Mission for STS-117:
Commanded by veteran shuttle flyer Rick Sturckow, Atlantis' STS-117 mission is set to launch tonight at 7:38 p.m. EDT (2338 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The planned 11-day spaceflight will deliver a pair of new starboard trusses and solar arrays to the ISS and ferry a new crewmember to the orbital laboratory. [SNIP]
During the third planned spacewalk of the STS-117 mission, astronauts Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas are expected to install a new hydrogen vent valve to the exterior of the space station's NASA Destiny laboratory that will allow the future activation of a U.S. oxygen generator to support larger outpost crews. But to do that, engineers had to come up with a new piece of hardware.
"The problem is that we don't have any standard tools to do that kind of remove and replace," Johnson said.
To install the new hydrogen vent, engineers came up with a "fluid fitting torque device" that is designed to fit around the vent's attachment point, drive loose a connecting bolt and free the spot for the new hardware.And more....
Rocket Scientists...unlike the subject of my last post.
(Thanks to Limerick)
UPDATE: Here's another decent photo.
And, inevitably, there are problems.
A slight concern about an exposed area in the shuttle's delicate heat-protection system arose overnight when engineers examined photos taken by the shuttle's crew after launch. The photo showed a small exposed area in thermal blankets on the left side of the shuttle near the thrusters Atlantis uses to move about in orbit, said NASA spokesman Louis Parker.
That area is not a usual focus for potential heat problems when the shuttle returns to earth, but normal day-after-launch inspections will assess it, Parker said.
"There's not a whole lot of concerns just yet," Parker said Saturday morning.
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