Spacewalking astronauts stymied by sticky bolts

Sticky bolts proved too much forspacewalking astronauts Thursday, forcing them to leave a new power-switchingbox dangling from the International Space Station instead of firmly bolteddown.

NASA scrambled to reduce the power demands of the orbitinglab and balance the electrical load, while mapping out a plan that could havethe astronauts going back out as early as next week to tackle the problem.

It was a major disappointment for NASA's Sunita Williams andJapan's Akihiko Hoshide, who spent hours struggling with the bolts. They usedall sorts of tools and tactics as the spacewalk went into overtime, but nothingworked.

With time running out, Mission Control finally told them totie down the box and head inside.

"We'll figure this out another day," MissionControl radioed.

Thursday's spacewalk was supposed to last 6½ hours butstretched past eight hours. It ended up in NASA's top 10 list for longestspacewalks — at the No. 3 spot.

The power router is one of four, and NASA stressed that theother three are working fine. Nonetheless, electrical usage will need to beclosely monitored at the 260-mile (420-kilometer)-high lab given Thursday'sfailed effort.

"The team may have to manage power loads a little bit,but this is familiar territory," said NASA's space station programmanager, Mike Suffredini. "We'll be able to deal with that while we decidewhat our next plan is."

While the space station remains in stable condition, NASAwould like to take another crack at securing the box as soon as possible —perhaps next week — because of the mid-September departure of half thesix-member crew, including the second U.S. astronaut, who ran the robot armThursday from inside the station. And the longer this situation goes on, the morevulnerable the space station is to additional failures, Suffredini noted.

Until the problem is resolved, the space station is able todraw power from just three-quarters of its solar wings — six instead of alleight.

The old switch box started acting up last fall, and NASAdecided to replace it before it failed. This was the first spacewalk byAmericans since the final shuttle flight a year ago.

Williams and Hoshide had trouble getting the old unit outbecause of two sticky bolts, and they found metal shavings in the sockets. Theysquirted in compressed nitrogen gas to clear the holes, and some debris cameout. But still, the main bolt would not go in properly; the companion bolt wasleft undone.

The frustration mounted as the minutes and hours ticked by.At one point, Mission Control radioed, "We've tried almost every backup wehave on this stupid bolt."

At a news conference later in the day, NASA officials saidpossible solutions might involve lubricating the thick, sturdy bolts orapplying more torque.

Putting in a new switching box was the No. 1 priority of thespacewalk. In separate work, the astronauts managed to hook up one power cableand get another cable halfway connected. They never got around to replacing abad camera on the space station's big robotic arm.

Mission Control did its best to cheer up the spacewalkers asthey re-entered the space station. "You guys are rock stars, just so youknow," Mission Control said.

It was the second spacewalk in less than two weeks. On Aug.20, two Russians worked outside the orbiting complex, installing shields toprotect against micrometeorite strikes.

It's no longer common for astronauts to step into the vacuumof space. That's because after almost 14 years, the space station is virtuallycomplete. Plus NASA's shuttles are retired and now museum pieces.

Williams is the lone woman at the space station. She andHoshide arrived a month ago, launching from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian rocket.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com