Astronauts, Cosmonauts Install Russian Module, organize for Spacewalk

Tuesday, the crew focused on the count of the Russian Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1) to the International Space Station. The unit, named Rassvet, Russian for “dawn,” docked to the Earth-facing port on the Zarya module at 8:20 a.m. EDT.

Shuttle Commander Ken Ham and Pilot Tony Antonelli maneuvered the shuttle robotic arm to unberth the module from Atlantis’ payload bay and located it for handoff to the station robotic arm. Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Piers Sellers were at the station arm joystick to maneuver MRM-1 to its new position on the Russian segment. Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov monitored the actions from the Russian segment as the MRM-1 engaged into its automated docking sequence for the final attachment to the station.

Mission Specialists Michael Good and Steve Bowen are preparing for the mission’s after that spacewalk. They are "camping out" in the Quest airlock overnight and prepared the suits and gathered tools needed for their extravehicular pleasure trip on Wednesday.

GOES-P Satellite launches Successfully

The Delta IV moving GOES-P lifted off at 6:57 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

After reaching orbit, GOES-P will develop into GOES-15. The satellite will be used to check and predict weather, measure ocean temperatures, perform climate studies, and detect hazards with its emergency beacon support and Search and Rescue Transponder.

GOES-P was construct by Boeing for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P, or GOES-P, is the most recent in a series of meteorological satellites planned to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth. From its place in Earth orbit, GOES-P's state-of-the-art instrumentation will provide data used in weather monitoring, forecasting and warnings. It also will detect ocean and land temperatures, monitor space weather, relay communications and provide search-and-rescue support.