[sarex] Exp 11 Readies Station for Return to Flight - 29 JUNE 2005

["ARTHUR Z. ROWE" <N1ORC@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

Expedition 11 Readies Station for Return to Flight

Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev
Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev works on a control panel 
assembly inside the Station's Unity Module.

A docked Progress cargo craft fired its engines Wednesday for 5 minutes, 
boosting the International Space Station’s altitude. The reboost 
maneuver was necessary to optimize Space Shuttle Discovery’s rendezvous 
and docking opportunities at the Station after it launches in mid-July.

After checking the Station’s common berthing mechanism last week, where 
the Raffaello will be attached during STS-114, Flight Engineer John 
Phillips began practicing maneuvers with the Station’s robotic arm, 
Canadarm2. These proficiency tests are rehearsals for the actual robotic 
arm movements that will occur when Discovery visits the ISS.

Station Commander Sergei Krikalev continues testing communications gear, 
installed earlier this week inside the Zvezda Service Module. The new 
equipment outfits the Station with space-to-space communications 
capability with the European Automated Transfer Vehicle. The new cargo 
vehicle will rendezvous and dock with the ISS in 2006.
----
Via the sarex mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe sarex" to Majordomo@amsat.org