(NASA) – The Mission Ahead
The flight of space shuttle Endeavour includes several significant steps to install new crew equipment inside the International Space Station and service the solar array joints of the laboratory. During STS-126, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the space station will:
Image above: STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Eric Boe simulated shuttle landings at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the upcoming mission. The Shuttle Training Aircraft is a highly modified Gulfstream II jet that will mimic a shuttle returning from orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
– Exchange crew members. Sandra Magnus will swap places with current station resident Greg Chamitoff.
– Conduct four spacewalks. Working in teams of two, astronauts will emerge from the space station’s Quest airlock and work on the two large joints that turn the station’s massive solar array “wings.” They are to service the starboard side joint and perform preventative maintenance on the port side joint.
– Install new crew quarters, a galley, waste water recycling system and oxygen generator inside the space station. The equipment has been packed inside refrigerator-sized racks that require forklifts to lift them on Earth. But in space, a single astronaut can move a rack around with little problem.
Endeavour and its crew are to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 15 days in space.
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