JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, TX - Astronauts Richard Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson stepped outside the International Space Station today on the first of three spacewalks scheduled for STS-131. The astronauts completed all the major tasks for the EVA, the primary objective being the removal of a new ammonia coolant tank from Discovery's payload bay and relocation to a temporary storage location on the space station from where it will be permanently installed during a later spacewalk.
STS-131 PHOTO GALLERIES VIDEO FLIGHT DAY FOUR HIGHLIGHTS WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY FOUR MEDIA INTERVIEWS WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY FOUR MISSION STATUS BRIEFING WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY FOUR POST-MMT BRIEFING WATCH | DOWNLOAD SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY WATCH | DOWNLOAD CREW CHOICE DOWNLINK VIDEO WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY FIVE HIGHLIGHTS WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY FIVE ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY FIVE MISSION STATUS BRIEFING WATCH | DOWNLOAD ALL-ACCESS MEMBERS ONLY VIDEO EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 1 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 2 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 3 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 4 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 5 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 6 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 7 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 8 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 9 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 10 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 11 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 NASA TV COVERAGE, 1.2 MBPS, PART 12 DOWNLOAD EVA #1 officially began at 1:31 a.m. EDT early Friday morning as the two spacewalkers switched their protective spacesuits to internal battery power and proceeded to float out of the station's Quest airlock. "Gentlemen, the weather's beautiful outside. It's a great day for an EVA," said shuttle pilot James Dutton inside the station. "Have a great time, guys." Mastracchio and Anderson are no strangers to working outside or working together. This was the fourth EVA for both veteran astronauts and the two conducted a spacewalk together during STS-118 in August 2007. In addition to the ammonia tank assembly (ATA) relocation, the astronauts replaced an old rate gyro assembly, one of the components of the station's complex attitude control and guidance system. First, however, the Mastracchio and Anderson had to contend with a stubborn ATA that, for a time, refused to budge from its cargo carrier inside Discovery's cargo bay. Anderson, after being cautioned to avoid doing anything that could cause noxious ammonia to leak from the tank, utilized a pry bar and elbow grease to nudge the 1700 pound tank free of its restraints while Mastracchio held onto the rectangular box-like container until the station's robot arm, worked by Dutton and Stephanie Wilson, moved in and grabbed the assembly and moved it out of Discovery. Next, Mastracchio floated over to the Japanese Kibo module and removed an external experiment package that will be returned to Earth at the end of the mission. Then, both astronauts moved over to a worksite near the airlock and resumed work on the ATA, attaching a grapple fixture to the tank. The grapple fixture enables the tank to be stored in a temporary location on the station until it is relocated and installed permanently on the station's truss later in the mission. The final major task was to replace the rate gyro assembly. The spacewalkers then performed a few get-ahead tasks before returning to the station's airlock to conclude the mission's first spacewalk. This was the 141st spacewalk devoted to assembly and maintenance of the space station. Astronauts and cosmonauts have now spent a total of 879 hours and 43 minutes working in the vacuum of space outside the station. (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net)
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