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Spacewalking astronauts out on a limb

Posted on: Saturday, 8 July 2006, 18:54 CDT

By Irene Klotz

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two spacewalking astronauts spent Saturday twisting and bending at the end of a spindly pole to make sure the device could provide a stable platform for repair work on U.S. space shuttles.

British-born shuttle astronaut Piers Sellers and American Michael Fossum took turns strapping their feet onto a small platform and dangling from the end of a 100-foot (30-meter) boom that would allow astronauts to reach every part of a shuttle.

"It's like being in a very slow elevator," Sellers radioed to ground controllers as he rode atop the end of the boom, which is a combination of the space shuttle Discovery's 50-foot (15-meter) robot arm and a 50-foot (15-meter) extension.

The exercise, performed at 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kph), 220 miles above the Earth, was part of NASA's efforts to recover from the 2003 Columbia disaster and make certain there are options for repairing a damaged shuttle before it returns.

Seven astronauts aboard Columbia died without knowing their shuttle was critically damaged when insulation foam fell off during liftoff. The vessel broke apart over Texas as it returned to Earth.

"Hopefully we never have to use it but we have the capability if we ever need to," flight director Tony Ceccacci said after the test with the boom ended.

Sellers and Fossum, who along with five other astronauts on Discovery docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, spent more than seven hours outside the ship.

The spacewalk, which is the first of three planned during the shuttle's 13-day flight, was extended an hour due to difficulties with safety tethers, which are used to keep tools and the astronauts from floating off into space.

ORBITAL SUNRISE

One problem was quickly resolved when flight controllers asked if a tether retraction switch was unlocked.

"Oh, that's pretty embarrassing," Fossum said, realizing their mistake and unlocking his tether.

The moonlit Earth appeared over the shuttle's left wing and the astronauts quickly regained their composure. An orbital sunrise hit them full face.

"That's so beautiful," Fossum said.

The two astronauts, who had earlier worked on a broken space station transport system needed to complete the half-finished, $100 billion space outpost, appeared comfortable at the end of the boom, simulating fixing a damaged spaceship.

Since Discovery's launch from Florida on Tuesday, NASA has been poring over the shuttle with cameras and sensors looking for any damage.

On the only other post-Columbia shuttle flight, which flew last summer, foam also fell off the fuel tank at launch, but did not harm the spacecraft. NASA has spent $1.3 billion on safety upgrades since the Columbia disaster.

No major damage has been spotted on this flight, but engineers are still studying one area where filler material is protruding slightly from between heat-protecting tiles.

If NASA decides to remove the protruding "gap filler," it would likely be attempted on the third spacewalk on Wednesday.

Being able to use a boom for repairs also boosts the chance NASA will approve a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, said shuttle deputy program manager John Shannon.

Crews flying to Hubble would not be able to reach the space station to await rescue if their ship was damaged during flight. Instead, they would have to attempt repairs.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Franks)

Source: REUTERS

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