STS-122: NASA and ESA Press Releases

• #60 by jacqmans on 08 Feb, 2008 20:34
• Friday, February 8, 2008 - 5 a.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
  
  STS-122 MCC Status Report #02  
  
  The seven member crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis has begun its first full day in space on an 11-day mission that delivers the newest research module, the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory, to the International Space Station.
  
  Installing the laboratory, named for Christopher Columbus, is the primary goal of this 121st space shuttle mission. It will add 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the space station.
  
  This morning’s wakeup song, “The Book of Love,” performed by Peter Gabriel, was played for European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts at 3:45 a.m. CST. Eyharts will become a member of the Expedition 16 crew, replacing Flight Engineer Dan Tani, after Atlantis arrives at the space station Saturday.
  
  Today Atlantis Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Eyharts will perform an inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield using the shuttle’s robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. They’ll also check out the tools they need for Saturday’s rendezvous and docking to the station and install a centerline camera in the shuttle’s orbiter docking system.
  
  Spacewalkers Walheim, Schlegel and Love will prepare spacesuits that they will wear during the mission’s three spacewalks; two by Walheim and Schlegel and one by Walheim and Love.
  
  The International Space Station’s Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani started their day at 4 a.m. CST. Today they will conduct a leak check of the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 where Atlantis will dock to the station Saturday morning at 11:25 a.m. CST.
  
• #61 by jacqmans on 09 Feb, 2008 07:23
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #03
  
  Friday, February 8, 5:00 p.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  HOUSTON - The seven-member crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis is ready for tomorrow's rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station, planned for 11:25 a.m. CST.
  
  Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts, today completed a five-hour inspection of Atlantis' heat shield using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Imagery analysts and engineers on the ground will add today's three-dimensional sensor images to imagery and accelerometer data collected at launch and during the climb to orbit and continue their analysis of the shuttle's heat shield.
  
  Also today, the crew checked out the tools that will be used during tomorrow's rendezvous and docking to the station, installed the centerline camera that will be used during docking and extended the outer ring of the Orbiter Docking System.
  
  Spacewalkers Walheim, Schlegel and Love checked out the spacesuits that they will wear during the mission's three spacewalks. At 2:02 p.m. Walheim reported that the suits had been fully prepared for transfer to the space station.
  
  On board the space station, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani readied the station for the arrival of Atlantis' crew by conducting a leak check of Pressurized Mating Adapter-2, Atlantis' docking point.
  
  Tomorrow, Frick will perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver, an orbiter back-flip 600 feet below the space station that will allow Whitson and Malenchenko to take hundreds of detailed images of the orbiter's underside. With the pitch maneuver complete, Frick will fly the shuttle ahead of the station and slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking with the space station.
  
  Tomorrow also marks Whitson's 48th birthday. She commented today that she was looking forward to Atlantis' arrival as her birthday present.
  
  The STS-122 crew is on an 11-day mission that will deliver a new research module to the International Space Station, the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory. Columbus will be Europe's largest contribution to the construction of the station, adding 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the orbiting complex.
  
  Atlantis' crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 7:45 p.m. and will awaken at 3:45 a.m.
  
• #62 by jacqmans on 09 Feb, 2008 13:55
• MCC Status Report #04
  Saturday, February 9, 2008 - 5 a.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
  
   The International Space Station’s newest scientific laboratory, the European Space Agency’s Columbus research module, is just hours from completing its journey to the station.
  
  Space shuttle Atlantis will deliver the new module and a new crew member to the station when it docks at 11:25 a.m. CST to begin 6 days of docked operations.
  
  Today’s wakeup song, played for Commander Steve Frick, at 3:45 a.m. CST was the theme song from Garrison Keillor’s radio variety show “A Prairie Home Companion.” The song is the Spencer Williams composition "Tishomingo Blues," but with lyrics written especially for the show.
  
  Frick and his shuttle crewmates begin rendezvous operations at 5:30 a.m. CST. At 10:23 a.m., at a range of 600 feet below the station, Frick will command Atlantis to perform a back flip so ISS Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko can photograph the thermal tiles on the shuttle’s underside. Those digital images will be sent to Mission Control for analysis.
  
  With the pitch maneuver complete, Frick will then fly the shuttle ahead of the station and slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking with the space station.
  
  After hatch opening, the crew members will begin moving spacewalking equipment into the Quest airlock to prepare for the first excursion on Sunday. Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel will go outside to prepare the Columbus module to be grappled by the station’s robotic arm, lifted from Atlantis’ payload bay, and installed on the starboard side of Harmony.
  
  The official exchange of Atlantis crewmember Léopold Eyharts with space station Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who arrived at the station in October, is planned for 6 a.m. CST Sunday. The transfer becomes official with the installation of Eyharts’ customized seat liner in the Soyuz.
  
  The STS-122 crew is on an 11-day mission to install and activate Columbus. The new laboratory is Europe's largest contribution to the construction of the station, adding 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the orbiting complex.
  
• #63 by jacqmans on 10 Feb, 2008 08:21
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #05
  
  Saturday, February 9, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  HOUSTON - Space shuttle Atlantis delivered the European Space Agency's Columbus science laboratory to the International Space Station today, but the actual installation of the module will be delayed by one day.
  
  What wasn't delayed, however, was the official crew rotation of ESA Astronaut Leopold Eyharts and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani, which was completed at 5:20 p.m. Eyharts now is a member of Expedition 16 and Tani is an STS-122 mission specialist.
  
  Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani welcomed the seven-man Atlantis crew into the space station at 12:40 p.m., following an 11:17 a.m. docking, following a flawless rendezvous throughout the morning.
  
  They'll have 24 extra hours to finish preparing for the mission's next major milestone, however, due to a crew medical issue. The mission's first spacewalk originally was scheduled for Sunday, but has been postponed until Monday. Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will be joined for the spacewalk by Mission Specialist Stanley Love, rather than Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, as originally planned.
  
  Space Shuttle Program Deputy Manager John Shannon said ground teams are currently reworking the mission timeline and there should be no impact to the completion of the mission's objectives, despite being shifted one day later.
  
  To make up for the delay, Shannon said the crew will conserve enough power to spend an additional day in space. Atlantis went into orbit with the option of adding one day to its mission, which was to be used for additional work commissioning the new Columbus module. By adding a second day, the crew could shift their activities by one day and still have time for more Columbus work after the module is installed.
  
  Before docking, Commander Steve Frick flew the shuttle through a backflip to allow the space station crew a good view of Atlantis' heat shield. Whitson and Malenchenko took about 300 photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system and sent them down to teams on the ground for analysis.
  
  The teams also are paying close attention to photos sent down by the crew Friday of minor damage to a thermal blanket over the shuttle's right Orbital Maneuvering System pod. A similar condition occurred on the left pod last year on STS-117 and was repaired during a spacewalk.
  
  Shannon said this case does not seem to be as much of a concern, because this particular blanket location does not experience as much heat during the shuttle's reentry.
  
  Docking went smoothly with the exception of a hiccup with one of the station's five general purpose computers. After experiencing some problems with guidance and navigation software on the computer, the crew opted to use other computers for the shuttle's rendezvous with the station. Only one computer is needed to perform the rendezvous, with one computer required for backup. Mission Control will review the computer's software to ensure its health.
  
• #64 by jacqmans on 10 Feb, 2008 19:36
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #06  
  
   HOUSTON – The seven-member crew of Atlantis will spend today preparing for the mission’s first spacewalk on Monday and take a closer look at a small tear on a thermal blanket over the shuttle’s right Orbital Maneuvering System pod.
  
  Mission managers added a day to the mission Saturday after delaying the first spacewalk because of a crew medical issue. Plans were finalized last night for a focused inspection of Atlantis’ thermal protection system today beginning at 1:15 p.m. CST. The crew also will ready Harmony for the Columbus research module and transfer cargo to the space station.
  
  Today’s wakeup song at 3:45 a.m. CST was “Maenner” by German musician Herbert Groenemeyer for astronaut Hans Schlegel. “Maenner” translated is “Men.” Groenemeyer is also known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen’s movie “Das Boot.”
  
  Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love and Schlegel will spend time today reviewing procedures for Monday’s spacewalk. Love is replacing Schlegel on the mission’s first spacewalk. Love and Walheim will assist robotic arm operators in attaching the newly arrived Columbus module to the starboard side of the Harmony module.
  
  Walheim and Love will spend tonight "camped out" inside the Quest airlock with air pressure lowered to help purge nitrogen from their bodies in preparation for tomorrow’s spacewalk, the first of three planned for this mission. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:35 a.m. CST Monday.
  
• #65 by jacqmans on 11 Feb, 2008 13:13
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #07  
  
  HOUSTON – Atlantis’ crew spent the day performing a detailed inspection of the shuttle’s thermal blanket over the right Orbital Maneuvering System pod as well as preparing for tomorrow’s spacewalk.
  
  Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Alan Poindexter and Hans Schlegel focused most of the day on finalizing the checklists for the spacewalk, which is scheduled to begin at 8:35 a.m. CST tomorrow. In advance of tomorrow’s activities, Love and Walheim will “camp out” inside the Quest airlock tonight in order to purge nitrogen from their bodies.
  
  Tomorrow’s events will focus on installing the Columbus laboratory by mating it to the Harmony module. Walheim and Love will first install a grapple fixture onto Columbus while it rests inside the shuttle’s payload bay. Astronauts will then use the space station’s robotic arm to attach to Columbus and move it into place on the starboard side of Harmony.
  
  Once the detailed inspection is complete and all images are captured, analysts at Mission Control in Houston will examine the data to ensure there are no issues with the shuttle’s thermal protection system.
  
  The crew is scheduled to wake at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow morning.
  
• #66 by jacqmans on 11 Feb, 2008 13:13
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #08  
  
  HOUSTON – Installation and activation of the European Space Agency’s science laboratory highlights the day as the crews of space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station prepare for the first of three spacewalks.
  
  The day began at 3:46 a.m. CST. The wakeup song “Fly Like an Eagle,” written by Steve Miller, was played for Mission Specialist Leland Melvin on the day he will use the station’s robotic arm to lift the Columbus research module from Atlantis’ payload bay.
  
  Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love will leave the Quest airlock at 8:35 a.m. CST for a 6.5-hour spacewalk to mate Columbus to the Harmony module. Inside the space station, Melvin will operate the station’s arm and Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel will assist the two spacewalkers.
  
  Walheim and Love will first install a grapple fixture on Columbus while it rests inside the shuttle’s payload bay. The two spacewalkers will then prepare to replace a large nitrogen tank used for pressurizing the station's ammonia cooling system.
  
  Meanwhile, Melvin will use the station’s robotic arm to grasp Columbus and move it into place on the starboard side of Harmony. Motorized bolts will lock Columbus in place. Once Columbus is attached, crew members will do an initial leak check.
  
  Columbus is the cornerstone of the European Space Agency’s contribution to the International Space Station and is the first European laboratory to be dedicated to long-term research in space.
  
• #67 by jacqmans on 12 Feb, 2008 12:50
• STS-122 Report #09  
  
  Monday, February 11, 2008 - 6:30 p.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  HOUSTON - After an almost eight-hour spacewalk by astronauts Stanley Love and Rex Walheim, the Columbus module officially became a part of the International Space Station.
  
  "The European Columbus module is now part of the ISS," Expedition 16 astronaut Leopold Eyharts radioed to Mission Control in Houston at 3:44 p.m. CST.
  
  Mission Specialists Love and Walheim worked during the day to install a grapple fixture on Columbus while it rested inside the shuttle's payload bay. They also worked to prepare electrical and data connections on the module. Once this work was complete, astronauts Leland Melvin, Dan Tani and Eyharts operated the space station's robotic arm to grab on to Columbus, lift it out of the orbiter and begin the 42-minute journey to its final attachment onto the starboard side of the station.
  
  As Columbus was moving into place, Walheim and Love began work to replace a large nitrogen tank used for pressurizing the station's ammonia cooling system. This work will be completed during the second EVA, which will take place on Wednesday.
  
  Columbus is the cornerstone of Europe's contribution to the International Space Station. With this addition, the station is now 57 percent complete in terms of mass.
  
  The crew will wake at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow and will spend the day completing the initialization of Columbus, once all leak checks are complete.
  
  
• #68 by jacqmans on 12 Feb, 2008 15:55
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #10  
  
  HOUSTON – With the Columbus module safely installed, outfitting of the European Space Agency’s new laboratory can begin.
  
  Atlantis' crew started its day at 3:45 a.m. CST. The wakeup song, “Dream Come True” by Jim Brickman, was played for Mission Specialist Rex Walheim.
  
  The main activity of the day will be getting the International Space Station’s newest international module ready for business. The crew will begin outfitting the station’s newest science module at 6:40 a.m.
  
  During a partial ingress of the module at 7:50 a.m., European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts will start ventilation between Columbus and the rest of the station. Then the rest of the shuttle and station crew members are scheduled to take their first steps into Columbus at 1:55 p.m. Soon afterward, the Columbus Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, will take over command of the module.
  
  Between Columbus work and transfer operations, some members of the shuttle crew will take time out to talk with reporters. At 7:53 a.m., Commander Steve Frick and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Stanley Love and Walheim will talk with FOX News’ Fox and Friends, KGO-TV in San Francisco and The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS. And at 3:35 p.m., Frick, along with Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, will be interviewed by CBS News and Pittsburgh television stations KDKA-TV and WPXI-TV.
  
• #69 by jacqmans on 13 Feb, 2008 12:51
• STS-122 Report #11
  
  Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008 - 5 p.m. CDT
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  Astronauts took their work inside the European Space Agency's new Columbus laboratory today.
  
  Station Flight Engineer Leopold Eyharts and Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, both European Space Agency astronauts, opened the hatches to the new Columbus laboratory at 8:08 a.m. CST.
  
  "This is a great moment and Hans and I are very proud to be here and to ingress for the first time the Columbus module," Eyharts said.
  
  The crew remained ahead of schedule throughout the activation of Columbus, working inside to bring computers, ventilation and cooling systems online. While integrating the cooling system into that of the station's, temperature fluctuations caused the system to partially shutdown as a precaution. The system was brought back up and connected without incident later.
   
  With the activation of the new lab, the Columbus Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, began supporting mission operations.
  
  Late today, STS-122 Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Schlegel will begin a camp out in the station's Quest Airlock in preparation for Wednesday's spacewalk. The spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8:35 a.m.
  
  The crews will awaken at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.
  
• #70 by jacqmans on 13 Feb, 2008 12:51
• European scientists have developed the most accurate method yet for predicting the doses of radiation that astronauts will receive aboard the orbiting European laboratory module, Columbus, attached to the ISS this week.
  
  
  Read more at:
  
  http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYYHUHJCF_index_0.html
  
• #71 by jacqmans on 14 Feb, 2008 11:48
• STS-122 Report #12
  
  Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 5:30 a.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  HOUSTON - By the end of the day, the International Space Station should have a new nitrogen tank assembly.
  
  The crews of the station and space shuttle Atlantis are preparing for the second spacewalk of Atlantis' mission. Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel will replace a nitrogen tank used to pressurize the station's ammonia cooling system.
  
  The astronauts' day began at 3:45 a.m. CST. The wakeup song "Oysters and Pearls," by Jimmy Buffet, was played for Pilot Alan Poindexter. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:35 a.m., after Walheim and Schlegel finish their preparations in the Quest airlock, where they spent the night.
  
  At 8:55 a.m., the space station's robotic arm will remove the new nitrogen tank from Atlantis' cargo bay. The removal of the old tank will take the spacewalkers about two and a half hours, and the installation of its replacement is scheduled to take another two hours.
  
  The spacewalkers are scheduled to return to the space station at 3 p.m.
  
  This will be the fourth spacewalk for Walheim, who also took part in the mission's first spacewalk on Monday and the first for Schlegel. It is the 103rd spacewalk devoted to space station assembly and maintenance.
  
  
• #72 by jacqmans on 14 Feb, 2008 11:48
• STS-122 Report #13
  
  Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  HOUSTON - The second spacewalk of the STS-122 mission was completed today by astronauts Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel.
  
  Walheim and Schlegel stepped outside the International Space Station's Quest airlock at 8:27 a.m. CST, and during the next six hours and 45 minutes they worked to replace a nitrogen tank used to pressurize the station's ammonia cooling system. Once the tank was replaced, Walheim, mounted on the station's robotic arm, maneuvered the spent tank into Atlantis' payload bay for return.
  
  Once the task was completed, Walheim and Schlegel made some minor repairs to the Destiny laboratory's debris shield and worked on some tasks in advance of the third and final spacewalk of the mission, which will take place on Friday.
  
  While Walheim and Schlegel were finishing up their tasks 210 miles above the earth, mission managers on the ground decided to extend Atlantis' mission by one extra day to continue activation of the new Columbus laboratory. They also cleared the shuttle's thermal protection system for re-entry based on inspections completed thus far. Additional inspections are scheduled following Atlantis' departure from the station.
  
  Atlantis is now scheduled to land at 8:06 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
  
  
• #73 by jacqmans on 14 Feb, 2008 12:17
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #14  
  
  HOUSTON – After a busy day of spacewalking on Wednesday, the space shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station crews have a light day ahead of them, with off-duty time, interviews and preparations for Friday.
  
  The shuttle crew woke up at 2:45 a.m. to “Consider Yourself at Home.” The song, which is from the musical “Oliver!”, was played for Mission Specialist Stanley Love.
  
  The first major event of the day will begin at 8:55 a.m., when shuttle Commander Steve Frick, Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts speak with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. Schlegel, a European Space Agency astronaut, is from Germany.
  
  Tani, Whitson and Malenchenko will then speak with reporters from NBC News, WOI-TV and WBBM radio at 10:10 a.m. WOI-TV is in Des Moines, Iowa, capital of Whitson’s home state. WBBM will be calling from Chicago, near Tani’s hometown of Lombard, Ill.
  
  Before the day is over, the crews will also go over the plan for the mission’s third and final spacewalk. Love and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will be installing experiment platforms on the outside of the new Columbus laboratory and storing a failed control moment gyroscope in the shuttle’s cargo bay. They will also take a closer look at some damage to a handrail on the Quest Airlock that may be the cause of cuts to spacesuit gloves on recent missions.
  
  Part of today’s preparations will involve building a tool that will be used in the inspection. Astronauts will wrap an overglove around a socket, then run the tool over the damaged handrail to see if there are any edges sharp enough to cut the material.
  
  
• #74 by jacqmans on 14 Feb, 2008 14:24
• Take your classroom into space
   
  14 February 2008
  With Europe's Columbus laboratory safely attached to the International Space Station, this is a good time to come up with new ideas for experiments that can be carried out onboard the station to demonstrate the effects of weightlessness to young students.
  
  http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMLGRUHJCF_index_0.html
  
• #75 by jacqmans on 14 Feb, 2008 16:28
• Schlegel completes first spacewalk
   
  13 February 2008
  ESA astronaut Hans Schlegel today completed his first ever spacewalk. The second spacewalk of the STS-122 Shuttle mission lasted six hours 45 minutes.
  
  http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM98YUHJCF_index_0.html
  
• #76 by jacqmans on 14 Feb, 2008 16:29
• German Chancellor Merkel calls ISS
   
  14 February 2008  
  "We are proud as Germans and Europeans that we could contribute to the ISS with Columbus. Europe now has a permanent basis for research in space," highlighted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the beginning of her in-flight call with ESA astronauts Hans Schlegel and Léopold Eyharts in Berlin earlier today.
  
  http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMT11VHJCF_index_0.html
  
• #77 by jacqmans on 15 Feb, 2008 15:12
• STS-122 Report #15
  
  Thursday, February 14, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. CST
  Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
   
  HOUSTON - The crew of Atlantis, along with the Expedition 16 crew aboard the International Space Station, spent the day preparing for tomorrow's third and final spacewalk and talking with the media.
  
  This morning, Shuttle Commander Steve Frick and Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  Also participating were European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and former astronaut Thomas Reiter of the German Space Agency.
  
  The astronauts then spoke with NBC News, WOI-TV and WBBM radio. WOI-TV is in Des Moines, Iowa, capital of Whitson's home state. WBBM is in Chicago, near Tani's hometown of Lombard, Ill.
  
  Tonight, Mission Specialists Stanley Love and Rex Walheim will camp out inside the Quest airlock. This will purge the nitrogen from their bodies in advance of tomorrow's spacewalk.
  
  During the 6.5-hour spacewalk that is scheduled to start at 7:40 a.m. CST, Love and Walheim will install two experiment platforms on the outside of the Columbus module. If time allows, they also will take a closer look at some damage to a handrail on the Quest airlock. The astronauts have built a special tool that will be used during the inspection, which comprises an overglove material wrapped around a socket. They will run the tool over the damaged handrail to see if there are any edges sharp enough to cut the material.
  
• #78 by jacqmans on 15 Feb, 2008 15:13
• STS-122 MCC Status Report #16  
  
  HOUSTON – The seven-member crew of space shuttle Atlantis is just one spacewalk away from finishing the installation of the new Columbus research module and its exterior experiment facilities.
  
  The crew’s day started at 2:45 a.m. Their wake up call from the Mission Control Center featured Drafi Deutscher’s song “Marmor Stein und Eisen Bricht.” The song’s title translates as “Marble Breaks and Iron Bends.” It was played for Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, a European Space Agency astronaut from Germany.
  
  The mission’s third spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 7:40 a.m. At that time, the space station’s robotic arm will transfer the first of two external experiment facilities – an observatory used to monitor the sun, called SOLAR – to the Columbus module for installation. That task should take Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love about three hours.
  
  On its way back to the shuttle’s cargo bay to retrieve the second experiment facility to be installed, the robotic arm will pick up a failed control moment gyroscope that was replaced in August and take it back to Atlantis to be returned to Earth.
  
  After dropping that gyroscope off, the robotic arm will pick up the European Technology Exposure Facility – or EuTEF, a facility that will allow scientists to expose experiments to space. Love and Walheim are scheduled to spend about an hour and 45 minutes on that task, which should begin around 11:50 a.m.
  
  If there’s any time left in the 6 hour and 25 minute-long spacewalk, the astronauts will inspect a damaged handrail on the Quest Airlock that may be the source of recent spacesuit glove cuts and take another look at the station’s right Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, which began experiencing problems last fall. The spacewalk is scheduled to end at 2:05 p.m.
  
• #79 by jacqmans on 15 Feb, 2008 16:55
• MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-032
  
  NASA SETS ATLANTIS, SPACE STATION CREW NEWS CONFERENCE
  
  HOUSTON - The 10 crew members flying aboard space shuttle Atlantis and
  the International Space Station will hold a news conference at 7:40
  a.m. CST on Saturday, Feb. 16.
  
  Media may ask questions from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston;
  NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; and NASA Headquarters in
  Washington. News media in France, Germany and Russia also will be
  able to ask questions during the news conference. To participate,
  U.S. journalists must RSVP by calling the public affairs office at
  their preferred NASA center by 6 p.m. CST Friday, Feb. 15.
  
  NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 40-minute news
  conference. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video
  information on the Web, visit:
  
  http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
  
  During Atlantis' STS-122 mission, astronauts have installed the
  European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the space station,
  expanding the outpost's research facilities. The lab provides crew
  members and scientists around the world the ability to conduct a
  variety of life, physical and materials science experiments.
  
  For more information about STS-122 and its crew, visit:
  
  http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle