Two NASA astronauts completed their mission's third and last
spacewalk Monday, installing a new science experiment and an oxygen tank
outside the International Space Station.
The spacewalkers, STS-129 mission specialists Robert
"Bobby" Satcher, Jr. and Randy
Bresnik, got a late start this morning after dealing with an issue on
Satcher's pressurized spacesuit. The valve on his drink bag, which allows him
to sip water during the spacewalk, came loose and the astronauts had to replace
it. The fix caused a delay, and the spacewalkers officially began the excursion
at 8:24 a.m. EST (1324 GMT), about an hour behind schedule.
Once outside the station, Satcher and Bresnik quickly made
up for lost time, and managed to accomplish all of their planned tasks and
still finish just shortly after the original planned ending time, at 2:06 p.m.
EST (1906 GMT).
The spacewalk was the second for both Satcher and Bresnik,
who are each making their first spaceflights on this mission. The two launched
Nov. 16 on an 11-day trip to deliver about 15 tons of spare supplies to the
orbiting laboratory.
Bresnik recently became
the father of a baby daughter Abigail, who was born to his wife Rebecca
back in Houston on Saturday.
"I got to see [via video] my little girl for the first
time yesterday," Bresnik said at the end of his spacewalk. "Thank you
to my wonderful wife for bringing her into the world. That is the most
beautiful thing I've seen since I left Earth."
The couple already has a son, Wyatt, who is three years old.
"Hey, Wyatt, I look just like Spiderman," Bresnik
called while climbing across the space station's railing today to attach a
science experiment.
The equipment is a test to see how materials, including a new
type of Teflon, hold up to the ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, and
extreme temperatures of space.
In addition to that project, the spacewalkers installed a
new oxygen gas tank on the station's Quest airlock that will be used to help
pressurize and depressurize the compartment where astronauts enter and exit for
spacewalks. After that work was done, the two astronauts even had time to take
on some other "get-ahead" chores at the station.
"You guys are working great together out there,"
said mission specialist Mike Foreman, who was helping coordinate the excursion
from inside the space station.
"We've got a good big team with you and everybody else
on the ground too," Bresnik replied.
At one point, things were going so smoothly the astronauts
stopped to wish for lunch.
"I don't know about you Bobby, but if we happen to pass
a burger joint in the next few thousand miles, I wouldn't mind stopping and
getting something to drag up," Bresnik said.
"That sounds good to me," Satcher replied.
"Although for some reason I was thinking about nacho cheese tortilla
chips."
"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Bresnik said.
With this second spacewalk under their his belt, Bresnik has
now clocked a total of 11 hours and 50 minutes outside of a spacecraft, while
Satcher has spent 12 hours and 19 minutes spacewalking.
Today's work marks the last spacewalk of this mission and
the completion of a large chunk of the remaining objectives for Atlantis'
docked mission at the station. The astronauts, led by commander
Charlie Hobaugh, are set to undock from the outpost early Wednesday and
return to Earth on Friday.
SPACE.com is providing complete coverage of Atlantis'
STS-129 mission to the International Space Station with Staff Writer Clara
Moskowitz and Managing Editor Tariq Malik based in New York. Click here for shuttle mission
updates and a link to NASA TV.
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