Next ISS Mission Scheduled For November

NASA reports Mission Specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan completed the third STS-124 spacewalk at 1628 EDT Sunday. Their excursion lasted six hours and 33 minutes.

In that time, the two astronauts accomplished all planned activities, as well as several "get-ahead" tasks. They removed thermal covers and launch locks from the Kibo laboratory, and reinstalled a repaired television camera. Fossum also retrieved samples of a dust-like substance from the left solar alpha rotary joint for analysis by experts on the ground.

In addition to those accomplishments, ABC News reports the two spacewalkers also performed preventative maintenance on the station's environmental system, including the exchange of a depleted nitrogen tank assembly for a new one. That work was deemed especially important to accomplish now, as the next shuttle visit to the ISS won't be until November at the earliest.

The spacewalk was Fossum's sixth, Garan's third, the 112th spacewalk devoted to space station assembly and maintenance, and the 197th by US astronauts.

The 200th US spacewalk is scheduled to be accomplished during the next planned shuttle flight, the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. That mission, scheduled to lift off no earlier than November 8, will include five extra-vehicular activities.

The shuttle Discovery is scheduled to undock from the ISS Wednesday, in preparation for a June 14 return to Earth.

FMI: www.nasa.gov