The crew has shifted theirsleep schedule to opposite that of a normal work day because the space station,traveling at more than 17,500 mph (28,200 kph), is in a fixed orbit that offersEndeavour only a 10-minute opportunity each day to chase it down.Īs NASA gears up for itsown launch, test director Jeff Spaulding congratulated the European SpaceAgency (ESA) on their successfullaunch of the automated cargo spaceship Jules Verne, now bound for thespace station. To prepare for theovernight hours of their 16-day mission, hailed as the longest station-boundshuttle flight NASA has ever attempted, the astronauts went to sleep around8:30 a.m. Also set to launch aboard Endeavour with the spacewalkersand commander Gorie is pilot Gregory H. STS-123 spacewalkers RickLinnehan, Robert Behnken, Mike Foreman and Garrett Reisman - an ISScrewmember replacement - will frequently check their gloves for damageduring the mission, Cain said. "It'sthings like that that we're looking for." "We've been lookingvery closely at causes," Cain said, noting that dings from tiny pieces of spacedebris in handrails the astronauts grab is likely the culprit. STS-118 astronaut Rick Mastracchio detected damage during aspacewalk in August 2007, prematurely ending the outing. He explained that the damage wasn't discovered until the orbiterreturned to Earth last month, when technicians examined the gloves.Īlthough unlikely, NASA is concernedthat tears or holes in the Vectran-coated gloves could breach an astronaut'spressurized spacewalking gear, and the problem has prompted glove redesignefforts, Cain said. "We did find that wehad a small tear in one of the gloves that was usedin a previous shuttle docked mission," Cain said of Atlantis' STS-122mission. LeRoy Cain, chair of NASA'smission management team, said the agency has found no launch-hindering issues,but did note that a close watch will be kept on troublesome spacesuit glovesduring no less than five spacewalks planned for the STS-123 mission. "We're expectingfavorable conditions all the way through tanking into launch time,"Barrett said, noting that weather has no chance to hold up fueling of the100-ton orbiter's 15-story fuel tank and only a 10 percent chance of scrubbingthe space shot.
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