Friday, November 21, 2008

Mission Control


We watched Tuesday's EVA from Mission Control in Building 30, Houston. The first spacewalk of STS-126 will probably be remembered for the lost tool bag, but most of the objectives were accomplished. Bagsat is now harmlessly orbiting below and behind ISS.

Perched on the manipulator arm, Steve Bowen hand-carries the Nitrogen Tank Assembly (NTA) from the station toward the Shuttle. The coastline below appears to be the Falkland Islands.

The Flight Director has a very busy job, so we try not to bother him. On the right-hand screen Bowen can be seen approaching the Payload Bay.

From the Shuttle's point of view, Bowen appears upside down as he fastens the NTA into place. Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper is barely visible below him and to our left. The spacewalkers are hard to tell apart in those outfits, so Heide's suit has red stripes. How many women get to launch their own satellite?

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2 Comments:

Blogger Kea said...

Fantastic photos, thanks so much! Our local paper had a very irritating article about how women are prone to drop their handbags, and how embarrassing it must be etc.

7:11 PM  
Blogger L. Riofrio said...

Sexism can rear its ugly head anywhere, especially online. The people who count within NASA have no problems with women in Space, even women who think the speed of light changes.

6:37 PM  

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