NASA - STS-133 Mission patch.
03.03.2011
Discovery astronauts wrapped up a six-hour, 14-minute spacewalk Wednesday, draining ammonia from an 800-pound pump module, working with the Canadian robotic device Dextre and completing a variety of other tasks.
Image above: Mission Specialist Steve Bowen works outside the International Space Station during the second STS-133 spacewalk. Image credit: NASA TV.
The spacewalkers, Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew, spent most of their time outside working separately. The start of the spacewalk, which began when the crew members switched their spacesuits to battery power at 9:42 a.m. CST, had been delayed 24 minutes to replace an O-ring on the lithium hydroxide canister of Bowen’s suit to fix a minor leak.
Bowen began by setting up the station’s Canadarm2, operated by Mission Specialist Michael Barratt and station Commander Scott Kelly. He moved on to retrieve a lightweight adapter plate assembly, an experiment holder, from the outer end of the Columbus module and installed it in Discovery’s cargo bay for return to Earth.
Image above: Spacewalkers Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew worked outside for more than six hours on Wednesday, performing maintenance on the International Space Station, including venting ammonia from a failed pump module.
Drew started with the relocated pump module for the station’s external ammonia cooling system, using a device he had installed on Monday’s spacewalk to vent the remaining coolant from the pump. He subsequently removed the device for return to the airlock.
Coaching the spacewalkers was Mission Specialist Nicole Stott inside the station. Astronaut Tim Kopra, who had been scheduled to be one of the spacewalkers but was hurt in a bicycle accident weeks before launch, also helped advise the crew from the station flight control room.
Bowen spent about an hour working on Dextre, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, installing a camera light pan and tilt assembly and removing some insulation. Meanwhile, Drew removed and jettisoned insulation and repositioned a slipped sunshade on a nearby camera. He then installed a light on one of the small handcars, a crew and equipment translation aid. The astronauts use the carts, mounted on the station’s truss rails, to move objects.
After doing some cleanup, Bowen installed a camera lens cover on the arm’s elbow and relocated a foot restraint and a Russian cargo arm adapter. Drew moved on to the port truss to repair insulation on a radiator beam valve module. He also secured a grapple fixture stowage beam.
Flight day 7 highlights
Near the end of the spacewalk, Drew’s helmet light set came loose from his suit. Attempts by Bowen to reinstall it were unsuccessful so they attached a tether to take it back to the airlock.
This was the final STS-133 spacewalk, the 244th by U.S. astronauts. It was the seventh for Bowen totaling 47 hours, 18 minutes, and places him sixth on the all-time list of most time spent by U.S. spacewalking astronauts. It was the second spacewalk for Drew, who now has a total of 12 hours, 48 minutes. It was the 155th spacewalk in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance, totaling 973 hours, 53 minutes, which is the equivalent of 40 full days of spacewalking.
Additional STS-133 Resources:
- Discovery's Career in Photos: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/multimedia/discovery/gallery-index.html
- Discovery Retrospective: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/multimedia/discovery/gallery-index.html
Images, Text, Video, Credit: NASA / NASA TV on Youtube.
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