Skip to main content /SPACE
CNN.com /SPACE
CNN TV
EDITIONS

Astronauts finish unfolding giant robot arm

astronauts
Astronauts conduct work in space  

Spacewalker's irritated eyes cause brief interruption

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- A minor eye problem briefly disrupted Sunday's spacewalk, but two astronauts completed their task of unfolding a large robot arm attached to the international space station, NASA officials said.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield told mission control that his eyes were tearing up but that he could continue with his work. NASA officials believe a soap used in cleaning his helmet may have irritated his eyes.

Hadfield worked with U.S. astronaut Scott Parazynski on unfolding the robot arm, known as the Canadarm 2. The spacewalk lasted just over seven hours.

VIDEO
The astronauts floating around the space station and shuttle installing the robot arm

Play video
(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

CNN's Eric Philips has more on Endeavors' mission, including installation of a robotic arm

Play video
(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)
 
MISSION GUIDE
 
INTERACTIVE
A 360° stroll through the International Space Station
Cult3D models of the International Space Station
 
RESOURCES
 
MESSAGE BOARD
 

The space shuttle Endeavour docked with space station Alpha on Saturday, 243 miles above the Pacific Ocean.

Endeavour lifted off Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the 58-foot Canadarm 2, a larger and more advanced version of the Canadian-built robot appendage located aboard the shuttle.

The new robot arm is designed to move space station modules and experiments about. Later additions will allow it to do detailed repair work as well.

The new arm will not be locked into one place aboard the station -- it will be able to move along the station's hull to reposition itself as needed to continue the station's construction. It is so long that it would not have fit inside the shuttle's cargo bay unless it was folded, and so heavy -- 3,618 pounds (1,644 kilograms) of aluminum, steel and graphite epoxy -- that it could not support its own weight on Earth.

Endeavour will spend one week docked with Alpha. The shuttle departs April 28, the same day Russia is scheduled to launch a Soyuz spacecraft to Alpha. The Soyuz will bring up two cosmonauts and possibly Dennis Tito, the 60-year-old American businessman who reportedly paid Russia up to $20 million for a 10-day round-trip excursion to the space station.

NASA opposes the visit, but a spokeswoman for the space agency said Friday that preparations are under way for Tito's seemingly inevitable arrival.

"We have asked our operations teams to look at the space station crew's timeline during the (Soyuz) taxi flight to see what kind of modifications could be made to their schedule to ensure everyone's safety," Kirsten Larson said.



RELATED STORIES:
Endeavour docks with space station
April 21, 2001
Report: NASA agrees to let tourist go into space
April 20, 2001
Shuttle lifts off on mission to 'arm' Alpha
April 19, 2001
Alpha crew makes room for guests
April 18, 2001

RELATED SITE:
NASA
International space station Alpha

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.



 Search   





MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 














Back to the top