HOUSTON — The space shuttle Discovery and the international space station flexed their robotic arms repeatedly Friday, racking up a record for robotics in space and taking yet one more look for damage to the shuttle's heat shield.
Down at Mission Control, engineers debated what to do about a leaking auxiliary power unit, one of three needed to control the hydraulic steering and braking maneuvers for landing the shuttle. Discovery is to touch down Monday at the Kennedy Space Center.
Deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon said it was unclear whether harmless nitrogen or potentially dangerous hydrazine fuel is leaking from the tank for the first auxiliary power unit. He said he suspects it is nitrogen, which would be "no issue at all."
The leak is so small that even if it is hydrazine, it is well below any flammability threat, Shannon said. The power unit will be tested in orbit Sunday. If the leak worsens, it could affect touchdown plans.
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It was just another day in space for Discovery's robot operators Stephanie Wilson and Lisa Nowak, whom Mission Control called the "robo chicks."
During the first 11 days of Discovery's flight, Nowak and Wilson set an unofficial record for robotic arm activity, all of it going smoothly, mission controllers told them Friday.
The compliment came a tad too soon. Hours later, minor problems with the space station's robotic arm put Wilson and Nowak behind schedule on their big inspection of the day, looking at the shuttle's left wing for damage from dust-sized meteorites and small pieces of space junk.