During their spacewalkthe two NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara encountered an unexpected difficulty.
Recalcitrant bolts and a tool kit drifting into space. The extravehicular exit of 1er November for maintenance work on the International Space Station (ISS) experienced some unforeseen events. Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, two NASA astronauts, were tasked with replacing one of the twelve bearings that allow the solar panels that power the ISS to follow the Sun.
A mission accomplished and a bag in space
This setback prevented them from carrying out the second important operation of this spacewalk, which consisted of dismantling the electronic box of a communications antenna. This task was finally postponed to a future EVA.
Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara were not at the end of their misadventures. Indeed, during their mission, a bag containing tools “ was lost inadvertently “. NASA clarified that this equipment was not essential for the rest of the maintenance operation. Ground controllers spotted the object using ISS cameras and judged that the risk of collision with the ship was low and that it did not pose a danger to the crew.
The fourth 100% female outing
This is not the first time that this type of event has happened. Last May, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev intentionally dropped a bag containing 5 kg of trash during a spacewalk. “ It flies wonderfully », he exclaimed as he watched the bag move away. NASA then rushed to explain in a message posted on X.com (formerly Twitter) that the object would quickly burn up in the atmosphere.
The two astronauts concluded their spacewalk after 6 hours and 42 minutes. This was the fourth spacewalk by an all-female crew. The previous three were carried out by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir (NASA) in October 2019 and January 2020.
Source : NASA
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