JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, TX - The International Space Station's 335-foot-long truss, or backbone, is complete after astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery and the station teamed with Mission Control to install the final 45-foot-long segment to the farthest starboard point of the station. Next up is Friday's deployment of the two solar array wings - each stretching 115 feet.
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO: FD 4 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 1 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 2 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 3 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 4 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 5 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 6 ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE STS-119 EVA 1 - PART 7 With spacewalkers Steve Swanson and Ricky Arnold at the ready outside the station, shuttle Mission Specialist John Phillips and Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata remotely controlled the station robotic arm with the 31,000 pound S6 truss into its final position. Swanson and Arnold immediately went to work bolting the segment in place and connecting the power and data cables allowing station flight controllers to remotely command the segment to life. Swanson's third spacewalk and Arnold's first began at 12:16 p.m. CST and ended at 6:23 p.m. CST totaling 6 hours, 7 minutes. The 121st spacewalk brings the total for station assembly and maintenance to more than 762 hours. While extension of the new solar array wings originally was scheduled for Flight Day 8, the decision that no focused inspection of Discovery's heat shield will be needed has freed up time in the flight plan to complete the deployment on Flight Day 6. After wake up Friday, the crew will oversee deployment of the solar arrays as they are methodically unfurled through a step sequence to preclude the thin panels from sticking together. Engineers have developed specific procedures learned over time with the deployment of the other three pair of arrays on earlier assembly missions. Late today, Phillips and shuttle Pilot Tony Antonelli restored Discovery's exercise bicycle ergometer to use after removing a protective cover and freeing a jam.
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