Mission Status Center

Our spacewalk story is posted here.

EVA ENDS. Repressurization of the Quest airlock module began at 3:03 a.m. EST, marking the official end of today's spacewalk by Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick. The EVA lasted five hours and 48 minutes.

This was the third of three spacewalks planned for Endeavour's mission to the space station. The total time accumulated by the EVAs amounts to 18 hours and 14 minutes.

The International Space Station will never be the same. The all seven window shutters are open on the cupola now, debuting this incredible new feature for the orbiting outpost.

Both astronauts are back inside the airlock.

Behnken is ingressing the airlock. Patrick will be follow in a few minutes.

Now passing the five-hour mark of the spacewalk. Mission Control says it wants to finish the EVA within the next hour, so a get-ahead task has been cancelled. It would have released clamps on a flex hose rotary coupler in the Port 1 truss to save time in future if this unit ever has to be replaced.

Here's an early look at the available landing opportunities for space shuttle Endeavour next week at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Edwards Air Force Base in California.

ORBIT.......SITE.....DEORBIT....LANDING

02/21
217.........KSC......09:18 PM...10:20 PM
218.........KSC......10:54 PM...11:56 PM

02/22-23
233.........KSC......09:41 PM...10:43 PM
234.........EDW......11:11 PM...12:13 AM
............KSC......11:17 PM...12:19 AM
235.........EDW......12:46 AM...01:48 AM
236.........EDW......02:23 AM...03:24 AM

02/23-24
248.........KSC......08:28 PM...09:30 PM
249.........KSC......10:04 PM...11:06 PM
250.........EDW......11:34 PM...12:36 AM
251.........EDW......01:09 AM...02:11 AM
............NOR......01:12 AM...02:13 AM

02/24-25
264.........KSC......08:51 PM...09:53 PM
265.........EDW......10:21 PM...11:23 PM
............KSC......10:27 PM...11:29 PM
266.........EDW......11:56 PM...12:58 AM
267.........EDW......01:33 AM...02:34 AM

The spacewalkers are wrapping up the cabling installation. They have about 50 minutes budgeted to clean up from this task. Everything continues to go very well in tonight's EVA.

The final two shutters -- windows No. 2 and 3 -- have been tested now.

Behnken has completed his task to install the various handrails and equipment sockets on Traquility's shell. Patrick is setting up items for their next activity to install wiring for the video signal converter used by the space station's robotic arm power and data grapple fixtures.

Former space station commander Leroy Chiao just said on his Twitter feed: "ISS Cupola - Should be the next best thing to EVA! Or, maybe even better, since you can get a 360."

The cover on window No. 1 is cycling.

Testing of the various window shutters continues. No. 6 is next.

Mission Control says the spacewalkers are running right on the projected timeline. Behnken continues to install external handrails and Patrick is repositioning a foot platform for future use.

Now opening No. 4's shutter.

Window No. 7's shutter has been closed and now the shutter on window No. 5 has been opened on the aft face of cupola.

The cupola has taken its first glimpse of planet Earth! The shutter on the circular top window just swung open, providing the space station crew its largest portal to see the world.

All of the shutter bolts are released. Patrick is doing a final survey of cupola before the astronauts inside the space station command the shutters to open up.

Nick Patrick continues working on cupola, releasing three bolts on each of the seven window shutters. Meanwhile, Bob Behnken is proceeding with external outfitting tasks on Tranquility to install five handrails and four sockets to hold spacewalker equipment.

Cupola has been unveiled! The two-piece thermal covering has been unwrapped from the International Space Station's new bay window on the world.

After a brief breather, the spacewalkers are back at work.

The first half of the multi-layer thermal insulation has been removed and placed into a bag. The spacewalkers will take a break before finishing this job.

The spacewalkers are peeling back the blankets and rolling them up.

Using their cordless power tools, the astronauts are releasing the fasteners tightly holding the white blanketing to cupola's outer hull.

The spacewalking duo has turned its attention to cupola, the seven-windowed observation portal. They are about to begin removing the insulation blankets over the structure and releasing the bolts that held the window shutters closed for launch.

Spacewalker Bob Behnken has opened the valves to allow ammonia coolant to begin flowing to the Tranquility module from the space station's external thermal control system. This is Loop B, or the redundant cooling loop. The first one was activated during the last spacewalk on Saturday night.

Behnken started the task by turning on the ammonia at the the Destiny laboratory. He then floated over to Tranquility and opened the connection at the Tranquility umbilicals.

Spacewalker Nick Patrick is working on the outer end of Tranquility where the Pressurized Mating Adapter No. 3 was installed on Monday night. He is releasing some stowed cables on the PMA and hooking them to Tranquility to receive data communications and heater power. The adapter will serve as an internal storage area.

Behnken and Patrick have egressed the airlock, gathered their tools and headed in separate directions to their first worksites. Behnken will be activating the Loop B cooling system for Tranquility while Patrick hooks up cables to the Pressurized Mating Adapter No. 3 that was attached to Tranquility last night.

EVA BEGINS. The spacewalkers switched their suits to internal battery power at 9:15 p.m. EST, marking the official start time for today's EVA by Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick. This is the third of three spacewalks planned during Endeavour's mission to activate Tranquility and prep cupola for use.

The airlock's outer is being opened.

Dressed in their spacewalking suits and ready to go outside, Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick have floated into the airlock and sealed the hatchway behind them. Depressurization has begun.

The latest version of the NASA Television schedule (Rev. J) can be downloaded here.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick are gearing up for a third and final spacewalk to activate a second ammonia coolant loop for the space station's new Tranquility module and to remove insulation and launch locks securing shutters to a seven-window observation deck.

Read our full story.

Launch of shuttle Discovery on the next mission to the International Space Station will slip from March 18 to April 5 because of an unusual cold snap in Florida that has delayed processing and to avoid having a shuttle at the lab when the next Russian Soyuz crew transport arrives.

Read our full story.

Endeavour's astronauts are up and running for Flight Day 10, which will feature the mission's third and final spacewalk. Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick are scheduled to begin tonight's excursion at 9:09 p.m. EST. They will open the second cooling loop for Tranquility, uncover cupola's windows and route a video cable between the U.S. and Russian segments of the space station.

Read our earlier status center coverage.