Spacewalker Steve Bowen successfully freed the cable that had snagged at the camera on the end of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. He inspected it for damage and secured it. Tests of the pan and tilt of the camera determined adequate range of motion has been restored. The team believes they have good capability and overall full range of motion.
Bowen and Michael Good next will replace three of the six batteries on the B side of the port 6 solar array – each of the two wings of the four solar arrays at the space station is designated either A or B. The six batteries on the A side of the port 6 were replaced on the STS-127 mission.
The new batteries will be designated by letters A through F, and the old batteries numbered one through six. Good will remove an old battery from the solar array’s integrated electrical assembly using two “scoops” that Bowen will installed to make it possible to maneuver the batteries. After removing two bolts, Good will hand off the first old battery, battery 1, get out of the foot restraint in which he was working, move closer to Bowen and take hold of the battery again. Bowen then will release the battery, move slightly farther down the station’s backbone, or truss, and position himself to take hold of the battery.
Good will hand the battery to Bowen then move himself closer to once again take hold and control the battery. The process is called “shepherding,” and might appear as though the spacewalkers are “inch-worming” along the truss, except that one person is always holding a 375-pound battery.
To install the battery in a temporary storage location on the integrated electrical assembly, Good will use one of the scoops to attach it to a multi-use tether. The spacewalkers will then remove the first new battery, battery A, from the pallet on which it launched to the station (the space station robotic arm will be holding the pallet nearby for the spacewalkers’ access) and shepherd it back to the integrated electrical assembly for installation in slot 1. The next step will be to remove battery 2, shepherd it to the pallet to be installed in slot A, and remove battery B to be installed in slot 2.
The process will continue until three batteries have been installed, then the first battery will be removed from its temporary storage location and installed in the vacant spot on the pallet. The order will be:
Battery 1 to temporary storage
Battery A to Slot 1
Battery 2 to Slot A
Battery B to Slot 2
Battery 3 to Slot B
Battery C to Slot 3
Battery 1 to Slot C
The spacewalkers are about a little more than an hour into the spacewalk, which began at 6:38 a.m. EDT and is expected to last 6.5 hours.