Astronauts to stow bad pump in spacewalk
Cape Canaveral, Fla. (UPI) Feb 28, 2011 The 6 1/2-hour spacewalk two U.S. astronauts are to make outside the International Space Station Monday includes the job of putting away a failed coolant pump. Mission specialists Stephen Bowen and Alvin Drew are also to install a power extension cable between the U.S.-built Unity module, or node, and the Italian-made Tranquility node to provide a contingency power source in case it's needed, NASA said. Bowen was added to the crew last month after lead spacewalker Tim Kopra was injured in a bicycle accident. Bowen did five earlier spacewalks and flew aboard the shuttle Atlantis last May. During Monday's spacewalk, scheduled to begin at 11:18 a.m. EST, Drew and Bowen are also scheduled to install a piece of hardware that will go under an external camera. The hardware will tilt the camera to provide clearance for a spare part to be installed on a future mission. In addition, they are scheduled to replace a guide for the rail cart system used for moving cargo along the integrated truss structure. The 356-foot-long truss structure is the space station's largest component, holding the station's main solar panels and thermal radiators. The guides were earlier removed when astronauts did work on a joint attached to the truss that rotates, letting solar panels track the sun. The refrigerator-size ammonia coolant pump, which failed in August, will be moved from a payload attachment bracket to an external stowage platform next to the Quest joint airlock, which the astronauts will use to exit the space station and return to it. The astronauts are scheduled to have another 6 1/2-hour spacewalk Wednesday.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Station at NASA Station and More at Roscosmos S.P. Korolev RSC Energia Watch NASA TV via Space.TV Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com
Full house at space station as Discovery docks Washington (AFP) Feb 26, 2011 The US shuttle Discovery docked Saturday for its final visit at the orbiting International Space Station, where all five of the world's participating space agencies now have vehicles or equipment. "This is the first time all visiting vehicles have something represented," NASA mission control in Houston said, after the oldest and most heavily traveled US shuttle linked up with the space outpo ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |