This December 24, 2013 NASA TV still image shows astronaut Mike Hopkins on the robotic arm (Lower-R) and Rick Mastracchio (front) during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). <\/p>\n
Americans Rick Mastracchio, 53, and Mike Hopkins, 44, floated outside the orbiting lab for seven and a half hours to replace an ammonia pump whose internal control valve failed on December 11. <\/p>\n
\"We have a pump that is alive and well,\" said a NASA commentator on the US space agency's live television feed after a successful jumpstart test on the newly installed pump module, a bulky piece of gear the size of a refrigerator. <\/p>\n
More checks will be done later Tuesday, but the pump appeared to be \"in good shape\" and would be fully activated in the coming hours, a NASA commentator said from mission control in Houston. <\/p>\n
Despite recent concerns about leaking spacesuits, neither astronaut reported any problems. <\/p>\n
The suits \"have functioned perfectly and have been bone dry throughout the course of today's spacewalk,\" a NASA commentator said. <\/p>\n
Hopkins, making his second career spacewalk, rode the 57-foot (15-meter) robotic arm, operated from inside the station by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. <\/p>\n
With his boots affixed to the Canadian-made arm, Hopkins grasped the bulky pump module as Wakata maneuvered him over to its installation location. <\/p>\n
Then, Mastracchio, who was making his eighth career spacewalk, helped push the module into its slot and the pair began affixing it in place. <\/p>\n
Five electrical connections and four fluid connections followed, and a brief test, like a jumpstart, was done to test the pump's connections and electronics. <\/p>\n
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Originally posted here:<\/p>\n
NASA astronauts wrap up successful spacewalk on Christmas Eve to fix station<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This December 24, 2013 NASA TV still image shows astronaut Mike Hopkins on the robotic arm (Lower-R) and Rick Mastracchio (front) during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). Americans Rick Mastracchio, 53, and Mike Hopkins, 44, floated outside the orbiting lab for seven and a half hours to replace an ammonia pump whose internal control valve failed on December 11. \"We have a pump that is alive and well,\" said a NASA commentator on the US space agency's live television feed after a successful jumpstart test on the newly installed pump module, a bulky piece of gear the size of a refrigerator. Continue reading