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Spacewalkers prepare for in-orbit cleaning job
Two astronauts faced a tedious cleaning and lube job on Tuesday, the first of a series of spacewalks to resurrect a massive joint that turns one of the international space station's power-generating solar-panel wings toward the sun.
- AP
- Published: 23:40 November 18, 2008
Houston: Two astronauts faced a tedious cleaning and lube job on Tuesday, the first of a series of spacewalks to resurrect a massive joint that turns one of the international space station's power-generating solar-panel wings toward the sun.
The 3-metre-wide joint has been clogged with metal shavings from grinding parts for more than a year, limiting how much power the solar wing can produce.
Once in the void of space, spacewalkers Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Stephen Bowen had at their disposal a putty knife to scrape away the metal grit, wet wipes for cleaning and a grease gun to lubricate the area.
"We have a little cleaning and greasing to do, to see if we can make it rotate smoother," Bowen had said. "We're going to try to make it come back to life."
Other tasks during the six hour spacewalk included moving an empty nitrogen tank into the docked space shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay for a return to Earth and taking an ammonia hose from the shuttle to store outside the station.
Tuesday's trip was the first of four planned spacewalks.
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