Still preparing in case it is necessary to repair the damage to the ferry

Endeavor crew members on mission STS-118 and the Space Station's 15th crew prepare for a possible spacewalk to repair damage to the shuttle's heat shield

Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew give a lesson from space

Endeavor crew members on mission STS-118 and the space station's 15th crew prepare for a possible spacewalk to repair damage to the shuttle's heat shield. They spent the first half of Thursday giving a lesson to the students on Earth.

The mission managers have not yet decided on the need to repair the shuttle, but to prepare for the possibility, a briefing was given to the astronauts on the space station. As a reminder, as published yesterday, the managers decided to move the fourth spacewalk in this mission to Saturday. If it will not be necessary to devote it to repairing the shuttle, the astronauts will install two antennas and remove one, install a storage station for sensors that will be mounted when necessary on the end of the shuttle arm and other tasks.

Astronauts Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew participated in an educational event Thursday morning with students at the Challenger Space Science Center in Alexandria, Virginia. As you know, Morgan was chosen as the replacement for Chrissa McAuliffe aboard the Challenger, had she not been able to take off. Members of the families of the Challenger victims were among those present in the hall. At the center, Morgan was also presented with the President George Bush Award for Social Leadership.

Morgan and Drew also spoke to reporters from the AP, Reuters and Idaho Public Television. Morgan also spoke via ham radio with students in McCall, Idaho.

During the day, the members of the two crews also continued the transfer of cargo that they started immediately after the Endeavor docked at the station on August 10. Endeavor carried supplies and equipment to the station, most of which was installed in the air-filled parent space module mounted on the cargo deck. Among the payloads that were uploaded to Space Father are scientific experiments, which were replaced by previous experiments that are returned to Earth.

The second half of the day was dedicated to rest.