Astronauts Prepare for Fourth Spacewalk

N5VHO – March 20, 2008 – 12:45
Space Shuttle

The crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station got some off-duty time at the beginning of their 10th day in orbit. They also spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and participated in interviews with U.S. media.

The astronauts spent the remainder of their day configuring tools for the fourth STS-123 spacewalk and reviewing spacewalk procedures.

They also prepared for the primary task of that spacewalk, which is the test of a heat shield repair method. This technique uses a caulk-gun-like tool named the Tile Repair Ablator Dispenser to dispense a material called Shuttle Tile Ablator-54 into purposely damaged heat shield tiles. Once the test is complete, the sample tiles will be returned to Earth to undergo extensive testing on the ground.

Before going to sleep, Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman entered the station’s Quest airlock for the standard “camp out,” during which the nitrogen is purged from their bodies. They are slated to begin the mission’s fourth spacewalk at 6:28 p.m. EDT.

Endeavour and the STS-123 crew delivered the Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (JLP) to the station. The JLP is the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. The shuttle crew also brought the Canadian-built Dextre, the final element of the station’s Mobile Servicing System, to the orbital outpost.

Source http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html