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Astronauts end space walk marred by lost tool bag
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-19 15:20


Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper on the end of the robot arm as she moves a nitrogen tank assembly to the Space Shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay during orbital night in this image from NASA TV November 18, 2008. [Agencies] 

Other items lost in past spacewalks include a foot restraint, bolts and a spatula used during a test to repair the shuttle. The lost bag marred what had been a near-flawless mission by Endeavour and its seven-member crew.

For more than a year, the jammed joint has been unable to automatically point the right-side solar wings toward the sun for maximum energy production. The repair work -- expected from the outset to be greasy and hand-intensive -- is supposed to take up much of all four spacewalks.

The joint is located near the extreme reaches of the 220-mile-high outpost. The spacewalkers had 85-foot safety tethers to keep them connected to the mother ship at all times.

NASA suspects a lack of lubrication caused the massive joint to break down; grinding parts left metal shavings everywhere and prompted flight controllers to use the joint sparingly. Besides scraping and wiping away the grit and applying grease, the spacewalkers will replace the bearings.

As a precaution, extra grease will be applied on a later spacewalk to the joint on the opposite side of the space station that has allowed those solar wings to produce ample electricity.