Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Crews Haul Cargo Between Shuttle, Station

The crews of Atlantis and the International Space Station are hauling food and supplies between the joined ships today in the wake of the final shuttle-era spacewalk.

The one and one spacewalk to be carried out during the shuttle's stay at the station was the 249th for U.S. astronauts, the 203rd of the shuttle program and the 160th performed in the assembly and maintenance of the orbiting outpost. You can check out our story on the end of the golden age of spacewalking HERE.

The 10 people on the docked shuttle and station are in the midst of transferring about 10 tons of cargo between the ships -- about a year's worth of food and supplies. With the shuttle retiring, the special delivery will be the last by a U.S. spacecraft until commercial carriers now under development can be fielded.

Also of note today: Space station astronaut Ron Garan will be fixing one of the toilets on the outpost. It stopped operating during the run-up to the spacewalk yesterday. Toilet facilities still are available on the Russian side of the station and aboard Atlantis.

Coming up about 1 p.m.: Select members of the crews will take part in television stations from upstate New York and San Francisco.

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