Schlegel and Walheim
Empty nitrogen tank headed to payload bay
Riding the robot arm driven by Stan Love, spacewalker Rex Walheim clung to the old nitrogen tank assembly as the robot arm moved back to the shuttle payload bay.
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.
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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