|
 |
 advertisement
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mission Atlantis: Second Spacewalk a Quick Success
By Jim Banke
Senior Producer, Cape Canaveral Bureau
posted: 07:30 pm ET
12 October 2002
|
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A spacewalk staged from the International Space Station on Saturday went so well that astronauts Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers were able to get everything done and get back inside early. The extravehicular activity (EVA) began at 10:31 a.m. EDT (1431 GMT) and ended six hours and four minutes later. "Today we had pretty much a perfect EVA," Oscar Koehler, lead spacewalk officer for Atlantis' mission, said Saturday. "We got all of our major tasks done." Those tasks included: - Connecting fluid lines between supply tanks of ammonia and nitrogen that are part of the radiator cooling system attached to the S-One (S1) truss.
- Released locks on a large rotating panel atop the S1 truss that holds three folded radiator panels. The locks were in place to keep the panel secure during the ride into orbit inside Atlantis' cargo bay.
- Installed 22 clamp-like devices on quick disconnect valves that are part of the ammonia plumbing on the station. A design problem threatened to make it difficult in the future, if not impossible, to connect or disconnect hoses on the valves if needed. The clamp-like hardware prevents that potential trouble.
Two of the valves, however, were missing the hardware necessary to attach the clamp in space."That's really the only problem we had," Koehler said.That missing hardware -- a small locking collar -- was added to the quick disconnect valves after the truss was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center for launch, and it's likely workers couldn't reach the valves to install the collar, Koehler said. Finished releasing and outfitting the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid, a handcar-like platform that sits on the rail attached to the side of the station's truss assembly. Future spacewalkers will be able to use the cart to help haul their tools and parts to the far ends of the truss, which eventually is to extend the length of a football field.For a short time the spacewalkers fell behind schedule as they encountered and overcame difficulties. Later the spacewalkers hit a new groove and worked quickly, catching up and then moving ahead of timeline.Wearing bulky gloves and often having to reach into awkward areas, the work tended to be tedious. Thankfully, according to Atlantis pilot Pam Melroy, at least one of the spacewalkers came properly equipped for the job. "It is quite possible youre the only person in the astronaut office who could have done that task," Melroy told Sellers. "Im the second-longest armed. The other guy, we know about him, hes a primate for sure," Sellers said without elaborating. Before the spacewalk began Atlantis commander Jeff Ashby fired the shuttle's thrusters to raise the station's orbit by four miles (6.4 kilometers) to 242 miles (389 kilometers). Another orbit raising maneuver is planned for on Monday. Meanwhile, the combined shuttle and station crew on Sunday will enjoy another few hours off during the morning, and then in the afternoon they are scheduled to participate in the traditional in-flight press conference. A few hours later they are supposed to swivel 90 degrees the beam that is atop the S1 truss and holds three folded radiator panels. Once the beam is turned the middle radiator panel will be extended to test the mechanisms involved. However the cooling system that is part of the radiator will not be turned on until a later a shuttle mission. Atlantis remains scheduled for landing Friday at 11:46 a.m. EDT (1546 GMT). Mission managers said that although right now they do not plan to extend the shuttle's stay at the station, even though there are enough supplies to do so, they are beginning to look at the possibility and may make a decision on Monday.
|
|
|
|
|
