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Discovery Astronauts Begin First Spacewalk As Crew Wait For Damage All-Clear
Houston TX (SPX) Jul 30, 2005 Two Discovery shuttle astronauts successfully completed their first spacewalk Saturday in a mission that included testing new repair techniques adopted after the Columbia tragedy. After depressurizing an airlock between the shuttle and its open cargo bay, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and American Steve Robinson switched to the batteries of their spacesuits, a procedure that, according to NASA officials, formally marks the beginning of the spacewalk. They then opened a massive hatch and began making their way into the shuttle's cargo bay to start six and a half hours of work. The walk formally began at 4:46 am (0946 GMT), an hour later than scheduled, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said, as Discovery remained moored to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacewalk, the first of three, included testing new repair methods and work on the ISS. Officials at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, congratulated the two astronauts, telling them they had done a great job. "The mission is continuing very well for the operation stand point," Phil Engelauf, a mission official, told a news conference. "We managed to execute all of the plan tasks ... and even more." After moving to the back of the bay and setting up tools, the astronauts coated purposely damaged protective tiles similar to the ones on Discovery's hull with caulk-like material to test equipment and techniques developed by NASA for contingency repairs, according to space officials. The experiment reflects the agency's desire to avoid another disaster following the February 1, 2003, fiery demise of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven crew members as it prepared to land. An expert commission determined the tragedy was caused by a chunk of foam which came off the shuttle's external fuel tank during lift-off, damaging the protective tiles that insulate the hull and wings on the descent through Earth's atmosphere. Despite NASA's efforts, foam also became detached from Discovery's fuel tank on the first shuttle launch since the Columbia crash, potentially endangering the return to Earth. While the US space agency said it would only be able to give the all-clear this weekend, it has expressed confidence that Discovery had not suffered serious damage. At NASA's request, Discovery co-pilot James Kelly and fellow astronaut Charles Camarda used a robotic arm equipped with a camera to check again the shuttle's heat shield. Noguchi also took several photos of a spot near Commander Eileen Collins' porthole to check for possible damage caused by debris. After honing their repair techniques, Noguchi and Robinson worked on assembly and repair tasks on the ISS, NASA said. They replaced an antenna and swapped out connectors to supply power to a gyroscope. The pair will go out on two more spacewalks scheduled for Monday and Wednesday. Their main mission then will be to replace one of the ISS's four gyroscopes that has not worked since 2002. Collins said Friday that the shuttle's crew was disappointed that NASA had not solved the foam debris problem that caused the Columbia disaster. "We were actually quite surprised to hear we had some large pieces of debris fall off the external tank. It wasn't what we had expected," Collins said from the shuttle. "Frankly, we were disappointed to hear that had happened." "I didn't expect any large piece of foam to fall off the external tank. We thought we had this problem fixed." Collins said she believed that NASA experts could "fix" the problem but added that the agency had been right to suspend further flights, even though the announcement was made while Discovery was still in space. "What I'd like to say is this is something that has to be fixed," Collins said. "I don't think we should fly again unless we do something to prevent this from happening again." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com
NASA Assesses Hurricane Katrina Damage
Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 31, 2005NASA is marshaling agency resources to assist Gulf Coast-area facilities that suffered damage from Hurricane Katrina. The agency is preparing to provide help for NASA employees and contractors whose homes were damaged or destroyed. |
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