[meteorite-list] A future meteor

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:50:52 -0500
Message-ID: <blg8i4pqq35oci54m9ndnpp7g3ogep2teo_at_4ax.com>

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,454644,00.html

Lost Bag Forces Change of Plans for Spacewalks

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

HOUSTON ? Flight controllers were revamping plans Wednesday for the remaining
spacewalks planned during space shuttle Endeavour's visit to the international
space station, after a crucial tool bag floated out to space during a repair
trip.

The briefcase-sized tool bag drifted away from astronaut Heidemarie
Stefanyshyn-Piper on Tuesday as she cleaned and lubed a gummed-up joint on a
wing of solar panels on the space station.

She and fellow astronaut Stephen Bowen were midway through the first of four
spacewalks planned for the mission. The tool bag was one of the largest items
ever lost by a spacewalker.

As Stefanyshyn-Piper cleaned up a large gob of grease that seeped from a gun
used to lubricate the joint, the tool case somehow became untethered from a
larger bag and floated away along with a pair of grease guns, wipes and a putty
knife attached to it.

"What it boils down to is all it takes is one small mistake for a tether not to
be hooked up quite correctly or to slip off, and that's what happened here,"
said lead spacewalk officer John Ray.

Stefanyshyn-Piper and Bowen finished the spacewalk in almost seven hours by
sharing tools from Bowen's bag. Ray noted that Stefanyshyn-Piper showed "real
character and great discipline" by continuing on.

She was the first woman to be assigned as lead spacewalker for a shuttle flight.

"Despite my little hiccup, or major hiccup, I think we did a good job out
there," Stefanyshyn-Piper said after returning to the space station.

Flight controllers are considering having the two spacewalkers share Bowen's
pair of grease guns for the three remaining spacewalks on Thursday, Saturday and
Monday. They could also use caulking guns meant for repairing the space shuttle.

Another option is to have one spacewalker clean the joint while the other uses
the grease gun to lubricate it.

For more than a year, the joint has been unable to automatically point the
right-side solar wings toward the sun for maximum energy production.

Officials weren't worried the bag would hit the space station or the docked
space shuttle because by late Tuesday it already was 2? miles in front of the
orbiting complex, said flight director Ginger Kerrick.

"It is definitely moving away with every orbit," Kerrick said.

Inside the space station, crew members were so ahead of schedule in moving
equipment delivered by Endeavour that shuttle flight planners were contemplating
skipping an extra day at the outpost orbiting 220 miles above Earth.

The equipment includes a recycling system that converts urine into water, an
extra bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms, an exercise machine and refrigerator
that will allow space station residents to enjoy cold drinks for the first time.
And the extra gear will allow the space station's crew to double to six next
year.

The water recycling system was to be hooked up late Wednesday, and the first
batch of urine would run through the system later in the week. Samples will be
flown back to Earth for safety tests before astronauts can use it.

A spacewalking astronaut accidentally let go of her tool bag Tuesday after a
grease gun inside it exploded, and helplessly watched as the tote and everything
inside floated away.

It was one of the largest items ever to be lost by a spacewalker, and occurred
during an unprecedented attempt to clean and lube a gummed-up joint on a solar
panel.

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was just starting to work on the joint when the
mishap occurred.

She said her grease gun exploded, getting the dark gray stuff all over a camera
and her gloves. While wiping off herself, the white, backpack-size bag slipped
out of her grip, and she lost all her other tools.

"Oh, great," she mumbled.

Stefanyshyn-Piper was carrying out the spacewalk with Stephen Bowen. He had his
own tool bag with another grease gun, putty knife and oven-like terry cloth
mitts to wipe away metal grit from a clogged joint at the space station.

Mission Control agreed the spacewalk would continue as planned, and that the two
astronauts would share tools. Flight controllers were assessing the impact the
lost bag would have on the next three planned spacewalks.

Earlier, the spacewalkers spotted a screw floating by, but were too far away to
catch it. "I have no idea where it came from," Stefanyshyn-Piper told Mission
Control.

Mission Control said the screw was not considered a serious hazard, but did not
immediately elaborate on the missing tool bag. Flight controllers were tracking
its location in orbit.

The lost bag marred what had been a near-flawless mission by Endeavour and its
seven-member crew.

Putting her disappointment aside, Stefanyshyn-Piper ? the first woman to be
assigned as lead spacewalker for a shuttle flight ? carried out her work on the
joint with Bowen.

For more than a year, the jammed joint has been unable to automatically point
the right-side solar wings toward the sun for maximum energy production. The
repair work ? expected from the outset to be greasy and hand-intensive ? is
supposed to take up much of all four spacewalks.

The joint is located near the extreme reaches of the 220-mile-high outpost. The
spacewalkers had 85-foot safety tethers to keep them connected to the mother
ship at all times.

NASA suspects a lack of lubrication caused the massive joint to break down;
grinding parts left metal shavings everywhere and prompted flight controllers to
use the joint sparingly. Besides scraping and wiping away the grit and applying
grease, the spacewalkers will replace the bearings.

As a precaution, extra grease will be applied on a later spacewalk to the joint
on the opposite side of the space station that has allowed those solar wings to
produce ample electricity.

As the action unfolded outside, the astronauts inside the shuttle-station
complex started unloading the gear inside a huge trunk that was brought up by
Endeavour.

The big-ticket item ? and one of the first things to be hooked up ? is a
recycling system that will convert astronauts' urine and sweat into drinking
water. It is essential if NASA is to double the size of the space station crew
to six next June.

Endeavour also delivered an extra bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms, an
exercise machine and refrigerator that will allow space station residents to
enjoy cold drinks for the first time.

The additions ? coming exactly 10 years after the first space station piece was
launched ? will transform the place into a two-bath, two-kitchen, five-bedroom
home.

Endeavour arrived at the space station Sunday. The shuttle will remain docked
through until at least Thanksgiving. The next spacewalk is set for Thursday.
Received on Wed 19 Nov 2008 11:50:52 AM PST