Second Spacewalk of STS-128 Complete

(NASA) – STS-128 mission specialists Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang completed the second spacewalk of the mission at 12:51 a.m. EDT Friday. The astronauts began the spacewalk at 6:12 p.m. Thursday.

Olivas and Fuglesang installed a new Ammonia Tank Assembly on the International Space Station’s Port 1 truss, aided by station robotic arm operators Kevin Ford, STS-128 pilot, and Nicole Stott, Expedition 20 flight engineer. Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester served as the intravehicular officer throughout the spacewalk.

Riding the station’s robotic arm, STS-128 Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang moves an empty tank assembly into the shuttle’s cargo bay. Credit: NASA TV

Shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialist Jose Hernandez and station flight engineers Mike Barratt, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne continued unloading the Leonardo cargo module. Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko continued station maintenance in the Russian segment.

Experts analyzing a conjunction between the space shuttle/space station and a portion of an Ariane 5 rocket body concluded it is not necessary to perform a Debris Avoidance Maneuver.