Sep 6 1997
From The Space Library
British-born U.S. astronaut C. Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Y. Solovyev conducted a 6-hour spacewalk outside the Mir space station, to investigate further the damage caused by the June 1997 collision with a robotic supply craft. However, they were unable to find the puncture that space officials believed Mir had sustained. The exercise was only the second joint spacewalk of a U.S. astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. During the excursion, Foale used a crane to hoist Solovyev toward the damaged region of the craft. The two crew members endured temperatures ranging from 200°F (93°C), when Mir was in the sunlight, to -150°F (-101 °C), when it passed into the darkness. Although Foale had spent many hours preparing for the spacewalk, learning how to maneuver in the heavy Russian spacesuit, he still exercised extreme caution to avoid snagging the suit on of Mir's jagged edges. NASA had approved Foale's participation in the spacewalk only shortly before it occurred.
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