NASA's "Big G" Prepares To Take An Extraordinary Ride

Atlantis astronaut Garrett Reisman is preparing to anchor himself to the end of the International Space Station's robot arm so he can haul parts of a communications antenna to stowage spots on the exterior of the outpost.

Riding on the end of the 57.5-foot arm, Reisman -- affectionately known as "Big G" due to his short stature -- will be moving back and forth from a shuttle-borne cargo carrier to the station's Z-1 truss, which is located at the zenith, or top, of the skeletal backbone of the outpost.

The view should be extraordinary.

“He’ll just get a God’s-eye view of the International Space Station and Atlantis as he flies over with these pieces of the communications antenna,” NASA Lead Flight Director Mike Sarafin said Sunday.

“And then when he comes back over, he won’t have anything in his hands, and boy, if I were him, I’d grab a few snapshots of that moment,” Sarafin said. “I’m sure it will be spectacular.”

Now mounted atop the station's mobile transporter rail cart, the Integrated Cargo Carrier holds a dish-shaped Ku-band communications antenna that is six-feet-wide, the antenna's eight-foot-long boom assembly and a new work platform for the Canadian-built Dextre robot. The platform is equipped with stowage boxes where replacement parts can be stored prior to installation.