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Thursday, Aug 04, 2005

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Astronaut fixes shuttle problem

Astronaut easily pulls away both pieces of fabric protruding from shuttle's belly

PHOTO: AP/ NASA TV

UNPRECEDENTED FEAT: In the photograph above, astronaut Steve Robinson is lowered to the underside of the space shuttle Discovery's by its robotic arm on Wednesday.

SPACE CENTER: HOUSTON: A space-walking astronaut gently pulled two potentially dangerous strips of fabric protruding from the Discovery's belly with his gloved hand on Wednesday, successfully completing an unprecedented emergency repair job.

Stephen Robinson said both pieces came out easily. "I don't see any more gap filler. ... I am doing my own inspection here. It is a very nice orbital belly."

Mr. Robinson attached a special foot restraint to the space station's 58-foot robotic arm and fellow astronauts aboard the station manoeuvred the arm so that he could reach the shuttle's belly.

It was the first time an astronaut ventured beneath the ship.

Mr. Robinson took only the essential tools for the repair — leaving a tile repair kit just outside the airlock. He secured his safety tethers between his legs and behind him to keep from accidentally striking the vehicle.

It took mere seconds for him to pull each strip. His space-walking partner, Soichi Noguchi, kept a close eye on Mr. Robinson.

"Steve, we trained for four years, you're going to spend the next four years signing autographs," Mr. Noguchi told his space-walking partner once the repairs were complete.

NASA thought the first gap filler was the trickier of the two. They believed it remained glued to a shim that was bonded to a thermal tile.

The 24,300 glass-coated tilesprotect the shuttle from extreme temperatures in orbit and, more importantly, insulate the ship during launch and re-entry.

"You guys did a great job," Mission Control radioed after the emergency filler removal. "Congratulations."

PHOTO: AP/ NASA TV

In the picture above, the astronaut holds a gap filler after removing it from the underside of the space shuttle. This is the first time in spacewalking history that an astronaut has ventured under the belly of a space shuttle and performed repairs. Photos: AP/NASA TV.

But experts have still not decided what to do about a thermal blanket below the cockpit that is also causing concern.

Discovery is expected to leave the International Space Station on Saturday and return to the earth on Monday.— Agencies

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