* Astronomy

While those of us on terra firma were relying on make-believe ghosts and goblins for our thrills and chills this week, astronauts at the international space station were receiving a very real scare.
Astronauts on a spacewalk to perform work at the space station on Sunday discovered what they believed to be metal shavings inside equipment used to turn solar power panels.

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Two spacewalking astronauts unhooked a 35,000-pound girder from the international space station Sunday, starting the delicate process of moving the giant solar power tower to another part of the orbiting outpost.

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In just over six hours, STS-120 Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock installed the Harmony module in its temporary location on the International Space Station, readied the P6 truss for its relocation on Sunday, retrieved a failed radio communications antenna and snapped shut a window cover on Harmony that opened during launch on the space shuttle.
The astronauts plan to enter Harmony for the first time at 8:03 a.m. Saturday after Mission Specialist Paolo Nespoli and Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson open the hatches. The stations newest pressurised module adds 2,666 cubic feet of volume, increasing the stations living space by nearly 20 percent (from 15,000 to 17,666 cubic feet).
Mission managers today determined a focused inspection of Discoverys heat shield is not necessary Saturday following detailed review of the imagery gathered over the last two days. The Mission Management Team declared the shuttles Thermal Protection System is cleared for reentry. A routine final inspection focusing on the wing leading edges is planned for late in the mission.
Station managers also decided to add a 360-degree visual inspection of the stations starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) during the second spacewalk on Sunday. The SARJ has shown increased friction for the past month and a half. Though the increase is not constant and averages less than a tenth of an amp, managers decided to add the inspection because the spacewalkers will be near the joint.
During the spacewalk, astronauts will remove the multi-layer insulation covers on the joint to better see the swing bolts beneath and document their inspection with photographs.
Parazynski and Wheelock began the spacewalk at 5:02 a.m. and wrapped up at 11:16. First, the two removed and stowed the S-band Antenna Structural Assembly which is being returned to Earth on Discovery. Next, they secured a Payload and Data Grapple Fixture onto Harmony that could not be in place during launch, removed contamination covers and disconnected the power cables linking Harmony to Discovery.
Once the spacewalkers preparations were complete, Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson and Clay Anderson and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel Tani used the stations robotic arm to remove Harmony from the payload bay and move it to its position on the port side of Unity. Nespoli coordinated spacewalk activities.
Harmony will be relocated to the front of the Destiny laboratory after the shuttle departs. It will provide the docking ports for laboratory modules from the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that are to arrive late this year and early next year. Outfitting of the stations newest module will continue throughout the mission.

Source NASA

Astronauts Scott Parazynski and Douglas Wheelock have begun Expedition 16 first mission to install a new live-in compartment on the orbiting international space station. The Italian-made module, called Harmony weighs nearly 16 tons, and will be used as docking port for European and Japanese laboratories.