Astronauts gear up for second spacewalk, mission extended a day
Updated: Tue, Jul 17, 2001, 3:13 PM ET (1913 GMT)
Originally Posted: Tue, Jul 17, 2001, 11:46 AM ET (1546 GMT)
Two shuttle astronauts are gearing up for a second spacewalk outside the International Space Station tonight despite problems that led shuttle managers Tuesday to extend the mission by one day. Astronauts Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly will leave the shuttle at about 10:30 pm EDT Tuesday (0230 GMT Wednesday) for their second spacewalk of the STS-104 mission, a 5.5-hour effort to attach nitrogen and oxygen tanks to the exterior of the new Quest airlock on ISS. Shuttle managers reportedly considered delaying the spacewalk as the shuttle crews fell behind their scheduled timeline Monday tracking down and trying to fix a leaking air valve in the module. The leak was not pinpointed, but a cap was installed that stopped the leak temporarily. That, combined with work to remove air bubbles in a water coolant line, put the crew about a half-day behind schedule. In response, NASA announced Tuesday that it has extended the mission by one day to give astronauts more time to complete their tasks. This will delay the third and final spacewalk of the mission from Thursday to Friday night and push back Atlantis's departure from the station to Saturday.
Originally Posted: Tue, Jul 17, 2001, 11:46 AM ET (1546 GMT)
Two shuttle astronauts are gearing up for a second spacewalk outside the International Space Station tonight despite problems that led shuttle managers Tuesday to extend the mission by one day. Astronauts Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly will leave the shuttle at about 10:30 pm EDT Tuesday (0230 GMT Wednesday) for their second spacewalk of the STS-104 mission, a 5.5-hour effort to attach nitrogen and oxygen tanks to the exterior of the new Quest airlock on ISS. Shuttle managers reportedly considered delaying the spacewalk as the shuttle crews fell behind their scheduled timeline Monday tracking down and trying to fix a leaking air valve in the module. The leak was not pinpointed, but a cap was installed that stopped the leak temporarily. That, combined with work to remove air bubbles in a water coolant line, put the crew about a half-day behind schedule. In response, NASA announced Tuesday that it has extended the mission by one day to give astronauts more time to complete their tasks. This will delay the third and final spacewalk of the mission from Thursday to Friday night and push back Atlantis's departure from the station to Saturday.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, March 19
Firefly Aerospace Selected for the 2025 Robert J. Collier Trophy
National Aeronautic Association — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) Satellite development begins for EUMETSAT Polar System – Sterna
EUMETSAT — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) Minotaur IV rocket motor stacking at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-8
US Space Force — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) MDA Space awarded contract with Canadian Department of National Defence to deliver Ground-Based Optical Capability for Space Surveillance
MDA — 5:18 am ET (0918 GMT) Rocket Lab wins record contract with US Department of War
Radio New Zealand — 5:17 am ET (0917 GMT) |
