Shuttle and Station Crews Get to Work

(NASA) – Spacewalk preparations and water recovery system maintenance highlight the work schedule for the first full day of joint docked operations by the astronauts on space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station.

First up for Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick and Bob Behnken will be time to configure tools they’ll take outside on the first spacewalk of the mission Thursday evening. Shuttle Commander George Zamka and station Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi will resize a spare spacesuit for Behnken after a power harness on his original suit failed.

Members of the STS-130 and Expedition 22 crews participate in interviews with the media. Image credit: NASA TV

Station Commander Jeff Williams began his day by beginning the installation of a new Distillation Assembly and Flow Control Pump Assembly in the station’s Water Recovery System as part of the plan to reactivate the equipment that processes urine into drinking water for station crews. Flight Engineers Max Suraev and Oleg Kotov will continue to pack items in a Progress supply ship and T.J. Creamer is scheduled to be monitoring several scientific payloads. Shuttle Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialists Kay Hire and Steve Robinson will continue moving new equipment and supplies from Endeavour onto the station.

All 11 crew members are scheduled for some off duty time in the latter portion of their day before a spacewalk procedures review at 4:09 a.m. EST Thursday.