Spacewalkers tackle hefty tank removal
CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) – A pair of spacewalkers successfully tackled a hefty tank removal job at the international space station Tuesday as their crewmates unloaded comedian Stephen Colbert’s namesake treadmill for all “those famously fat astronauts.”
The only concern that Nicole Stott and Danny Olivas had about mass – everything is weightless up there, after all – involved the huge ammonia tank they needed to disconnect. They held the freed 1,300-pound tank steady until a robot arm grabbed it.
A new fully loaded tank will be installed on the second spacewalk of the mission Thursday night. The old one will be returned to Earth aboard Discovery.
The tanks are massive by spacewalking standards: Nearly 5 feet long, 7 feet wide and 4 feet high. The old one has been up there since 2002.
A moment of concern arose 11?2 hours into the spacewalk when Olivas noticed fraying on the index finger of his right glove, following the tank removal. Mission Control evaluated the problem for several minutes before giving him a “go” to remain outside. The stitching defect was deemed minor; deeper damage likely would have forced an early end to the spacewalk.
Minutes later, Stott reported a high reading of her carbon dioxide levels. When asked if she felt any symptoms, she replied, “No. Nothing.” Mission Control said it appeared to be “a weird sensor” and that her suit was operating fine.
Then there was a half-hour communication outage between Mission Control and the shuttle-station complex Tuesday night. A thunderstorm at a satellite relay station in Guam was to blame.