{"id":42327,"date":"2005-08-02T17:40:29","date_gmt":"2005-08-02T09:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/robinson-confident-ahead-of-historic-eva\/"},"modified":"2005-08-02T17:40:29","modified_gmt":"2005-08-02T09:40:29","slug":"robinson-confident-ahead-of-historic-eva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/robinson-confident-ahead-of-historic-eva\/","title":{"rendered":"Robinson confident ahead of historic EVA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astronaut Steve Robinson noted his confidence in being able to pull out two protruding Gap Fillers from Discovery\u2019s belly \u2013 claiming the task on tomorrow\u2019s EVA 3 is \u201csimple.\u201d However, speaking live from the International Space Station (ISS), he admitted there was always some risk associated with space travel.
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It is the first time an astronaut has carried out such a task, as he is positioned on the end of the Space Station\u2019s robotic arm and swung out \u2013 under the guidance of Andy Thomas and two other astronauts \u2013 underneath Discovery.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be watching the top of my helmet to avoid contact with the TPS,\u201d said Robinson, noting some of the concerns in ensuring he doesn\u2019t come into contact with the Orbiter\u2019s Thermal Protection System (TPS). <\/font><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Asked by members of the media during the press conference with the crew of Discovery and the ISS, Robinson also noted he\u2019s pretty handy with tools \u2013 something he\u2019ll need to be if the gap fillers fail to come loose by hand. \u201c(Laugh) Well I\u2019ve got some old Airplanes at home so I\u2019m pretty good with tool,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a gentle pull (of the gap filler) with my hand. If that doesn\u2019t work, I\u2019ll use forceps. If that doesn\u2019t work I\u2019ll use the hacksaw, but there will be no yanking.\u201d <\/font><\/p>\n

Concerns over the protruding material effects on the Orbiter during the Boundary Level Transition section of re-entry has led to uncertainty on how the gap fillers will effect Discovery \u2013 leading to Wednesday\u2019s spacewalk.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been so many people that have worked together to get the Shuttle flying again. All those people that have made sacrifices and worked late at night and we have nothing but thanks for them,\u201d noted Commander Eileen Collins, commenting on the continued hard work by engineers on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m highly confident (about re-entry) once we pull out the (gap fillers) we\u2019ll have a very clean re-entry.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty simple EVA is everything goes right,\u201d added Andy Thomas, who is planning the movements of Robinson on the EVA. \u201cI think the fix is very straightforward. When we first heard about it some of us had some misgivings. We know (thanks to the ground) we know about the worst case scenario \u2013 although I don\u2019t think there was any threat to us. It should be a simple fix.\u201d <\/font><\/p>\n

Collins expanded on what will occur on Wednesday \u2013 during an EVA that will see the repair to Discovery\u2019s TPS as the second element of the day\u2019s activities outside the Orbiter\u2019s Airlock.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cTwo crew members will be operating the Space Station Arm and two more controlling the Shuttle arm,\u201d the Commander explained. \u201cHighlight of the EVA will be when Steve goes on his repair. Andy will be organising the EVA.\u201d <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we all have confidence that the Shuttle will return safely once these gap fillers have been removed. We believe that the engineers in Houston and around the world have the right information and we trust them. We expect to land safely with no worries.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Finishing off with comments on the need to keep the Shuttles flying, as well as working on building a replacement (The CEV) for the fleet, Collins backed up the need for the ISS as part of NASA\u2019s Vision for Space Exploration.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cMost people know America is wanting to build a new spaceship that will replace the Shuttle,\u201d Collins added. \u201cIt\u2019s critical to have Americans in space if we want to go to the Moon and Mars and the ISS is an excellent base to carry out that level of research.\u201d
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To follow live updates and images from Flight Day 8, click here:
<\/em>http:\/\/forum.nasaspaceflight.com\/forums\/thread-view.asp?tid=242&start=1<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Astronaut Steve Robinson noted his confidence in being able to pull out two protruding Gap Fillers from Discovery\u2019s belly \u2013 claiming the task on tomorrow\u2019s EVA 3 is \u201csimple.\u201d However, speaking live from the International Space Station (ISS), he admitted there was always some risk associated with space travel. It is the first time an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42327"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}