Astronauts test tile repair techniques on EVA
Posted: Fri, Mar 21, 2008, 8:47 AM ET (1247 GMT)
Two astronauts successfully tested tools that could be used to repair damage to the shuttle's thermal protection system during a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Thursday night. Robert Behnken and Michael Foreman spent six hours and 24 minutes outside the shuttle and ISS, much of that time spent on testing a tile repair technique that uses a gooey material called STA-54, which can be squirted out of a gun to fill in damaged portions of tiles on the orbiter. The application tests went well, although engineers will have to wait until after the shuttle returns to Earth to determine the overall effectiveness of the repair technique. The spacewalking astronauts also replaced a faulty circuit breaker on the station's exterior, but were unable to rewire an electrical connector that feeds power to two of the station's gyros because the connector was stuck in place. The EVA was the fourth of the STS-123 mission, with one more EVA scheduled for Saturday night.
Two astronauts successfully tested tools that could be used to repair damage to the shuttle's thermal protection system during a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Thursday night. Robert Behnken and Michael Foreman spent six hours and 24 minutes outside the shuttle and ISS, much of that time spent on testing a tile repair technique that uses a gooey material called STA-54, which can be squirted out of a gun to fill in damaged portions of tiles on the orbiter. The application tests went well, although engineers will have to wait until after the shuttle returns to Earth to determine the overall effectiveness of the repair technique. The spacewalking astronauts also replaced a faulty circuit breaker on the station's exterior, but were unable to rewire an electrical connector that feeds power to two of the station's gyros because the connector was stuck in place. The EVA was the fourth of the STS-123 mission, with one more EVA scheduled for Saturday night.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, February 9
Astronomy team that includes UCLA finance professor discovers nearby dwarf galaxy
UCLA — 12:30 pm ET (1730 GMT) France, Germany To Establish Working Group To Resolve Ariane 5 Differences
Space News — 12:23 pm ET (1723 GMT) Telenor Says Exchange Rates Contribute to Revenue Drop
Space News — 12:22 pm ET (1722 GMT) Europe Defers Start on New Polar-orbit Weather Satellites
Space News — 12:22 pm ET (1722 GMT) Russia’s Rockot To Launch Two ESA Sentinel Craft
Space News — 12:21 pm ET (1721 GMT) |