Spacewalking astronauts are giving the International Space Station’s big robot arm a new hand.
NASA Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei floated out Thursday morning to replace one of two Latching End Effectors (LEE) on the Canadarm2. The walk is expected to last about six hours. It’s the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks.
The latching mechanism on one end of the 17.7-metre Canadarm2 malfunctioned in August. It needs to be replaced before an Orbital ATK supply ship launches in November.
Canadarm2 has two identical LEEs that are used to grab visiting spacecraft, as well as provide data and telemetry to the rest of the Canadian-built Mobile Base System. This bundle of latches — more than a metre long — also attaches to grapple fixtures outside the space station. That way, the arm can move like an inchworm across the sprawling structure.
Canada’s robotic arm, the Canadarm2, which is part of the International Space Station’s Remote Manipulator System, is pictured with the Earth in the background during a daytime orbital pass on April 16, 2017. (NASA)
The Canadian-built arm has been in orbit for 16 years. The two latching mechanisms, one on each end of the arm, have been used nearly 400 times, and engineers attribute the recent trouble to wear and tear.
It was the first spacewalk for Vande Hei, a rookie astronaut who arrived at the orbiting outpost a few weeks ago.
“Congratulations, my friend, on becoming the 221st human to exit in your own personal spacecraft into the void of space,” said Bresnik, a veteran spacewalker. “Now back to work.”
“Exactly,” Mission Control radioed. “Slow and steady, and go get ‘er done.”
As the duo worked, they marvelled over the views of Earth below and the full moon above.
