Christmas Eve spacewalk due to finish crucial space station repairs
Source: NBC News
Alan Boyle
Nearly two weeks after a faulty coolant valve crippled the International Space Station, two NASA astronauts went on a Christmas Eve spacewalk to get things back to normal.
Spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins set the clock running at 6:53 a.m. ET for what was expected to be a six-hour-plus outing. They installed a refrigerator-sized coolant pump module with an assist from Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who's operating the station's 58-foot-long (18-meter-long) robotic arm.
Mastracchio was in the holiday spirit as he unpacked his tools for the job. "It's like Christmas morning, opening up a little present here," he joked.
Two and a half hours into the spacewalk, Hopkins stood at the end of the robotic arm and steadied the 780-pound (355-kilogram) pump module as it was swung into position for installation. "Mike Hopkins taking a special sleigh ride on this Christmas Eve," NASA commentator Rob Navias observed.
FULL story and video at link.
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/spacewalkers-float-out-finish-crucial-space-station-repairs-2D11792141
NASA TV
NASA spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins slide a replacement coolant pump module into place on the International Space Station. The old pump module, which was uninstalled on Saturday and placed in a temporary stowage location, is visible at lower right.
= new reply since forum marked as read
