- \n
- STS-134 LIVE UPDATES<\/li>\n
- L2 STS-134 Special Section<\/li>\n
- Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After a brief, 30-minute hygiene break, Fincke and Chamitoff returned to Quest to begin final preparations for their spacewalk, or EVA \u2013 Extra-Vehicular Activity. Once the crew lock of Quest was depressurized to 10.2 psi, spacesuit purge was conducted as the spacewalking duo donned their tell-tale white EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units).<\/p>\n
Once the crew lock was completely depressurized, Fincke and Chamitoff took their EMUs to battery power and officially began the final Space Shuttle crew spacewalk in history at 4:02 Central time.<\/p>\n
However, per the mission timeline, just before the duo took their spacesuits to battery power, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), or robot arm, reached out from the Station and grappled Endeavour\u2019s OBSS \u2013 which itself was grappled by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A514.jpg\" "\\"A5\\"")
Fincke and Chamitoff began their EVA excursion with an egress from the Quest Airlock on the Station. At this same, per the written EVA timeline, the Endeavour crew commanded the SRMS to ungrapple the OBSS \u2013 marking the official handoff of Endeavour\u2019s long-serving and extremely important OBSS from Endeavour to the Station, and by extension from the Space Shuttle Program to the International Space Station Program.<\/p>\nInterestingly enough, the handoff of Endeavour\u2019s OBSS to the ISS marked the final element of Space Shuttle flight hardware to be permanently deployed on and attached to the ISS \u2013 bringing a full circle to Endeavour\u2019s career as the Space Shuttle orbiter that both began construction of the International Space Station and completed U.S. assembly of the iconic orbiting laboratory.<\/p>\n
NASA educational resources
<\/path>Rocket launch schedules <\/path>Spaceflight history books <\/path>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
Moreover, this marked Endeavour, two times over, the only Space Shuttle orbiter to launch with an OBSS and not return with it.<\/p>\n
STS-134 Specific Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/sts-134\/<\/p>\n
The previous mission to do so was STS-123\/Endeavour in March 2008. During that flight, Endeavour\u2019s crew (of which Greg Johnson was a part of as well) also performed a docked late-inspection of OV-105\u2019s Wing Leading Edge Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels before deploying their OBSS on the Station for use by the next Shuttle mission: STS-124\/Discovery.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A322.jpg\" "\\"A3\\"")
After exiting the ISS, Fincke and Chamitoff moved out to the S0\/S1 truss and provide visual and audio commentary\/directions as the SSRMS is used to lower and berth the OBSS to its already installed stanchions.<\/p>\nOnce SSRMS manoeuvring ops were complete, Fincke and Chamitoff began OBSS post-berth securing operations.<\/p>\n
Unlike the similar STS-123 EVA to attach the OBSS to the station, this mission will not feature OBSS \u201ckeep alive\u201d activities for the dedicated sensor packs on the boom\u2019s scanning end. Since the sensors will no longer be needed for any Space Shuttle orbiter TPS evaluations, the sensors will be allowed to \u201cdie\u201d and decay.<\/p>\n
After initial securing operations are complete, Fincke and Chamitoff translated over to the P6 truss and retrieved a stowed Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF), which they brought back to the OBSS at the S0\/S1 truss.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A417.jpg\" "\\"A4\\"")
Once back at the OBSS, Fincke and Chamitoff started to remove the boom\u2019s End Effector Grapple Fixture \u2013 the grapple fixture which, until now, allowed the Endeavour\u2019s SRMS to grapple and control and interface with the OBSS.<\/p>\nHowever, this Shuttle-ready interface unit on the OBSS is not compatible with requirements of the Station\u2019s SSRMS. Thus, the EFGF was removed from the OBSS and stowed on the Station\u2019s Tool Stowage Assembly.<\/p>\n
Chamitoff was then tasked with installing the PDGF onto the OBSS \u2013 which will allow the SSRMS to grapple the OBSS at its end point and allow for maximum reach and utility of the OBSS as a Station-based asset for future ISS crews.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A5611.jpg\" "\\"A561\\"")
After this, Greg Chamitoff began an inspection of the OTP before joining Mike Finke at Canadian-built Dextre (or the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator). During their work on Dextre, Fincke and Chamitoff released a retention system on the spare robotics arm.<\/p>\nInterestingly enough, the final Space Shuttle crew to perform work on Dextre was a crew of Endeavour. Endeavour was the orbiter that delivered Dextre to the International Space Station on the STS-123 mission.<\/p>\n
After this, Fincke and Chamitoff performed a few \u201cget ahead\u201d tasks before cleaning up and ingressing the Space Station, but not before Chamitoff paid tribute to Endeavour, the ISS and the thousands of workers involved in constructing the orbital outpost.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A515.jpg\" "\\"A5\\"")
<\/p>\n\u201cThis is the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour and it\u2019s also the last spacewalk of shuttle crewmembers and for station assembly,\u201d noted the spacewalker from the \u201ctop\u201d of the Station.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kinda fitting that Endeavour is here, \u2019cause Endeavour was the first shuttle to begin construction of the station, and so it\u2019s fitting that she\u2019s here for the last mission for station assembly. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring this EVA we passed collectively over 1000 hours of spacewalks that is part of station assembly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMike and I have the honor here to share this last spacewalk and of course for all the folks working on the ground, thousands of people helped build this \u2013 working in the shuttle and station program \u2013 we\u2019re floating here on the shoulders of giants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis space station is the pinnacle of human achievement and international cooperation. Twelve years of building and 15 countries and now it\u2019s a cornerstone in the sky and hopefully the doorstep to our future.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo congratulations everybody on assembly complete. Ok, time to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the completion of EVA-4, officially marking the end of a 7 hour and 24 minute EVA, Mike Fincke is ~13hrs shy of breaking the all-time American\/NASA astronaut endurance record for cumulative time spent in space. Currently, the record is held by now-Chief of the Astronaut Office Peggy Whitson. Fincke is due to surpass her 377-day record at ~8pm EDT Friday.<\/p>\n
Space Shuttle EVA History:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A87.jpg\" "\\"A8\\"")
Since Space Shuttle EVA operations began on the STS-6\/Challenger mission in April 1983, astronauts have spent thousands of hours building a space station, helping maintain MIR, saving\/upgrading\/servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, servicing satellites in orbit, and learning new and innovative ways to work in the confines of a large, bulky pressure suit.<\/p>\nOf the 162 spacewalks performed over the life of the Space Shuttle Program, 121 of those have been performed since the STS-88\/Endeavour mission in December 1998 \u2013 the mission that began construction of the International Space Station.<\/p>\n
Before the era of the ISS, only 41 Space Shuttle spacewalks were performed: a handful in support of joint Shuttle\/MIR operations, a few designed to test concepts for Space Station construction, and numerous EVAs to retrieve, repair, and re-release satellites in Low Earth Orbit \u2013 including 10 dedicated to Hubble.<\/p>\n
However, not all of the 121 ISS-era spacewalks were in support of ISS construction. In fact, 108 of those 121 spacewalks have been conducted in support of construction of the International Space Station over the course of only 36 missions.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A97.jpg\" "\\"A9\\"")
The remaining 13 (still a whopping number) were performed over the course of three missions (STS-103\/Discovery, STS-109\/Columbia, and STS-125\/Atlantis) in support of maintenance and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope.<\/p>\nIn all, a whopping 23 EVAs were undertaken by the crews of just five Space Shuttle missions to save, service, repair, and upgrade the Hubble \u2013 our window on the universe.<\/p>\n
But more striking here at the completion of EVA-4 for STS-134, is the coincidence \u2013 once again \u2013 with Endeavour.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s spacewalk marked the 4th and final spacewalk of Endeavour\u2019s STS-134 mission. The first time four spacewalks were conducted on a single mission was back on STS-49 in May 1992 \u2013 the maiden voyage of Endeavour.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Endeavour was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to perform five back-to-back spacewalks on single mission \u2013 an achievement that has never been topped, only equalled.<\/p>\n
Click here for Endeavour\u2019s full history:
\nPart 1: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/2011\/04\/space-shuttle-endeavour-a-new-beginning-part-i\/
\nPart 2: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/2011\/04\/ov-105-endeavour-a-long-standing-dream-realized\/<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/A106.jpg\" "\\"A10\\"")
Moreover, 161 of these 162 historic walks in space have been conducted with only two astronauts. Only one has ever been conducted with more than two astronauts; STS-49 (Endeavour\u2019s maiden voyage) saw a three-person spacewalk on EVA-3 of that mission.<\/p>\nAnd while today represents a Shuttle crew\u2019s last foray into the vacuum of space, we remember the skill and dedication of all individuals \u2013 both those in space and especially those on the ground\u2026 the hundreds of unnamed planners and trainers and supporters of our EVA undertakings \u2013 involved in all the spacewalks across the program.<\/p>\n
But most importantly, as we mark the closing of another highly visible and significant chapter of the Space Shuttle Program, we take with us the lessons we have learned from our spacewalking enterprises, and we thank the thousands of men and woman around the world who have supported these valiant efforts in Low Earth Orbit.<\/p>\n
(Images via L2 presentations, videos and images \u2013 plus L2 Historical and NASA.gov). Extensive coverage is being provided on the news site, forum and L2 special sections \u2013 the latter of which is the world\u2019s best front row seat to Shuttle missions. With specific and extensive flight day coverage, from interactive \u201cone stop\u201d FD live coverage in the open forum, to internal documentation, photos, videos and content in the specific L2 FD areas).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Endeavour heads into the sunset portion of her historic final voyage to space, her crew have completed one of the biggest lasts in the Shuttle Program: the 162nd and FINAL Space Shuttle spacewalk. This historic day concluded all scheduled EVA activities for the Space Shuttle Program and its astronauts since EVAs on Shuttle missions began […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[567,8715,3366],"class_list":["post-40441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-eva","tag-obss","tag-sts-134"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}