NASA astronauts sped through an urgent spacewalk this morning (May 23) to replace a malfunctioning computer relay box outside the International Space Station, completing the trip outside in 2 hours and 46 minutes.
By the end of the spacewalk, space station commander Peggy Whitson’s 10th, she had snagged the third-place record for aggregate spacewalking time with 60 hours and 21 minutes total, passing former NASA astronauts Jerry Ross and John Grunsfeld. The spacewalk was flight engineer Jack Fischer’s second.
One of two side-by-side multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM) data relay boxes outside the space station failed Saturday (May 20), and space station managers approved the unplanned spacewalk for the astronauts to replace the box with a spare. When the first computer failed, its backup immediately took over; the computer and backup help control the solar arrays, radiators, robotics and cooling loops on the station. The crew were able to replace the box less than 2 days and 22 hours after the failure through the quickly-organized spacewalk.
Despite the rush, the two astronauts took multiple chances to admire the view during their trip outside the station.
“Oh my gosh, so beautiful,” Fischer said.
“Mhmm,” Whitson agreed.
“Epically amazeballs,” Fischer added. “That’s how beautiful it is.”
According to a NASA spokesperson, Whitson built the replacement MDM from spare parts Sunday (May 21). Whitson and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough installed the box during a spacewalk on March 30, and mission managers still don’t know why it failed, NASA officials said.
The two spacewalkers began 40 minutes early after quickly finishing preparations, and they split up once they left the station airlock. While Whitson set out to remove and replace the failed MDM box, Fischer headed to the Destiny laboratory to install two antennas that will help with wireless communications — the one task the astronauts couldn’t do at the end of their first spacewalk together earlier this month.
