The zero gravity exercise bike is broken aboard NASA's
space shuttle Discovery.
The annoying glitch has stymied repair efforts by the
seven astronauts aboard Discovery, especially since the stationary bicycle can
be a challenge to set up in the shuttle's cramped quarters. The shuttle
is due to dock at the International Space Station later today at 5:13 p.m.
EDT (2113 GMT).
"It's a kind of cycle in the middeck that we all use to
keep in shape," shuttle astronaut John Phillips said late Monday after trying
to get the space bike up and running. "It's quite a piece of work to get it put
together."
But after assembling the exercise bike, known in NASA
parlance the "cycle ergometer," Phillips
and his crewmates found its pedals stuck fast.
"Basically the exercise bike is jammed," shuttle flight
director Paul Dye told reporters late Monday. "We're in the very early stages
of looking for a fix, but I'm pretty confident that we can fix that."
Discovery is carrying a $298 million set of U.S. solar
arrays to the International Space Station to complete
the outpost's power grid. Three spacewalks and a one-astronaut crew swap at
the station are planned for the 13-day mission.
Dye said the bicycle glitch is a minor malfunction and
that Discovery has other exercise equipment to make sure the shuttle astronauts
can keep
their muscles strong in space.
NASA has long known that the muscles and bones of
astronauts in space weaken over time since they don't have to work against the
pull of Earth's gravity when floating in weightlessness. Aboard the space
station, astronauts have to work out about two hours every day to maintain
their muscle strength during six-month spaceflights.
Aside from Discovery's broken bike, shuttle astronauts
can use a set of bungee-like resistance bands to work out, or use the station's
gym. They would have the pick of the station's treadmill, exercise bike or
resistance-based exercise gear, the latest delivered during a shuttle flight
last November.
"They've got different exercise equipment aboard the
station that we can look at possibly using," Dye said. "So even if this
ergometer is jammed up, the folks will still be able to get some exercise while
they're on orbit. I'm not seeing this as a problem."
SPACE.com is providing continuous coverage of STS-119
with reporter Clara Moskowitz and senior editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here for mission
updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed.
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