An unmannedspacesuit drifting in Earth orbit is still pumping out a weak radio signalmore than 10 days since astronauts tossed it from the International SpaceStation (ISS), NASA officials said Tuesday.
ISSExpedition 12 commander Bill McArthur and flight engineer Valery Tokarev hurledthe Russian-built Orlanspacesuit, an expired garment packed with clothes and a radio transmitter,into a temporary orbit during a Feb. 3spacewalk.
With theexception of one prematurepronouncement of silence, the spacesuit - dubbed SuitSat byNASA officials and RadioSkaf by their Russian counterparts - continues to sendout a weak signal.
"Thebattery that powered the suit is lasting longer than originally predicted,"NASA spokesperson James Hartsfield said Tuesday during the agency's daily spacestation commentary.
ISS flightcontrollers initially hoped SuitSat would send its message - an image andgreetings in five languages - and telemetry for about 10 days, allowing hamradio operators and students a chance to track the target. The spacesuit itselfis expected to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere a few weeks after deployment.
Theconsistently weak signal may have allowed SuitSat's batter to last longer thanexpected, Hartsfield said.
