Live in orbit: Spacewalk cut short by glove damage

A small hole in the one of the gloves of spacewalker Rick Mastracchio prompted NASA flight directors to cut short an excursion outside the International Space Station.

Mastracchio, making his third spacewalk in five days, noticed the hole in a single layer of the multilayer glove. The gloves are designed to keep a spacewalkers' skin temperature between 50 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit while working in an environment where temperatures swing between Minus 250 degree and 250 degrees F.

Here's a diagram (click to enlarge) that shows the different layers:



















A bit frustrated, Mastracchio now is back in the Quest airlock, watching fellow spacewalker Clay Anderson finish up work outside the outpost.

"How you doing?" Endeavour mission specialist Tracy Caldwell, who is orchestrating the spacewalk from inside the joined shuttle-station complex, asked Mastracchio.

"Doing good. Looking out the hatch. Wishing I was out there," he replied.

"Yeah, I know," Caldwell said.

Mastracchio never was in danger, but flight rules call for a spacewalk to be cut short if glove damage is detected.

The rule was put in place after post-flight inspections to a glove worn by spacewalker Robert Curbeam showed damage that went unnoticed during a mission in December.

Spacewalkers now are required to make a visual inspection of their gloves about every half-hour during an excursion. Mastracchio discovered the small hole during one of these now-routine inspections.