Glitches Mar Second Space Walk
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4) – A second spacewalk outside the orbiting international space station didn't go exactly as planned for a pair of Endeavour's astronauts.
NASA said astronaut Mike Fincke ran into trouble Sunday while trying to lubricate a joint on the station's life-sustaining solar power system; he lost one bolt and got a washer stuck in a crevice.
Mission Control told Fincke that he'd have to settle for a partial lube job, after the bolts holding down covers on the joint started popping off unexpectedly.
The spacewalk started out well, with Fincke and his spacewalking partner, Andrew Feustel, topping off a leaky radiator line. They successfully added ammonia to the space station's coolant system, after rerouting jumper cables and opening valves.
On Friday, astronauts also encountered a problem on the first spacewalk of the mission and it had to be cut short.
The astronauts were nearly five hours into a planned six-and-a-half hour spacewalk when mission controllers noticed that Gregory Chamitoff's carbon dioxide sensor on his spacesuit wasn't working. NASA needs to know if levels of carbon dioxide, expelled when you breathe, get too high.
The levels were probably not too high, but the decision was made because of the lack of information. Chamitoff and spacewalking partner Drew Feustel were about to start a 45-minute task to finish installing an antenna on the space station, but controllers figured that would take too much time.
Instead the duo started nearly an hour's worth of cleanup and other tasks, such as retrieving bags. The spacewalk lasted six hours and 19 minutes, just 11 minutes shy of the scheduled time. Astronauts said the spacewalk was a success despite the small shortening.
"Really happy how it worked out today," Chamitoff said.
NASA officials said this spacewalk was supposed to be as routine as they get for what is always a risky task of strolling outside in space. Unlike other spacewalks, when the tasks were so tough their labored breathing could be heard on the radio, Chamitoff and Feustel didn't sound like they were out of breath.
This was the first spacewalk for Chamitoff. He called it "a dream come true for me."
Endeavour's astronauts will make four spacewalks during the 16-day mission, which ends June 1.
NASA says the gash in space shuttle Endeavour's belly poses no safety concern.
Experts on the ground reviewed 3-D images of the launch damage captured Saturday morning by the astronauts. They determined the gouge is too shallow to be of concern, and late Saturday afternoon, mission managers cleared the shuttle for return to Earth on June 1.
Images show the gouge to be 3 inches by 2.4 inches, and less than an inch deep. Several other areas of damage were discovered in Endeavour's heat shield, but only this one gouge warranted a further look.
This is Endeavour's last flight and the second last of the space shuttle program. NASA is shutting down the program this summer after 30 years, to focus on interplanetary travel. One more mission remains, by shuttle Atlantis, to carry up a load of supplies and equipment.
NASA has set July 8 as the target date for that launch.
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