Two spacewalkers successfully installed a set of antennas on
the International Space Station to prepare for the arrival of a new module this
fall.
Russian station commander Gennady Padalka and NASA flight
engineer Michael
Barratt labored for almost five hours outside the station's Pirs docking
compartment to attach the antennas. The new equipment will serve as a
navigational beacon to guide the attachment of the Mini-Research Module 2, a
new compartment and docking port that will be launched toward the
station in November.
Padalka and Barratt were able to accomplish all the goals of
their spacewalk despite a slow start after a minor glitch with their
spacesuits.
Before stepping out of the Pirs docking compartment, the two
spacewalkers read measurements of abnormally high levels of carbon dioxide inside
their suits. They were both wearing new, updated versions of the traditional
Russian Orlan suits used for spacewalking, which had been fitted with different
electronic control systems and more adjustability in the leg, torso and arm
regions for comfort.
After a series of checks, Russian mission control decided
the readings reflected faulty data, and not actual high levels of carbon
dioxide, and gave the spacewalkers a "go" to proceed.
Mission controllers checked in with the spacewalkers
throughout the morning to make sure they were not experiencing symptoms of
excess carbon dioxide.
"I breathe normally and I feel OK," Barratt
reported about an hour into the spacewalk, which officially started at 3:52
a.m. EDT (0752 GMT), about an hour later than planned.
Padalka and Barratt arrived at the orbital laboratory in
March on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to begin a six-month stay. They are
currently serving alongside Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, cosmonaut Roman
Romanenko, Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne, and Canadian spaceflyer Robert
Thirsk. The latter three arrived
last week on a Russian Soyuz flight; collectively, the spaceflyers make up
the station's first six-person crew (doubled from the previous crew size of
three).
Wakata assisted with today's spacewalk from inside the
station.
After the rocky start, Barratt and Padalka worked tirelessly
to install two sets of antennas and connect each to a series of power cables. The
antennas are intended to help the approaching Mini Research Module 2 gauge its
distance and angle when approaching the station after the module launches on an
unmanned Russian Soyuz vehicle.
After attaching the antennas and cables, Barratt climbed
aboard the long Strela extension pole to survey his handiwork. While Padalka turned
a crank to extend the boom, Barratt snapped photos of the antennas from
multiple vantage points for Russian mission control to analyze to make sure
they're installed correctly.
"The earth is so beautiful, it's a great view from
here," Barratt said as they crossed over South America.
The same
two spacewalkers plan a second, shorter spacewalk June 10 to change out a
cover on a port of the Zvezda service module, where the new compartment will be
installed. Today's excursion was Padalka's seventh spacewalk and Barratt's
first.
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