14 DAY TRIAL // Upon analyzing the possible object that could have stricken the space shuttle Endeavor during the liftoff on Tuesday, NASA engineers concluded that it could have only been a bird which actually missed the orbiter. The inspection of the Endeavor's thermal shield revealed no problems, thus it is clear for the re-entry scheduled for the 26th of March. Meanwhile, the first spacewalk of the total of five scheduled started with the left foot.
The crew cannot begin assembly of the Canadian robot Dextre, because of a unexplained power failure that prevents it from heating the joints, while in extreme temperatures - low temperature - the parts composing the robot are very susceptible to manipulation and could result in serious damage if assembly is attempted. It appears that the glitch was detected during an earlier stage of the spacewalk that day, when astronauts Richard Linnehan and Garrett Reisman went outside the space station to start the build of the robot and assist to the attachment of the Kibo module.
Although the power loss does not affect the spacewalk schedule, it will affect the attachment of Dextre. NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini says that the Canadian engineers are already working on solving the problem in the shortest time possible. It appears to be a glitch in one of the timers on board Dextre, meaning that a simple software patch could fix the problem. On the other hand, the management team is looking for alternatives, just in case the patch is unsuccessful. One of the options would be to power Dextre through the space station's robot arm.
One way or another Dextre will be assembled, but when this is going to happen is another matter. If the problem is not solved until the date of departure, the crew of Endeavor will have to disassemble the robot and store it on the International Space Station to protect it from the coldness of space.
All eyes on Dextre
The assembly of the Canadian robot was scheduled to take place in three of the five spacewalks during STS-123 mission. Dextre represents Canada's contribution to the build of the ISS and cost the CSA 200 million dollars to build. It consists of nine large pieces to be assembled on a special platform outside the ISS. The first of the sub-assemblies was unloaded and attached to the station yesterday in the early hours, but the rest of the pieces had to be delayed from assembly due to the loss of power.
Dextre weighs 1,550 kilograms, stands 3,7 meters tall and has a span of 2.4 meters. It is designed to help the crew of the ISS with maintenance and repair tasks outside the station, without the need of astronauts engaging into dangerous spacewalks.
The second component of the Kibo laboratory will be flown to the ISS somewhere in the month of May. Shortly after docking, the crew of Endeavor moved into the ISS to begin their mission. While Linnehan is an experienced astronaut, who also worked on the maintenance of Hubble Space Telescope nearly six years ago, the other spacewalker Garrett Reisman is at his first experience of this kind.