Live in Orbit: Spare Part Stored on Station

Automated latches have grabbed a spare part that two Endeavour astronauts lowered into position on an International Space Station storage platform, about two hours into the mission's first spacewalk and more than 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

The part, called a Flex Hose Rotary Coupler, pumps ammonia coolant between space station radiators and trusses. It was launched on Endeavour.

Astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen fastened the part with screws, competing their second main task of the day. Earlier, they retrieved an empty nitrogen tank from the same platform and moved it to the Endeavour's cargo bay, riding the station's robotic arm back and forth for both moves.

Here's a sequence of images showing the move. Click on any of them to enlarge them.



This view shows the installed Flex Hose Rotary Coupler. Stefanyshyn-Piper reported seeing what appeared to be a cap screw float off the spare part toward the shuttle's payload bay, but it is not considered a serious issue.

What's next?

Stefanyshyn-Piper will prepare to work on the starboard rotary joint that will be the focus of the remainder of the spacewalk, and the next two.

Bowen will remove some covers from the berthing mechanism on the Japanese Kibo module, so robotics officers in Japan can look at it and perform checkouts.

The first spacewalk was scheduled to last more than six hours.