14 DAY TRIAL // The spacewalks scheduled for this week, to connect the power and fluid lines to the Harmony module, were carried out on Tuesday, to keep the program on track, and prepare for the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis, which will deliver the European space module Columbus, that will be connected at one of the docking ports of the European module Harmony. Due to the fact that Harmony acts as a bridge between the International Space Station and the Columbus, the final connections where critical for the program since NASA cannot clear the next space shuttle flight until the module is all connected.
The space shuttle Atlantis is expected to arrive early next month. The spacewalks involved carrying a 300-pound tray, in which the fluid lines that carry the ammonia coolant where deposited, from the storage location on the space station over to the Harmony module.
Since the departure of the space shuttle Discovery almost two weeks ago, the crew aboard the International Space Station have been under a tight schedule, working non-stop to bring the delivered module in its final location. The spacewalk carried this week was the second one related to the Harmony module. A final connection of another fluid line, is programmed to take place on Saturday.
The procedure of connecting the coolant lines also involved the venting of part of the hookups, which produced frozen ammonia crystals that floated out into space and bounced off commander Peggy Whitson, but NASA said that there was noting to worry about, since the decontamination procedures include brushing off the toxic substances and letting them bake in the sun light.
Meanwhile, they are still trying to find a quick fix to the damaged rotary joint that supports and turns one of the solar panels, providing the ISS with electrical power. The analysis of the metal shavings brought back by the Discovery crew, turned out inconclusive, engineers being unable to exactly determine which of the parts where grinding against each other. The eventual fix will probably include the disassembly of the rotary joint to clean it, which may involve as much as four spacewalks before the next module arrives next year.
In the early minutes of the spacewalk, commander Daniel Tani, which was assisting Whitson, reported a minor incident, involving minor abrasion on the outer layer of one of his gloves. Previous spacewalks outside the International Space Station resulted in three gloves being ripped on sharp edges over the past year.