Space Station Cooling Issue, December 2013
December 25, 2013 by staff
Space Station Cooling Issue, December 2013, Astronaut Mike Hopkins works outside the International Space Station during only the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in history. He and fellow NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio successfully installed a new ammonia pump. (NASA TV)
Astronauts wrapped up urgent space station repairs during a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk Tuesday, braving a “mini blizzard” of noxious ammonia as they popped in a new pump.
It was the second spacewalk in four days for U.S. astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins, and only the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in NASA history.
NASA ordered up the spacewalks to revive a critical cooling loop at the International Space Station. All nonessential equipment had to be turned off when the line conked out Dec. 11, and many science experiments halted.
With Tuesday’s success, the cooling system should be restored and all equipment back up and running by this weekend, according to NASA.
Mastracchio and Hopkins removed a faulty ammonia pump at the International Space Station during Saturday’s outing. On Tuesday, they installed the fresh pump.
Standing on the end of the station’s main robotic arm, Hopkins clutched the 353.8-kilogram, refrigerator-size pump with both hands as he headed toward its installation spot, and then slid it in. An astronaut working inside, Japan’s Koichi Wakata, gingerly steered the arm and its precious load.
_________________________________________
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of U.S.S.POST.
Comments