Nov 23 2009
From The Space Library
NASA astronauts Randolph J. Bresnik and Robert L. Satcher Jr. undertook the third and final spacewalk of STS-129. The pair began their spacewalk an hour late because of difficulty with a valve on the drink bag of Satcher’s spacesuit. However, the team quickly worked to get ahead of schedule, finishing at 2:06 p.m. (EST), just after the originally scheduled ending time. With the assistance of a robotic arm, the pair installed a 1,200-pound (544-kilogram) oxygen tank at a NASA air lock on the ISS, the main objective of the spacewalk. They filled it with high-pressure oxygen for future spacewalks, connected the gas line, and conducted a check for leaks. The pair also installed science experiments on the outside of the station, including the MISSE, which would help NASA scientists understand how substances and coatings react to direct sunlight, radiation, atomic oxygen, and extreme temperatures. NASA intended to use the results of these experiments in the design of future spacecraft. Additionally, Bresnik and Satcher removed two orbital-debris shields from the air lock, making room for the oxygen tank; loosened a bolt on an ammonia tank; and worked on fluid jumper lines.
Marcia Dunn for Associated Press, “Astronauts Take Spacewalk No. 3 After Suit Snag,” 24 November 2009; Ryan Flinn, “Spacewalker’s Final Sortie Tests Materials for Future Craft,” Bloomberg News, 24 November 2009.
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