posted 08-30-2012 07:18 AM               

Astronauts spacewalking outside space station

Expedition 32 flight engineer Sunita Williams of NASA, a veteran of four spacewalks, and flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) embarked Thursday (Aug. 30) on a spacewalk to replace a faulty power routing unit on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS).

The spacewalk began at 7:16 a.m. CDT (1216 GMT) and is planned to last 6.5 hours.

Williams and Hoshide will focus on replacing a main bus switching unit on the space station's truss and running cables for an upcoming Russian laboratory module. The two will also work to replace a failed camera on the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

This is Hoshide's first spacewalk and the third performed by a JAXA astronaut. This is the first spacewalk to be based from the station's Quest airlock since the final shuttle mission, STS-135, in July 2011.

This is the 164th spacewalk devoted to space station assembly and and maintenance.

posted 08-30-2012 03:07 PM               

Bolts block spacewalkers from installing new power routing unit

Spacewalkers Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide were unable to install a new main bus switching unit (MBSU) on the International Space Station on Thursday (Aug. 30), after they ran into difficulties driving the bolts that would have secured the replacement unit to the station's S0 (s-zero) truss.

Williams and Hoshide used a long-duration tie-down tether to secure the replacement MBSU to the station until a future spacewalk.

Earlier in the day, Williams was able to successfully connect one of two power cables in preparation for the arrival of a Russian laboratory module. The spacewalkers' third objective, replacing a camera on the Canadarm2 robotic arm, was not completed.

Update: The spacewalk ended at 3:33 p.m. CDT (2033 GMT) after 8 hours, 17 minutes, making it the third longest spacewalk in history.