As the Orbit 2 team begins its shift on console, the crew is pressing ahead with its inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield, moving from the starboard wing survey to the nose cap portion of the inspection. Port wing survey will follow later. The crew is using “late inspection” procedures for surveying the areas of the wings’ reinforced carbon-carbon that typically see the greatest heat loads during entry since the inspection had to be modified due to the inability of the crew to use the LDRI, or Laser Dynamic Range Imager, and the ITVC, or Intensified TV Camera due to a snagged cable in the system’s pan and tilt unit.
Instead, the crew is using what is called Sensor Package-2, consisting of the Laser Camera System and a digital camera that provides what the Damage Assessment Team requires for analysis, but with a slightly decreased degree of resolution.
Meantime, the space station ballistics officer is continuing to monitor a piece of space debris to determine whether an avoidance maneuver might be required tonight to steer clear of the unidentified object. At the moment, the miss distance appears to be increasing, raising the possibility that no maneuver will be needed. A decision on whether to conduct the maneuver is expected by around 5 p.m. EDT. If a maneuver is required, it would be executed at 9:08 p.m. Saturday night, using the ISS Progress 37 engines.