An Endeavour spacewalker has been given the go-ahead to use an alternative method for cleaning a damaged International Space Station joint. After losing a tool bag holding two grease guns Tuesday, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper used a "wet" wipe to complete a step that previously employed a grease gun. The wipe is a terrycloth mitt coated with the space grease, called Braycote.
The image at left, from Tuesday's spacewalk, shows the wet wipe with one surface nearly black with grease. Today, Stefanyshyn-Piper wiped the outer surface of the joint's steel gear ring - also visible in the picture - thoroughly with the mitt. Then she used a scraper to pry up "pancakes" of metal shavings pressed against the surface.
She reported she needed to wipe her scraper more frequently, because there was less grease holding the debris, but she had better grease coverage than when she used the gun. On Tuesday, the area under the bead of grease applied with the gun scraped up easily, but areas on either side of the bead were more difficult.
"I think both methods are comparable," she said.
"You're go to use the wet wipe method for the remainder of the EVA," a Houston ground controller said.
"OK, great," Stefanyshyn-Piper replied.
If a grease gun were available, it would have been used with a straight nozzle during that stage of the cleaning process.
Stefanyshyn-Piper does have a grease gun with a curved nozzle to reach an inside surface of the gear ring.
Shane Kimbrough used the straight-nozzle gun to lubricate the end of the space station's robotic arm. He's finished the job, and will soon join Stefanyshyn-Piper working on the damaged joint that rotates the station's starboard solar wings.
Once in the same location, they may be able to share the straigt-nozzle greae gun.
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