Peggy Whitson isn't giving any speeches. Instead she's servicing some new batteries for the ISS with her fellow astronaut.
Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson along with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough successfully installed three new adapter plates and hooked up electrical connections for three of the six new lithium-ion batteries on the International Space Station during last week's spacewalk.
During the Gemini 4 mission on June 3, 1965, Ed White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk. The spacewalk started at 3:45 p.m. EDT on the third orbit when White opened the hatch and used the hand-held manuevering oxygen-jet gun to push himself out of the capsule.
The EVA started over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and lasted 23 minutes, ending over the Gulf of Mexico. Initially, White propelled himself to the end of the 8-meter tether and back to the spacecraft three times using the hand-held gun. After the first three minutes the fuel ran out and White maneuvered by twisting his body and pulling on the tether.
In a photograph taken by Commander James McDivitt taken early in the EVA over a cloud-covered Pacific Ocean, the maneuvering gun is visible in White's right hand. The visor of his helmet is gold-plated to protect him from the unfiltered rays of the sun.
Image Credit: NASA
Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson along with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough successfully installed three new adapter plates and hooked up electrical connections for three of the six new lithium-ion batteries on the International Space Station during last week's spacewalk.
The first US spacewalk was in 1965 and that was high drama at the time. All these years later, Peggy Whitson has done seven of them and will likely do at least one more to finalize installing the batteries.
The EVA started over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and lasted 23 minutes, ending over the Gulf of Mexico. Initially, White propelled himself to the end of the 8-meter tether and back to the spacecraft three times using the hand-held gun. After the first three minutes the fuel ran out and White maneuvered by twisting his body and pulling on the tether.
In a photograph taken by Commander James McDivitt taken early in the EVA over a cloud-covered Pacific Ocean, the maneuvering gun is visible in White's right hand. The visor of his helmet is gold-plated to protect him from the unfiltered rays of the sun.
Image Credit: NASA
Every kid dreams of being an astronaut but could you really do it. The idea of looking at my shoes and seeing nothing underneath them is unnerving just sitting here so I seriously doubt I would have been astronaut material.
That maneuvering gun was total Buck Rogers but this was exciting stuff in 1965.
No comments:
Post a Comment