCC Status
Report #23
(21 March 2008) Endeavour's crew
completed additional inspections of the space shuttle's heat shield using the
Orbital Boom Sensor System (OBSS) today.
The detailed inspection
performed by Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Greg Johnson and Mission Specialist
Takao Doi included up-close examinations of the shuttle's thermal protection
system, including the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the leading edges of
the shuttle's wings as well as the nose cap of the orbiter.
Ground teams
will closely examine the imagery and data collected by the OBSS scan to ensure
one last time that Endeavour's heat-resistant tiles are safe for
re-entry.
This inspection is typically completed after the shuttle has
undocked from the space station, but because the crew will stow the OBSS on
board the station during the fifth and final spacewalk of the mission tomorrow,
the inspection was completed earlier. The OBSS will be stowed on the station in
preparation for Discovery's flight in May due to the size of the Japanese
pressurised Kibo module it will be carrying. Once Discovery's crew installs
that module on the station, it will pick up the OBSS left behind by Endeavour
and will bring it back to Earth after performing inspections.
The crew
also continued transfers of cargo and equipment between the shuttle and the
station. Tonight, astronauts Bob Behnken and Mike Foreman began the campout
period inside the station's Quest airlock to purge the nitrogen out of their
bodies. This will be completed in advance of tomorrow's spacewalk, which is
scheduled to last 6.5 hours.
The next STS-123 status report will be
issued after crew wake-up tomorrow at 11:28 a.m., or earlier if events
warrant.
(source: NASA)
|
||||||||||||