Author: Elizabeth Howell / Source: Space.com
(Image: © NASA)
Two spacewalking astronauts completed their work on time today (April 8), despite a stubborn panel on the International Space Station that added several minutes of troubleshooting to their tasks.
NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques spent six hours and 29 minutes completing several repairs and upgrade tasks on the space station. Internet cable work at the U.S. laboratory caused some problems for the duo.
The astronauts had to remove a micrometeroid orbital debris shield to access some cabling to upgrade connectivity for experiments on the space station.
One of the fasteners on the shield, however, refused to loosen. Eventually, astronaut Jeanette Epps — who was walking the astronauts through the spacewalk step by step from NASA’s mission control in Houston — suggested Saint-Jacques grab a pry bar. He carefully inserted it under the panel, verifying first that he was in the right position before pushing.Related: How NASA Spacesuits Work: EMUs Explained (Infographic)
“I feel some movement,” said Saint-Jacques, who was the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to venture outside the ISS in 12 years. The two astronauts carefully jimmied the pry bar back and forth underneath the shield, eventually pulling the panel loose. “Got it!” Saint-Jacques exclaimed. He and McClain exchanged a quick high-five before finishing the installation.
Epps reported that the first connectivity tests worked perfectly. “That’s great news,” said McClain, who was on her second spacewalk. The panel, unfortunately, then refused to go back in, forcing the astronauts to remove and reinstall a nearby handlebar to squeeze the panel into position. With that task finished, McClain secured the panel with long-duration tie-down tethers before the astronauts moved on to their next task.
Batteries, robot cables and experiment support
This spacewalk, the 216th performed by astronauts on the space station, began half an hour early, at 7:31 a.m. EDT (1131 GMT), when McClain and Saint-Jacques switched their suits to internal power. Their duties included a pickup task from a March 22 spacewalk that McClain and Expedition 59 crewmate, NASA’s Nick Hague, did to install new lithium-ion batteries. One of the batteries and its charge-discharge plate was not charging properly, so McClain and Saint-Jacques moved a new adapter panel into place for future robotics work to finish the installation.
After dealing with the cable and stubborn debris shield, the astronauts worked in support of the Canadian robotic arm,
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