Risky walkabout in space
28/06/2004 10:32  - (SA)  

Spacewalk a near disaster

Moscow - The Russian-US team on the international space station will make a second attempt at a risky, approximately six-hour spacewalk this week, Russian Mission Control said on Monday.

Last week's attempt to repair a fried circuit-breaker ended after just 14 minutes because of a rapid pressure drop in the primary oxygen bottle on US astronaut Mike Fincke's spacesuit. Experts have theorised that an oxygen-flow switch on the suit or a sticky valve might be to blame.

Vera Medvedkova, a spokesperson for Mission Control, said the spacewalk was scheduled for 01:40 Moscow time on Thursday.

The new circuit breaker is needed to restore power to one of the gyroscopes that help keep the station stable and pointed in the right direction.

The spacewalk entails numerous risks.

A malfunction last month of the US spacesuits on board forced Fincke and Russian crewmate Gennady Padalka to wear Russian suits and exit from the Russian side of the orbiting complex for the spacewalk, more than doubling the travel distance to and from the repair site. The Russian suits, more pressurised than the US outfits and therefore stiffer, were not designed for the type of handiwork planned.

Communication blackouts are anticipated given the travel distance, and flight controllers on the group will have to keep watch over the outpost's systems because the space station will be left empty for only the third time ever.