NASA Astronauts To Open New Space Station Windows

coondoggie writes "After some fancy robotic crane work over the past couple days, NASA Endeavour astronauts are preparing for tonight's final spacewalk where they will open the windows on the space station's sweet new dome-shaped observatory. The cupola observatory module is considered the ultimate observation deck. It is attached to an Earth-facing side of the International Space Station and has seven windows — six around the sides and one on top — that can be shuttered when not in use to protect them from micrometeoroids and the harsh space environment."

Comments

Already opened?

[MilesTails]

Catch up slashdot. According to this article they are already open. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8518744.stm

already done

[Speare]

I realized I hadn't seen any photos of the new bay so I hit Google News for a search. I know the likes of AOL and USA Today are derided for their superficial news coverage, but the first story had what I wanted: a photo of the new bay.

AOL News on Tranquility Bay Window

As it turns out, the image was taken AFTER the windows were already opened. First thought: stale stories on Slashdot, no surprise there. Second thought: where is the Emperor's chair? I know George Lucas is having fun with the design on that new bay window.

Here's a better picture (from the source)

[mcgrew]

Here is the NASA full size photo. It's today's NASA Image of the Day.

Re:Here's a better picture (from the source)

[srollyson]

Here is a picture of them putting it into position via robotic arm. Here's another picture of the spacewalk installation.