NASA orders series of spacewalks to fix space station

foxnews.com ^ | 12/17/13 | AP

[ColdOne]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA has ordered up a series of urgent spacewalks to fix a broken cooling line at the International Space Station.

Station managers decided Tuesday to send two American astronauts out as soon as possible to replace a pump with a bad valve. It's a major job that will require three spacewalks — Saturday, Monday and next Wednesday on Christmas Day.

"The next week will be busy with space walks so not much tweeting from here," NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio tweeted from space soon after the decision was announced.

[TheThirdRuffian]

So, how will this help NASA’s new primary mission of muslim outreach?

[Zathras]

Lets send Obama.
He seems to be an expert on everything.

[tet68]

I pray for these guys.
One of these days we are going to lose someone
on a space walk.

[beef]

“One of these days we are going to lose someone
on a space walk.”

Or worse, the crew is killed and we are left with an orbiting crypt, observable from the ground.

We are kind of lucky in that all the accidents so far have occurred where we could collect the pieces, bury the bodies, and move on. I am not sure how the public would react to a dead astronaut orbiting the earth for 100 years.

[MacNaughton]

5 We are kind of lucky in that all the accidents so far have occurred where we could collect the pieces, bury the bodies, and move on. I am not sure how the public would react to a dead astronaut orbiting the earth for 100 years.

Kinda like the 100-200 frozen climber corpses on Mt. Everest?

[VRWC For Truth]

Doing the job that illegals can’t do.

[tet68]

I am not sure how the public would react to a dead astronaut orbiting the earth for 100 years.

I’m guessing there may be one or two but their
orbits have probably degraded by now.

I could see a screen play of an old capsule coming
down in mid America with a dead astronaut in it
that nobody knew about...

Haven’t seen “gravity” yet but will when it comes out
to the dollar movie.

[Cyber Liberty]

I think we’d find a way to deorbit it, and make it a crash hazard.

[beef]

“I’m guessing there may be one or two but their
orbits have probably degraded by now.”

Russians or Chinese, maybe.

[tet68]

I wouldn’t think there’d be any Americans but with
various military launches you can never be sure.

[beef]

“Kinda like the 100-200 frozen climber corpses on Mt. Everest?”

Do you think it would be no big deal? I think the first one would like the Challenger disaster in terms of its emotional impact, but without the benefit of closure. But, maybe not.

[TNoldman]

Doesn’t sound like a good repair if you’re going to replace a pump with a bad valve. Seems that the pump should be replaced with a good pump or at least replace the pump with a good valve!

[BenLurkin]

Oh my!

Can you imagine that guy in space?

He’s be totally useless.

[BenLurkin]

I knew someone (someone who had access to inside info) who claimed that the Russians DID leave a guy in orbit. That American tracking stations heard him pleading frantically for them to get him down — until his life support quit.

[Terry L Smith]

Sorry!
We gave all that money to a bunch of odour le pieu Arabs, bent on killing Americans.

[MacNaughton]

12 Do you think it would be no big deal? I think the first one would like the Challenger disaster in terms of its emotional impact, but without the benefit of closure. But, maybe not.

I am a child of the space age. I was in grade school during Project Mercury. The tragedies of Apollo 1, STS Challenger and STS Columbia all happened on or very near my birthday. They were like gut shots to me. Yes, we are a wussified nation of emotions and declining martial spirit. The MSM would pump the story of a marooned astronaut for every penny it could. Of course, the Ivans have the responsibility/capability to rescue the crew of the ISS. As I recall, there is re-entry vehicle docked on the ISS for emergencies. At the same time I think the video game-numbed/non-churched millenials would barely notice. The cultural marxism taught in our public schools has prevailed over them. Our astronaut corps means little to them - just an extension of an evil military out to colonize space at the expense of further entitlement spending "to help a brother out."

[Colonel_Flagg]

Thankfully for us, there has not been a notable incident on an EVA in the American space program since Gemini 11 in 1966, and there have been no fatalities.

Thanks to Buzz Aldrin’s work, EVAs have been less dangerous than launches or re-entries — tragic though those accidents were.