Empty nitrogen tank returned to payload bay
Schlegel and Walheim
Empty nitrogen tank secured
With a new nitrogen tank installed and operating, spacewalkers reinstalled the empty tank on a stowage rack in the shuttle's payload bay.
On his fourth spacewalk, Rex Walheim rode the space station robotic arm to carry the full tank to its destination and to return the empty tank to the stowage rack. German astronaut Hans Schlegel helped with removal and installation of both tanks.
Astronauts Leland Melvin and Stan Love operated the robotic arm.
The new tank was installed at 12:39 p.m. EST and space station controllers began operating the tank.
"Great work. We saw a great nitrogen tank power up," said a voice from mission control.
Walheim and Hans Schlegel are about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, having made up a slight deficit in the timeline. They will work on get ahead tasks when they finish installing the old tank.
Nitrogen in the tank is used to pressurize the space station's cooling system, which circulates ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen with three hydrogen atoms attached.
The mission's second spacewalk began at 9:27 a.m. EST.
A European astronaut, Schlegel is on a mission of redemption, having missed his first spacewalk Monday due a medical condition that neither NASA nor he would disclose. He has recovered.
Click for interactive graphic on Columbus installation.
Click for STS-122 fact sheet.
Click for NASA-TV schedule, which details mission events.
The nitrogen tank assembly (NTA) sits in the payload bay beneath two European experiments, SOLAR and EuTEF. The spacewalkers will return the old tank to the payload bay.
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