Astronauts wrap up space station make-over mission
26 Nov 2008 20:27:00 GMT Source: Reuters
By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov 26 (Reuters) - The shuttle Endeavour astronauts packed samples from the International Space Station's revived urine recycling system on Wednesday and prepared to leave the outpost after a successful home-makeover mission. The astronauts collected more than six quarts (litres) of recycled urine and other wastewater for analysis on the ground. The recycler, part of a $250 million life-support system delivered by the visiting space shuttle, is needed to support an expanded, six-person crew on station next year. "The urine processing assembly performed well over the last few days and we got what we need out of it," said flight director Brian Smith. Fixing the water system's centrifuge was among dozens of repairs and upgrades the shuttle Endeavour and space station crews tackled during their 12-day joint mission. The shuttle is scheduled to leave the station on Friday and return to Earth on Sunday. Endeavour hauled more than seven tons of new gear to the station, which has been under construction more than 200 miles (320 km) above the Earth since 1998. Two more years are needed to complete the complex, a $100 billion project of 16 nations. The renovations included the first bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen for the U.S. side of the station, and a newly restored power system. During four spacewalks astronauts cleaned, lubricated and repaired a balky rotary joint that is needed to position the station's solar wings so they can collect energy from the sun. Mission managers say the repairs appear to be so successful that a time-consuming and expensive plan to add spare equipment to the joint may not be necessary. The crews of the shuttle and the space station have several hours of off-duty time on Thursday, the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. They plan to share an orbital version of Thanksgiving dinner: dehydrated turkey, candied yams, green beans and corn-bread stuffing. There will soon be more unpacking for the three-member space station crew, which now includes flight engineer Sandra Magnus, who arrived on Endeavour. A Russian Progress cargo ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early on Wednesday with fuel and other supplies for the orbital outpost. The ship is scheduled to reach the space station on Sunday, a few hours before shuttle Endeavour's planned 1:18 p.m. EST (1818 GMT) touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Editing by Jim Loney and David Storey)
This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite shows the Los Angeles metropolitan area on November 16, 2008 and released by NASA November 17. Places where ...
