Image Above: Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson (left) and STS-120 Mission Specialist Paolo Nespoli enter the Harmony module for the first time. Image: NASA TV

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Crews enter Harmony, Prepare for second spacewalk

The hatch of Harmony was opened at 8:24 a.m. EDT Saturday.

Station Commander Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD and Mission Specialist Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA – who is from Italy, where the module was built – were the first to enter, and took advantage of the opportunity to remark on the appropriateness of its name.

“We think Harmony is a very good name for this module,” Whitson said, “because it represents the culmination of a lot of international partner work and will allow international partner modules to be added on.”

Image Above: STS-120 and Expedition 16 crew members gather in the new Harmony module to talk to the press. Image credit: NASA TV

Crew members spent part of Saturday hooking Harmony systems up for use. After the module’s ventilation system was up and running, some crew members were able to take time out from their work for interviews with a few television stations. They answered questions on subjects ranging from the challenges of the missions to the historic significance of having Whitson, the first female commander of the station, in space at the same time as Pam Melroy, the second female commander for the shuttle.

Scott Parazynski, KC5RSY

Whitson recognized the schools that submitted the name 'Harmony' in an academic competition, and Nespoli made some comments about the significance of this new addition to the station. STS-120 Commander Pam Melroy also presented Whitson with a necklace with a Harmony charm that was given to her by one of the winning schools

The other major tasks for the day centered around preparations for the mission’s second spacewalk on Sunday. Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, KC5RSY and the station’s newly arrived flight engineer, Daniel Tani, KD5DXE are scheduled to leave the station at 5:58 a.m.