posted 08-15-2007 02:24 PM               

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Astronaut Rick Mastracchio reported slight damage to the outer Vectran layer of his right spacesuit glove during today's spacewalk, prompting Mission Control to order an end to today's activity outside the International Space Station.

At about 2:54 p.m. EDT (1954 GMT), Mastracchio reported damage to the thumb of his spacesuit glove. The damage, to the outermost of many layers of his spacesuit, appeared to be a small hole that, according to new flight rules, required him to return to the station's Quest airlock and plug into the ISS support lines.

"It just kind of looks like a scratch or a couple of missing threads maybe," he said, adding that he could see the a metallic material layer beneath the Vectran. "I don’t know where that hole came from."

NASA's new flight rules, instituted after the agency found spacesuit glove damage following its STS-116 mission to the ISS in December, required Mastracchio to end his spacewalking task as a precaution.

At no time was Mastracchio in any danger, NASA said.

His spacewalking partner Clayton Anderson, meanwhile, will finish up his current spacewalking task and join Mastracchio in the Quest airlock.

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posted 08-15-2007 02:32 PM               

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Spacewalk Ends Early; Major Tasks Completed

Flight controllers decided just before 3 p.m. EDT to end today’s spacewalk early because of damage to the outer layer of one of Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio’s gloves. Even though there is no threat to his safety, the decision was made as a precaution.

His spacewalking partner, Clay Anderson, is finishing with the retrieval of a transponder on the Port 6 truss. Mastracchio will remain in the Quest airlock until Anderson returns to the airlock following finishing that task.

Retrieval of the two MISSE experiments will be deferred to a future spacewalk. The experiments were deployed in August 2006 and will be returned to Earth for analysis.

Mastracchio and Anderson have completed most of the scheduled spacewalk activities. They continued preparations for the relocation of the Port 6 (P6) truss and its solar arrays by moving two Crew Equipment Translation Aid carts along the Integrated Truss Structure rail system. This will allow the station’s arm to perform the P6 relocation work during STS-120. The P6 will be moved from atop the station to the end of the Port 5 truss.

Early in the spacewalk, the duo relocated an antenna from the Port 6 (P6) to the Port 1 (P1) truss. In addition to the antenna relocation, the spacewalkers installed a new transponder and signal processor in an S-band communications system upgrade.

Today’s spacewalk is Mastracchio’s third of the mission. Anderson, who arrived at the station in June, conducted his first spacewalk on July 23 with Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin.

Mission Specialist Tracy Caldwell is the spacewalk coordinator and Pilot Charles Hobaugh is at the controls of the station’s robotic arm.

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posted 08-16-2007 12:12 AM               

First, as a result of the rules put in place after STS-116, the astronauts conduct periodic inspections of their gloves during the spacewalk. As a result, NASA knows for a fact that the Mastracchio damaged his glove during the two hours leading up his report of the hole. Spacesuit technicians can and are now sorting through the video from those two hours to identify specifically when that hole happened and what Mastracchio was doing when it occurred.

Steve Doering, NASA's EVA manager, briefed the media on Wednesday evening, explaining that the damage was caused either by a tear or by wear. If the earlier, then they know they have a sharp point on the ISS and need to find and fix it. If the latter, they need to diagnose what activity is causing that wear and then institute precautions to prevent it. Either way, Doering is confident his team will understand the problem before the fourth scheduled spacewalk on Saturday.

posted 08-16-2007 01:48 PM               

• Preliminary review indicates that this damage was most likely caused by localized abrasion

• Definitive evaluation cannot occur until the damaged hardware is returned from flight and inspected under magnification

• Mastraccio could not identify any particular event or hardware that may have caused the damage

• Mastraccio noted that loss of RTV occurred over the course of the three EVAs and not during any single event

• Mastraccio noted that he did not see damage to the Vectran on either thumb during the previous inspection

• Mastraccio reported activities since last good glove TMG inspection: CETA Cart, APFR Setup

• Damaged gloves SN 6120 will not be used for future EVAs

• Backup gloves SN 6122 are available for Mastracchio to go EVA. These gloves are sized specifically for and accepted by Mastracchio.

• Glove TMG Inspection and Termination criteria are still in place for future EVAs

posted 08-17-2007 12:54 AM               

Thanks for the info.
Gardening and space construction do have something in common now: wear and tear on gloves!