Closer Inspection Of Heat Shield Not Necessary

Following the shuttle Discovery's successful docking Monday with the International Space Station, astronauts Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang stepped out of the station Tuesday afternoon for the first of three planned spacewalks.

The spacewalk began at 3:31 pm EST and the P5 was attached to the P4 segment at 5:45 p.m. Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham used the station's robotic arm to move the new segment with only inches of clearance into its installation position. Then, the spacewalkers guided Higginbotham with visual cues as the exacting operation was carried out.

The astronauts installed a new component of the International Space Station’s girder-like truss. Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham used the station's robotic arm to move the new segment into its installation position. The spacewalkers then bolted the segment to its permanent position, and connected power, data, and heater cables.

The spacewalk began at 3:31 pm EST, and the P5 was attached to the P4 segment at 5:45 pm.

In other news, NASA is examining images taken during Monday's docking operation, to determine if Discovery's heat shield suffered any damage during launch.

Despite evidence of "dings" in some of the heat-resistant tiles on Discovery's belly and wings, engineers have recommended against taking the time to get a closer look. NASA says the impressions, detected during a sensor sweep Sunday, were likely caused by shock waves or a micrometeoroid, and do not pose a safety issue.

Engineers also took a close look at a small piece of a cellophane-like material sticking out of the shuttle's left external fuel tank door. The orange "blanket" is used to keep nitrogen in place during launch.

Two more spacewalks are on tap for STS-116. All three will be based out of the station’s Quest Airlock. Next on tap is the retraction of the port solar array on the P6 truss segment.

FMI: www.nasa.gov