24 November 2002
Text: Shuttle Endeavour Prepares for Space Station Docking
(New crew bringing 14-ton truss segment and replacement crew) (490)
After a successful launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on
November 23, the Shuttle Endeavour is rapidly closing on the orbiting
International Space Stations, with docking scheduled for Monday
evening, according to the latest NASA reports.
The Shuttle Endeavour is bringing three new residents -- the sixth
such team to live aboard the International Space Station -- along with
a 14-ton truss segment that will become part of the station's
"backbone." The truss segments will provide heating, cooling, and
support for the space station's solar array, scheduled to be delivered
next year.
NASA provides a variety of updates and background features on the
current shuttle mission at: http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/.
Following are excerpts from the NASA's first two reports on the
current mission, which is designated STS-113:
(begin text)
Press Release Excerpts
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA Control Center
Houston, Texas
November 24, 2002
STS-113
Shuttle Endeavour Chases International Space Station After Successful
Launch
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida on November 23, carrying three new residents and a 14-ton
truss segment to the International Space Station. By 1450 GMT November
24, the Endeavour was about 4,345 kilometers behind the International
Space Station and closing.
Onboard the space station, the Expedition Five crew, Commander Valery
Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer
Sergei Treschev continued preparations for the arrival of Endeavour,
and their replacement crew.
In preparation for Monday's docking, Endeavour's crew -- Commander Jim
Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart, Mission Specialists Mike Lopez-Alegria
and John Herrington, and the Expedition Six crew Commander Ken
Bowersox, NASA ISS science officer Don Pettit and flight engineer
Nikolai Budarin -- will verify operation of the equipment used during
docking.
The centerline camera will be installed in the docking system, the
orbiter docking system ring will be extended, and a variety of
handheld cameras and distance-measuring devices will be checked out.
In addition, Lopez-Alegria and Herrington will inspect and checkout
the spacesuits they will wear during three scheduled spacewalks to
install and outfit the P1 truss segment.
Monday's docking to the International Space Station sets the stage for
those three spacewalks to be conducted over a period of five days.
The P1 truss is the third such segment to be launched this year, one
of 11 truss segments that will form the structural backbone of the
station. The trusses will also provide cooling and support for new
solar arrays, which will be delivered to the station next year.
Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will become the sixth resident crew to
live and work in space aboard the International Space Station,
replacing the current Expedition Five residents who began their 173rd
day in space on November 24.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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