News Report
Latest Space Walk from Space Station
Script
American astronaut Carl Walz and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko took their first space walk outside of an international space station on Monday. Their mission was to move a construction crane and install a radio antenna outside the space station.
Walz, Onufrienko, and American astronaut Daniel Bursch first moved into the space station last month. This was their first attempt since then to exit the station.
As Bursch monitored from outside, Walz and Onufrienko exited the station 400 km above the Pacific Ocean. Their main task was to move a Russian-built crane from its temporary home on the U.S. side of the space station to a permanent home on the Russian side. Their plan was to use another similar Russian-built crane to help them carry out the job. The goal was for both cranes to eventually be located on the Russian side of the space station, which was launched in September.
The job was not an easy one, considering that the crane they were in charge of moving is nearly 15 meters long when fully extended and able to move more than three tons of equipment when in use. The two men worked together to maneuver the two large cranes into the correct positions. The complicated job took several hours to complete, but their hard work resulted in the successful relocation of the crane to the Russian side of the space station.
The men were also given the task of installing the first of four radio antennas on the living quarters of the space station.
During the space walk, the two men complained of a continual high-pitched beeping sound that distracted them as they floated in space.
Russian engineers attempted to find the cause of the noise the men were hearing inside their spacesuits, but could not provide an immediate solution.
The three-man crew is the fourth crew to live on the space station and will remain on board there until May.
|