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Astronauts complete risky spacewalk
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - January 30, 2008 Commander Peggy Whitson and Daniel Tani replaced a motor needed
to tilt a solar wing toward the sun, taking extra precautions to
avoid being shocked. Once the new motor was hooked up, electricity
began flowing through the unit and provided a power boost.
"Yee-haw! Excellent," Whitson said.
Flight controllers tested the motor via ground commands, and
everything checked out so well that NASA declared the operation a
success. "Awesome work you guys," Mission Control radioed up.
The tilting mechanism stopped working in early December,
exacerbating a power problem that arose three months earlier when a
solar wing rotating joint jammed up and had to be shut down.
Wednesday's seven-hour spacewalk was especially hazardous
because of the risk of electrical shock. For safety, Whitson and
Tani waited until the international space station was on the dark
side of Earth, then carefully undid fasteners and disconnected
cables, and pulled out the old electric motor.
A few minutes later, the spacewalkers popped in the new
200-pound-plus motor, a spare that had been stored on board.
"We're all breathing down here. Thanks a lot," Mission Control
said.
Whitson and Tani performed virtually the entire job in the
darkness of night, pausing during the daytime swings around Earth
when 160 volts of electricity would course through the cables. As
an added precaution, the astronauts did not shine any nonessential
lights on the solar wing to prevent power generation.
Because the motor serves as the structural backbone for the
solar wing, the spacewalkers had to make sure the wing didn't come
off and fly away.
Earlier in the morning, the spacewalk almost ended up being
aborted when a radio-relay problem prevented Whitson and Tani from
hearing Mission Control. Flight controllers restored communication
through a backup channel within 20 minutes.
With their motor work finished, the spacewalkers moved over to
the damaged solar rotary joint for yet another inspection.
NASA is uncertain what to do about the clogged joint, which is
supposed to continuously rotate 360 degrees to keep the solar wings
pointing toward the sun. As many as four spacewalks will be
required later this year to remove metal shavings from the joint
and get it working again. Shuttle flights could be delayed this
fall if the joint isn't fixed.
It was the first spacewalk for Tani since his 90-year-old mother
was killed in a car accident outside Chicago just before Christmas.
Flight director Holly Ridings said Tani has been coping extremely
well, and that his work has not been affected.
Tani was supposed to return to Earth in December aboard
Atlantis, but his trip home was delayed because of problems with
the fuel gauges in the shuttle's external tank. NASA is now aiming
for a Feb. 7 liftoff after replacing a bad connector at the bottom
of the tank.
Top managers gathered Wednesday to officially set a launch date
and evaluate the latest shuttle problem, a kinked radiator hose in
the payload bay.
The shuttle will carry up Tani's replacement, a French
astronaut, as well as the European science lab, Columbus.
Wednesday's spacewalk fell on the eve of the 50th anniversary of
the launch of America's first satellite, Explorer 1. The very next
day, Friday, will mark the fifth anniversary of the Columbia
disaster.
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