WASHINGTON -- Despite being stunned by a NASA astronaut's
arrest earlier this week, flight controllers were focused and on task at the
agency's International
Space Station (ISS) Mission Control during a Thursday
spacewalk, mission managers said today.
ISS Expedition
14 astronauts Michael
Lopez-Alegria and flight engineer Sunita
Williams performed a successful six-hour, 40 minute spacewalk to support
assembly of the orbital laboratory.
"It was another
very, very successful EVA today," Derek Hassmann, NASA's lead U.S. spacewalk flight
director, told reporters of the post-extravehicular activity (EVA) briefing.
The
spacewalk marked the Expedition 14 crew's third
in nine days -- a first without a visiting shuttle mission -- but also the
first following the Monday arrest
of NASA astronaut Lisa
Nowak, whom police charged with
attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and other counts stemming from a
confrontation with a woman whom she believed to be a rival for the affections
of another astronaut William
Oefelein.
Nowak returned to Houston,
Texas -- home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, astronaut corps and ISS Mission
Control -- on Wednesday.
Shana Dale,
NASA's deputy administrator, told reporters Wednesday
that JSC director Michael Coats met with the agency's astronaut corps to
discuss the need to stay focused on ongoing ISS
missions and shuttle training.
That focus,
ISS mission managers said Thursday, carried over into NASA's Mission Control,
where the agency's chief astronaut Steve Lindsey
could be seen on NASA TV at times speaking with ISS mission controllers during
today's spacewalk.
"I was
extremely proud of how folks focused and were able to bear down and do exactly
what they needed to do," Hassmann said.
Kirk
Shireman, NASA's deputy ISS program manager, said Lopez-Alegria -- who set a
new U.S.
spacewalking record Thursday -- Williams had spoken with Lindsey and were
aware of the status
of Nowak, who has been placed on a
30-day leave.
"I think it's
safe to assume that they know all about the current situation," Shireman said
of the Expedition 14 crew. "They were very focused and we're very pleased about
their performance these past few days."
Glenda
Laws, NASA's lead Expedition 14 spacewalk officer, said the mood in Mission
Control was straight to business.
"Everyone
was certainly aware what was going on, but they kept their nose pressed to the
books and we pressed on," Laws said. "That's the way it works here at NASA.
Everyone is devoted and conscientious about getting the work done."
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