 |
| Image above: STS-116 Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham
retrieves items from a drawer on the middeck of the Space Shuttle
Discovery during flight day six activities. Image Credit: NASA TV |
•
Watch NASA TV
Crew checks out heat shield and deploys scientific satellites
On Wednesday, the STS-116 astronauts conducted a final inspection of
Space Shuttle Discovery’s heat shield and began preparations for
their return to Earth.
STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialist
Nicholas Patrick, KD5PKY, used the shuttle’s robotic arm and boom
extension sensor system to check the heat shield for any micrometeoroid
hits that may have occurred while the orbiter was docked to the International
Space Station.
Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR, Joan Higginbotham
and Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, stowed items in preparation for the return to
Earth. Discovery is slated to touch down at 3:56 p.m. EST Friday.
Small scientific satellites were deployed from the payload bay Wednesday
night. The Microelectromechanical System-Based PICOSAT Inspector (MEPSI)
will demonstrate the use of tiny, low-power satellites to observe larger
spacecraft by testing the function of small camera systems and gyroscopes.
The Radar Fence Transponder (RAFT) satellite is a student experiment
from the United States Naval Academy that uses picosatellites to test
the Space Surveillance Radar Fence.
Discovery undocked from the station Tuesday, ending an eight-day stay
at the orbital outpost. While there, the crew continued the on-orbit construction
of the station with the addition of the P5 spacer truss segment during
the first of four spacewalks. The next two spacewalks were devoted to
the rewiring of the station’s power system, leaving it in a permanent
setup. A fourth spacewalk was added to allow the crew to retract solar
arrays that had folded improperly.
Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two tons of
equipment and supplies to the station. Almost two tons of items no longer
needed on the station will return to Earth with STS-116.
|
