Nasa astronauts tools

For one of the most famous spacewalks, the mission to replace the HST's power supply after a critical failure , NASA engineers needed to design a new drill. The components that needed to be replaced, similar to a computer board, were behind a panel that was not designed to be taken off by spacewalking astronauts. They needed something that could turn faster than the pistol-grip tool so the fasteners could be taken off quickly enough to remove the panel, and they needed something small enough to work with in a confined space.

The result was a mini power drill that took five years to design. It could spin at rpm and had an attached "capture plate" to collect all the fasteners without letting them float into space. Most of the other tools NASA uses are specifically designed for one task, but the pistol-grip tool remains the primary tool used by spacewalkers in the 21st century. Perhaps in the future, robots will perform these tasks with tools affixed to their arms, but for now, the best solution for a broken space station is an astronaut and his trusty space drill.

Although another unit was still functioning and the space station still had full use of its high-rate KU-band communications system to relay video, mission managers decided to replace the faulty antenna to preserve redundancy. Marshburn installed stabilizing gimbal locks on the degraded SASA before removing it from the truss and temporarily securing it on ELC He and Barron then released the replacement unit from the platform, including unwrapping a thermal blanket that had covered the spare SASA while it was stowed.

After moving the replacement SASA to the P1 truss on the Canadarm2, Marshburn bolted it into place, ran cables and released gimbal locks that will allow the antenna to move. Wrapping up their work with the antennas, the two astronauts draped the faulty unit with the thermal blanket earlier removed from its replacement. The two then performed a voice check with the newly installed SASA. Barron gathered the tools she had brought out to the ELC platform and returned them to the airlock, while Marshburn rode the Canadarm2 to return the portable foot restraint to its original mount on the truss.

Make sure to tip your pilots if you enjoyed the ride," Chari joked from inside the station, radioing Marshburn as he got off the robotic arm.

Related: Building the International Space Station photos. And my father got orders to Nebraska shortly after I was born. And that was just childhood moving around. Oh, absolutely. From a young age, it forces you to be flexible, right? It makes you learn how to adapt. You have to go to new schools, sometimes in the middle of the year. When did your interest in space began? Was that an early dream, or did it come later?

It was actually an early dream. My grandfather, he was born in So he had a big love of two things: He loved bicycles and telescopes. And he shared his love of telescopes with me, thankfully. It really just touched my heart differently. We would have these really beautiful deep conversations, just about space. Tell me about getting into engineering, specifically in the energy sector. What prompted you to pursue that field? I studied chemical engineering at UCSD.

And my first job after college was actually in the Arctic, on the rigs up there as a field engineer. And it was very challenging, very fast paced. You have to make these real-time decisions that can be very critical. These oil rigs sound like very remote places.

They are definitely very remote locations in extreme climates. Just seeing the rig for the first time too — very complicated systems. Everybody has to live together.

So I think all these things are very applicable towards the kind of skill set that teaches you how to be adaptable, focus on teamwork, putting the team before yourself. The two spacewalkers then checked their U. Cassidy and Behnken will set their spacesuits to internal power on Friday around a.

EDT officially beginning their spacewalk.