The space shuttle Endeavour crew today successfully installed a two-ton Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) on the International Space Station.
The AMS will be used to measure cosmic rays to gain a better understanding of cosmic radiation; a challenge for long-duration spaceflight. It might also help uncover the mysteries involved in dark matter or missing antimatter, as well as how the universe began.
At 15,251 pounds, however, getting it into space is no easy feat. The $2 billion machine is basically a ring of powerful magnets and ultrasensitive detectors that will measure the cosmic rays. At 1:56am Eastern time this morning, Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel and Roberto Vittori extracted the AMS from Endeavour using the shuttle's robotic arm. At 3:01am, it was handed off to the robotic arm on the ISS, known as Canadarm2. Pilot Greg Johnson and Mission Specialist Greg Chamitoff then used the robotic arm to install AMS on the outside of the ISS around 3:41am.
The AMS was tilted slightly so that it won't interfere with any of the ISS's other activities. It will be operated remotely from Earth by a team that will monitor the experiment 24 hours a day, NASA said. The AMS is expected to be operational for the rest of the station's life; at least 10 years.
"Using a large magnet to create a magnetic field that will bend the path of the charged cosmic particles already traveling through space, eight different instruments will provide information on those particles as they make their way through the magnet," NASA said.
With that complete, the crew will review procedures for the mission's first spacewalk, scheduled for Friday. Spacewalkers Drew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff will be making the trip and to prepare, they must camp out at a reduced air pressure, which helps purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams and prevents the "bends" when they exit the airlock.
Endeavour launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday and arrived at the ISS yesterday. The mission, known as STS-134, is commanded by Mark Kelly, husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in January. Giffords was well enough to make the trip from her Houston rehab center to watch Monday's launch. Yesterday, Giffords underwent a cranioplasty procedure, which her doctors said was successful.
"The proceedure went well, everything is in good position and everything looks great. We expect her to remain here until next week," according to a Thursday tweet for Texas's Memorial Hermann Hospital.
"We were able to get the good news up to space," said Giffords staffer Pia Carusone.