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Space Stations Today; Walking on Air After Job Well Done

Posted on: Tuesday, 15 March 2005, 12:00 CST

This article describes how astronauts are building the new International Space Station (ISS)

With a joyous whoop, two astronauts floated out of US space shuttle Discovery yesterday and hooked up cables and antennae on the newest addition of the International Space Station. Spacewalkers Bill McArthur and Leroy Chiao spent six hours working on the aluminium framework that had been installed on the space station on Saturday. Their excitement streamed through the radio lines as they toiled 240 miles above the Earth. "Woo-hoo ! " they shouted again and again. They described the 140ft space station towering out of Discovery's cargo bay as "huge" and "gorgeous". "This is too cool," McArthur called down.

In the first of four spacewalks planned for this ambitious space station construction mission, McArthur and Chiao connected a series of power and data cables between the new framework, a girder-like truss, and the space station's Unity module. The men also rearranged two antennae on the truss and bolted a tool box toits surface. They attached the powerful, 6.5ft dish antenna to the end of a 12ft boom and gently swung it out. "Whoa! Look at the boom!" McArthur said. Given the delicate antenna's thermal sensitivity and precise connections, "that was one of the scariest tasks, I think, we've been presented in a long time," said Mission Control officer Daryl Schuck.

Did you know?

• In 39 years of space activities some 3,750 launches led to more than 23,000 observable space objects (larger than 10 cm) of which currently 7,500 are still on orbit.

• Space stations orbit the earth at an altitude of around 240 miles. These are our first outposts in space and accommodate astronauts and cosmonauts for months at a time. The first space stations were Salyut (USSR 1971) and Skylab (USA 1973). The space station MIR (USSR) was launched in 1986 and returned to earth in 2001.

Activities1. Imagine you are an astronaut working on the International Space Station. Explain what you felt and saw on your space walk. You could find more information about the ISS at http:// spaceflight.nasa.gov/station2.The ISS is often visible from Northern Ireland after sunset. To check when it can next be seen go tohttp:// spaceflight.nasa.gov http://www.heavens-above.com

Source: Belfast Telegraph

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