Shuttle Endeavour's stay at the International Space Station is being extended a day, and landing at Kennedy Space Center will take place Sunday rather than Saturday as a result.The Endeavour astronauts, meanwhile, have run into a bit of trouble preparing for the last of four spacewalks planned for the STS-126 mission. Shuttle skipper Chris Ferguson has not been able to latch shut the waist ring of mission specialist Shane Kimbrough's spacesuit.
The waist ring connects the hard upper torso and the soft lower torso of the Extra Vehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, providing an air-tight seal in the vacuum environment.
The problem must be fixed before Kimbrough and crewmate Steve Bowen can head outside the station's U.S. Quest airlock. The 6.5-hour spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. Mission managers have instructed the crew to use a spare waist ring stored aboard the station.
Here's a shot of Ferguson working on the suit in the airlock:
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