Mission Status Center

Read our full story that wraps up today's activities in space.

And so the final spacewalk in the space shuttle era is history.

To recap, International Space Station residents Mike Fossum and Ron Garan stepped outside today to lend helping hands to the space shuttle mission, packing a failed ammonia coolant pump into Atlantis' payload bay for return to Earth and unloading a satellite servicing demonstrator carried to orbit aboard the visiting spaceplane. The spacewalkers also deployed a new materials science experiment, fixed a snagged wire in one of the station's robot arm operating bases and wrapped a vacant docking port with a thermal cover. This was the lone EVA planned for Atlantis' mission.

Today marked the 160th spacewalk devoted to International Space Station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the ninth so far this year. U.S., Russian, European, Japanese and Canadian astronauts have logged 1,009 hours and 8 minutes of EVA time at the station.

This was the seventh EVA in the career of Mike Fossum and fourth for Ron Garan. Mike has accumulated 48 hours and 32 minutes of spacewalking time his previous excursions, which also included STS-121 and STS-124 space shuttle missions. Ron's total now stands at 27 hours and 3 minutes after this flight and the earlier STS-124.

EVA ENDS. Repressurization of the Quest airlock module began at 3:53 p.m. EDT, marking the official end of today's spacewalk by Mike Fossum and Ron Garan. The EVA lasted 6 hours and 31 minutes.

The airlock hatch has been closed and locked. Standing by for repressurization.

Mike and Ron are ingressing the airlock module.

Now back at the airlock, the spacewalkers are going through tool inventories and cleaning up equipment after this successful outing.

The International Space Station has three Pressurized Mating Adapters that are cone-shaped thresholds. PMA No. 1 forms the interface between the Zarya and Unity modules and PMA No. 2 is the docking port for visiting space shuttles. But PMA No. 3 isn't in use, so this blanketing will shield its front hatchway, valves and seals from the harsh sunlight it receives from the outboard facing side of the station.

The last task for the spacewalkers is wrapping a protective thermal cover on the Pressurized Mating Adapter No. 3 that resides on the outboard end of the Tranquility module.

Now passing five hours in the spacewalk.

Success for Mike and his quick fix to the power and data grapple fixture that was installed at the Zarya module in May. A picture of that snagged grounding wire can be seen here.

Mike has traveled across the border from the U.S. portion of the International Space Station to the Russian segment for some troubleshooting on the robotic arm operating base that was installed on the last shuttle mission. Photos have revealed that a ground wire is protruding from the grapple fixture, so the spacewalker is going to try and tuck all that back into the proper place.

Installation of this Optical Reflector Materials Experiment on the International Space Station is complete. It becomes part of the MISSE 8, a suit-case like payload launched on Endeavour's mission in May. These sorts of science tests expose items to the space environment to see how the materials respond.

Ron has arrived at the Express Logistics Carrier No. 2 to place a science experiment out there. A picture of this experiment can be seen here.

Mike is working to clean up the International Space Station's robot arm, removing the foot platform and switch out some tools.

Now moving into the second-half of the EVA, Ron is returning to the airlock to drop off some tool bags and pick up a science experiment he's going to install onto a space station materials exposure payload.

Robotic Refueling Mission payload has been delivered to the International Space Station. The device will use the station's Dextre robot to test tools and techniques like those needed for servicing satellites. It's a proof-of-concept experiment before a free-flying system is built that would travel to spacecraft and perform maintenance on them. RRM will demonstrate how well robots can refuel satellites, particularly spacecraft that weren't originally designed to be serviced in orbit and feature difficult plumbing caps and plugs, among other tests.

Ron is climbing out of Atlantis' payload bay now. He's the final spacewalking astronaut to ever work in the open expanse of a shuttle orbiter's cargo hold.

Mike is approaching Dextre now. This RRM payload will be mounted onto the handyman robot for the time being. Sometime in the future, the payload will be deployed on one of the station's spare parts pallets.

So after retrieving the robotic refueling experiment from the underside of that bridge-like structure in Atlantis' payload bay where the pump module was installed, the spacewalkers are in the process of moving the package up the International Space Station for future demonstrations.

You can download a PDF fact sheet Robotic Refueling Mission.

Mike has the Robotic Refueling Mission payload is his hands now, ready for the station's arm to swing him up to the Destiny laboratory where the Dextre robot is anchored.

With the pump relocation task now finished, the spacewalkers are going to swap roles for the Robotic Refueling Mission transfer chore. Ron will exit the robot arm's foot platform and become the free-floating astronaut while Mike ingresses the arm to do the hand-carrying of the next payload.

At 11:34 a.m. EDT, the ammonia coolant pump is declared installed in Atlantis. The final bolting has occurred and pull testing completed. And so a whole year after its breakdown, the failed pump module has been loaded in Atlantis' payload bay to ride back to Earth for analysis.

The astronauts are working together in the rear of space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay where they are seating the module onto the carrier structure. Once the pump is aligned, Ron will use his power tool to engage the primary bolt the secure the module in place.

Now passing the two-hour mark of today's EVA.

Mike has crawled down to the shuttle to help Ron install the pump.

Ron is getting flipped upside down to the correct orientation for inserting the module into the payload bay.

Perched on the end of the International Space Station's robotic arm, Expedition 28 astronaut Ron Garan is taking a spectacular trip down to the space shuttle Atlantis payload bay.

Ron has yawed the pump 90 degrees and then rolled it 180 degrees into a better position for carrying down to the shuttle.

This failed pump originally resided in the International Space Station's Starboard 1 truss -- a girder that is part of the outpost's backbone structure. The coolant pump was equipment launched within the truss on the STS-112 shuttle mission in October 2002 and then fully activated during STS-116 in December 2006. But it stopped working on July 31 and was replaced with a spare last August. It was temporarily stashed on External Stowage Platform No. 2 to await this shuttle mission.

Ron has this 780-pound ammonia pump module in his hands, having removing it from the External Stowage Platform No. 2, as the robotic arm flies him away from the space station.

The primary bolt is being released to free the pump from the storage container.

The station's robotic arm is under the controls of Atlantis astronauts Doug Hurley and Sandy Magnus. They are swinging arm passenger Ron Garan toward the failed pump module to grab it and hand-carry it down to the storage enclosure.

Ron has set up the foot platform on the robot arm and ingressed it. The arm will maneuver the astronaut around to pick up the failed pump and insert the boxy item on the cross-bay carrier bridge in Atlantis' payload bay for landing.

The pump that's today being relocated from a protective enclosure on the External Stowage Platform No. 2 to the space shuttle's payload bay experienced some sort of electrical short on July 31, 2010, knocking out half of the space station's thermal cooling system. It was replaced during a series of three spacewalks performed last August by the Expedition 24 resident crew using one of four spares prepositioned aboard the station. NASA wants to get this pump back on the ground for engineers to figure out what caused the malfunction.

The spacewalkers have split up and have gone to separate tasks. Ron is working with the space station's robotic arm to attach a foot platform for him to stand upon during the upcoming pump module relocation. Mike is getting some backup tools ready to use on the pump.

Both spacewalkers have emerged from the airlock. This is Mike's seventh EVA. He did three during the STS-121 shuttle flight and three more during STS-124 for a total spacewalking time of 42 hours and 1 minute. Ron also did three on STS-124 for 20 hours and 32 minutes.

"Ronny, you ready to rock and roll?" Fossum asked before floating out of the airlock.

"Ready to rock and roll," Garan replied.

"Let's go, buddy."

The EVA got underway 38 minutes behind schedule. Although no problems have been encountered this morning, activities simply ran a bit late.

EVA BEGINS. The spacewalkers switched their suits to internal battery power at 9:22 a.m. EDT, marking the official start time for today's EVA by Mike Fossum and Ron Garan. This is the one and only spacewalk planned during Atlantis' final mission at the International Space Station.

The depressurization has been completed and the Quest airlock's outer hatch leading to space is now open.

Depressurization is pausing at 5.0 psi for a planned leak check.

Airlock depressurization has begun in advance of today's EVA.

Mike and Ron have moved into the section of the airlock that will be depressurized shortly. And the inner hatch has been closed.

Final steps in the suitup process are being completed now. The spacewalkers are being outfitted with the SAFER backpacks that would enable an untethered astronaut to fly back to the station.

Mission Control projects the crew is running about 30 minutes behind the timeline.

Their helmets are on and suit leak checks are underway.

Mike and Ron have climbed into their spacesuits as preparations continue for today's spacewalk.

The spacewalkers have finished an hour-long session of breathing pure oxygen with masks on. Now they are performing communications and data checks with their suits.

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

Space station astronauts Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan are gearing up for a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to move a failed ammonia coolant pump from the lab complex to the shuttle Atlantis for return to Earth. They also plan to install a robotic refueling demonstration kit and a materials science space exposure experiment on the station and carry out a few get-ahead tasks.

Read our full story.

The astronauts just woke up to begin Flight Day 5, which is spacewalk day for the Atlantis mission. But it won't be space shuttle astronauts going outside today. International Space Station residents Ron Garan and Mike Fossum will be doing the EVA to move a failed ammonia cooling pump from the outpost to the shuttle payload bay, relocate an experimental satellite refueling device up to the Dextre robot and some other maintenance chores. The EVA is scheduled to begin around 8:45 a.m. EDT.


Read our earlier status center coverage.