A MESA DO ORÇAMENTO

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Spacewalkers Fold Solar Array

The STS-116 crew folded the port solar array on the International Space Station’s P6 truss during the mission's fourth spacewalk. The 6-hour, 38 minute excursion by Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang concluded at 8:38 p.m. EST Monday. Curbeam and Fuglesang freed up the array for retraction with several techniques -- pulling guide wires, flipping grommets, and pushing panel hinges. The spacewalkers also shook the solar array panel. The final bay was folded about 6:54 p.m. EST. One of the guide wires looped out of the proper configuration during the folding process and the spacewalkers tightened it before commands were sent to latch the arrays. Another objective of Monday’s spacewalk, which was STS-116’s fourth, was to collect information that could prove useful when the opposite side of the array is retracted during the STS-117 mission in March. The start of the spacewalk at 2 p.m. was a historic moment for Curbeam, who became the first astronaut to conduct four spacewalks during a single mission. This was Fuglesang’s third. Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams conducted one. Pilot Bill Oefelein coordinated the spacewalk activities. Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham and Williams were at the controls of the station’s robot arm, Canadarm2. Attention now turns to Discovery’s departure. Discovery is scheduled to undock at 5:09 p.m. Tuesday, ending STS-116’s eight-day stay at the station.

Mais informação em: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Image : Mission Specialist Bob Curbeam works with a solar array during the fourth spacewalk of the STS-116 mission. Image Credit: NASA TV

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Morreu Joseph Barbera

Joseph Barbera, one of the founders of the legendary animation studio Hanna-Barbera, poses with three of the characters "Scooby-Doo (C) along with Tom and Jerry (R) that he and William Hanna created in this March 16, 2005 file photo. Barbera, half of the famed Hanna-Barbera team, died on Monday at age 95, the Warner Bros. film studio said in a statement. REUTERS/Fred Prouser