DIY in the sky

A SPACEWALKING astronaut gently pulled two potentially dangerous strips of protruding filler from Discovery’s tile belly with his gloved hand yesterday, successfully completing an unprecedented emergency repair.

Astronaut Stephen Robinson said both pieces came out easily during the space-walk, which lasted six hours. He did not have to use a makeshift hacksaw he brought along just in case.

“That came out very easily,” Robinson said of the second piece. “I don’t see any more gap filler. I’m doing my own inspection here. It is a very nice orbital belly.”

NASA officials had determined the exposed ceramic-fibre fillers could lead to overheating and a possible repeat of Columbia’s disastrous re-entry.

Robinson attached a special foot restraint to the International Space Station’s 58-foot robotic arm and fellow astronauts aboard the station manoeuvered the arm so Robinson could reach the shuttle’s belly. They were careful to make sure Robinson’s helmet and feet did not contact the fragile ship.

It was the first time an astronaut has ventured beneath a shuttle.

Robinson took only the essential tools for the repair - leaving a tile repair kit just outside the airlock. He also secured his safety tethers to keep from accidentally striking the vehicle.

Once under Discovery’s belly, Robinson expected to spend about an hour removing or trimming the fillers from two locations near the shuttle’s nose. But it took mere seconds for him to pull each strip.

His spacewalking partner, Soichi Noguchi, kept a close eye on Robinson.

“Steve, we trained for four years, you’re going to spend the next four years signing autographs,” Noguchi told Robinson once the repairs were complete.

Those who watched from space and on the ground were fascinated by the never-before-seen views.

“Steve, could you move your hand out of the field of view,” astronaut Andrew Thomas radioed Robinson, who had a camera attached to his helmet. “We were enjoying the view as much as you were.”

As the spacewalkers returned to the airlock, those aboard the shuttle used Discovery’s robotic arm to inspect a thermal blanket below the commander’s window that was ripped during launch, most likely by debris.

Deputy shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale hinted that the astronauts may have another repair job ahead of them.

Hale said there is concern that the blanket might come off during re-entry and smack into the shuttle.