posted
First swede in space, yay! We are so proud of our Christer Fuglesang. He's been training for fourteen years for this day. Even brought an ABBA-record. Speaking of that, I read that someone (either the shuttle or ISS) played Blur's "Song 2" on the main channel a few hours ago. Prost.
I'm on a high now, but man how nervous everyone will be around the return in December 21st. I was all nervous and tingly just watching this video, fully knowing it went well.
May His Noodly Appendage guide them all the way, with gentle tugs and nudges in all the right places...
Da_bang80
A few sectors short of an Empire
Member # 528
posted
That's an awesome picture. Does it come in wallpaper sizes?
-------------------- Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I cannot accept. And the wisdom to hide the bodies of all the people I had to kill today because they pissed me off.
posted
Great. Apparently this is the highest concentration of first-timers in a shuttle trip in a long time. I read that the commander reported all clear for orbit and mentioned there were five people up there with him who just couldn't stop smiling.
Registered: Aug 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
I totally want an apartment with a view like that.
Registered: Nov 1999
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OnToMars
Now on to the making of films!
Member # 621
posted
It's a really nice apartment.
-------------------- If God didn't want us to fly, he wouldn't have given us Bernoulli's Principle.
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I want a space shuttle. You can keep the appartment (so long as I get the government funding).
-------------------- I have plenty of experience in biology. I bought a Tamagotchi in 1998... And... it's still alive.
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
This is crazy, Fuglesang is going outside the ISS 50 minutes from now, apparently he'll be doing a 60 meter "walk" across the station external and fusing together two portions of the station and rewiring the main power net for about six hours. On his first flight. I'm so not wanting his job right now.
I haven't checked if Nasa or CNN shows it live, but Sweden's main channel will show it streaming here. It should be viewable to anyone, it's basic flash I think. Its in the video section in the right margin, "Se promenaden direkt p� webben". (alright no more damn moose jokes)
It's on 21:42, Greenwich time plus one hour.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
NASA TV always has live, streaming 24/7 coverage of space shuttle missions. Watching the last hour of a launch countdown beats any reality TV. You can hear the NASA tech chatter, follow along every step of the way, and see the launch without pesky CNN factoid grpahics or commentary. Awesome stuff
EVA1 is about to start, and I've got it going on in the background in my office. Watch it streaming on NASA TV here:
If you look around, you can find the INSANELY detailed daily mission books, which show every step for every single activity on the shuttle and station every day. Hooray for your American tax dollars at work!
posted
The EVA went off pretty well without a hitch. Just a tap was needed to get the P5 truss segment in place. Initial couplings power connections are completed, which is easy since the P5 segment is really just a spacer between the P4 and P6 solar arrays. There will be lots more work to do when the P6 truss segment is ultimately relocated from where it is right now on top of the station to its final position at the port side truss.
In the meantime, today the crew is fighting with the retraction of the P6 solar arrays. The arrays have been extended atop the station for five years now, and the port side panels need to be retracted by at least 40% in order to let the newer arrays down on P4 to start rotating properly. Because this is a task roughly equivalent to folding up an old road map into its original state without using your hands, it's proving a little tricky as the arrays don't want to fold back into their bays like they should.
They've been able to retract the arrays to their minimum 40%, but they'll have to retract it more if they wnat to move the P6 truss segment. They may have to send someone out there to work the creases out manually, or perhaps they could whack at it with that gold-plated Canadian golf club they have up there.
Tomorrow, Curbeam and Fuselgang head back outside to start with the process of wiring the station to accept power from the new arrays (they've been active since their installation in September, but not generating power). A third EVA on Saturday will finish the process, and move external equipment around to prepare for the arrival of the S3/S4 truss segments and power arrays on the next mission.
posted
I was up last night looking at the feed. I was amazed to see the helmet-cams with their good focus, high resolution and COLOR. Also, some shots showing the astronaut hands working, coils and belts slithering in zero-G, with the gleaming panel arrays and the earth in the background, simply astounding. Seems they also broke some new record of most far-distance EVA, that must've been sweaty.
Christer saluted us in swedish too, before going back inside. Warmed me old heart.
Registered: Aug 1999
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