ISS repair spacewalk falls short of goals
Posted: Sun, Aug 8, 2010, 8:23 AM ET (1223 GMT)
Spacewalking astronauts Saturday were unable to replace a faulty coolant pump on the International Space Station, forcing controllers to plan an additional spacewalk to complete the urgent repairs. Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson spent eight hours and three minutes outside the station, the longest ISS spacewalk ever, in an attempt to remove an ammonia coolant pump that failed last weekend and replace it with a spare. However, the astronauts encountered a leak in the final ammonia line that needed to be disconnected from the old unit. After efforts to stop the leak failed, the spacewalkers reconnected the line and kept the old pump in place. Controllers are planning a second EVA no earlier than Wednesday to continue the repair, after studying options to handle the leaking line; a third EVA will also likely be necessary to complete the repairs. The work is needed to bring the station's cooling system back to 100 percent, allowing other ISS systems that have been powered down since the failure to be restored.
Spacewalking astronauts Saturday were unable to replace a faulty coolant pump on the International Space Station, forcing controllers to plan an additional spacewalk to complete the urgent repairs. Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson spent eight hours and three minutes outside the station, the longest ISS spacewalk ever, in an attempt to remove an ammonia coolant pump that failed last weekend and replace it with a spare. However, the astronauts encountered a leak in the final ammonia line that needed to be disconnected from the old unit. After efforts to stop the leak failed, the spacewalkers reconnected the line and kept the old pump in place. Controllers are planning a second EVA no earlier than Wednesday to continue the repair, after studying options to handle the leaking line; a third EVA will also likely be necessary to complete the repairs. The work is needed to bring the station's cooling system back to 100 percent, allowing other ISS systems that have been powered down since the failure to be restored.
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