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To: stm
I was listening to this guy during yesterday's spacewalk. I did not like his attitude. He seemed a bit too cavalier on several occasions. I remember thinking that I hope he does not screw up. It seems he did.

I am listening to them right now during tonight's space walk. Guess what? He is done it again. He has lost a another bolt and washer.

44 posted on 09/13/2006 4:31:51 AM PDT by Jeff Gordon (Is tractus pro pensio.)
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To: Jeff Gordon

spaceflightnow.com
1439 GMT (10:39 a.m. EDT)

The keel pin is being unbolted as the spacewalkers prepare to remove the structure. They will be stowing it inside the new truss. It has to be relocated because its current location blocks the station's railcar tracks along the truss backbone of the complex.

This task had been scheduled for the third spacewalk. But time is available today to get ahead.

1401 GMT (10:01 a.m. EDT)

The next activity will be removing and stowing the triangular keel pin that supported the truss in Atlantis' payload bay.

1356 GMT (9:56 a.m. EDT)

The final launch restraint on the rotary joint has been removed.

1348 GMT (9:48 a.m. EDT)

Burbank and MacLean have managed to free that stubborn launch restraint. They have one more restraint left to remove today.

1330 GMT (9:30 a.m. EDT)

The spacewalkers are now working together to try free a tough bolt on one of the launch restraints.

1318 GMT (9:18 a.m. EDT)

Three of the six launch restraints have been removed by the spacewalkers so far. They completed the lock removals earlier.

1305 GMT (9:05 a.m. EDT)

Four hours and counting for spacewalkers Dan Burbank and Steve MacLean. This is Burbank's second career EVA and the first for MacLean.

Both are working to release the truss launch restraints. MacLean had to get a new socket after his first one broke.

The restraints hold together the inner and outer rotary joint bulkheads. Others are holding the forward face nadir and zenith joint stub rails to the inboard bulkhead and on aft truss beams.

1220 GMT (8:20 a.m. EDT)

Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean ran into the same problem today that spacewalker Joe Tanner encountered Tuesday: a lost bolt from a thermal cover on a newly installed solar array truss. Unlike Tanner, MacLean never saw the spring-loaded bolt separate from its retaining clip and float away. One minute it was there, the next it was gone.

"OK, on cover eight, a bolt is missing," MacLean radioed. "Bolt alpha. I did not see it go."

"OK, Steve, I copy that, bolt 1 alpha is missing," Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper replied from inside the shuttle-station complex.



captive bolts are always seeking their freedom. Seems like there is always at least one captive bolt on an assembly that escapes.


45 posted on 09/13/2006 7:47:07 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the law of the excluded middle)
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