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[b]Spacewalk to troubleshoot ammonia leak begins[/b] Expedition 35 crew members Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn began an unplanned spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday (May 11) at 7:44 a.m. CDT (1244 GMT) to inspect and possibly replace a pump controller box on the outpost's far port truss (P6) suspected of leaking ammonia coolant. A leak of ammonia coolant from the area near or at the location of a Pump and Flow Control Subassembly was detected on Thursday (May 9), prompting engineers and flight controllers to begin plans to support the unscheduled spacewalk. The device contains the mechanical systems that drive the cooling functions for the port truss. The P6 truss was launched to the station as the oldest component of the station’s backbone aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-97 mission in November 2000. It was relocated from its original installation position to the far left side of the space station during the STS-120 mission in October/November 2007. The spacewalk is the 168th in support of the assembly and maintenance of the space station and the third for both Cassidy and Marshburn, who conducted two spacewalks together during the STS-127 mission in July 2009. Cassidy is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV-1), whose spacesuit is distinguished by red stripes. Marshburn is EV-2, and is wearing a suit with no stripes. Expedition 35 commander Chris Hadfield with the Canadian Space Agency is serving as the intravehicular crew member, choreographing the spacewalkers tasks outside.
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