Thought you might enjoy reading this...I did.

I wish them the best of luck.

I think NASA needs to have more tools on the ISS.

TMT


How to Build Space Station-Saving Cuff Links Robert Z. Pearlman

SPACE.com
49 minutes ago

In 1970, the solution involved duct tape, a flight manual's cover, a
plastic bag and a sock.

Three years later, it was a nylon and mylar umbrella that was
assembled with a sewing machine. In 1985, although unsuccessful, the
answer was two makeshift flyswatters.

And on Saturday, should NASA proceed as planned, the success of its
current mission will rely on six cuff links.

But it's not like the 10 astronauts in space can rent the fasteners
from the local tuxedo shop. To save the space station on which they
all currently inhabit, they needed to assemble their repair tools from
the spare parts launched for just such an occasion.

A rip in an array

Earlier this week, after successfully repositioning a truss and solar
array assembly to its permanent berth on the International Space
Station (ISS), the crew of shuttle Discovery and the outpost's own
residents set about deploying the segments' pair of power-generating
wings. The first array extended without issue, but as the second was
almost at its full length, the station's commander halted the deploy
after observing a tear that was forming mid-way along its 110-foot (33
meter) length.

The damage, which upon closer inspection was found to be two tears --
a 2.5-foot (0.7-meter) rip and another about one-third the size -- was
a serious concern. The ISS was already at a power handicap as a faulty
joint was preventing one set of its arrays from rotating to track the
Sun. Now, with the second set of arrays unable to extend completely,
it too would be unable to follow the power-providing rays of our
nearest star. Although there was enough electricity to support its
current configuration, without repair, the torn wing was threatening
future expansion, including the long awaited launch of European and
Japanese science labs.

Flights controllers quickly went to work around the clock to develop a
daring plan: using a 50-foot (15-meter) boom designed to inspect the
shuttle for damage and the station's own 50-foot robotic arm, an
astronaut will be positioned at the site of the tear, where he will
attempt to clear a snagged guide wire believed to be the source of the
damage, and then repair the torn hinge by inserting splints, referred
to as cuff links, to stabilize the array such that it can be fully
extended. Were it not enough that the boom has never been used for
such a purpose, or that the astronauts were never trained for such a
maneuver, the array, though torn, will still be running a current such
that it poses a low but real risk of shocking the spacewalker.

MacGyver's mission

Well before Discovery launched to space on Oct. 23, STS-120 commander
Pam Melroy dubbed one of her six crewmates as the astronaut version of
the resourceful TV character MacGyver. Speaking of her mission
specialist from the European Space Agency, Melroy recalled telling
Paolo Nespoli to take all his tools with him to space.

"I encouraged him to take one of everything because I am sure he's
going to build something in space with it."

As chance would have it, Melroy would be partially right. Though
Nespoli will support Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock during the
spacewalk from his vantage point inside, it was Discovery's pilot
George Zamka along with ISS Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson who
were called upon on Thursday to exhibit their inner-MacGyver.

Using strips of aluminum, a hole punch, a bolt connector and 66 feet
(20 meters) of wire, along with detailed instructions sent by mission
control, the duo assembled half a dozen space station-saving cuff link
contraptions. If all proceeds as planned, Parazynski, suspended at the
end of the boom-arm assembly, will slip the cuff link-like tabs
through holes in the array's blanket, enabling it to support the
tension exerted when the solar wing is fully extended.

Like the sock/duct tape/plastic bag solution that allowed a square-
shaped carbon dioxide scrubber to fit in a round hole aboard Apollo
13, the success of the cuff links won't be known until they are
installed, but those who worked to devise the fix are optimistic that
failure is not an option.

"We're faced with a difficult situation," said experienced spacewalker
David Wolf. "I think we're onto a solution that should work and get us
pretty close to a permanently acceptable situation."

How exactly does one assemble a space station saving cufflink from
spare parts? Very carefully, as appears to be the case in the seven-
part instructions that were uplinked to the astronauts, complete with
illustrations for key steps.

SPACE.com's live coverage of the spacewalk begins Saturday morning at
5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT).

Copyright 2007 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:30:33 -0700, Too_Many_Tools
wrote:

Thought you might enjoy reading this...I did.

I wish them the best of luck.



How exactly does one assemble a space station saving cufflink from
spare parts? Very carefully, as appears to be the case in the seven-
part instructions that were uplinked to the astronauts, complete with
illustrations for key steps.

SPACE.com's live coverage of the spacewalk begins Saturday morning at
5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT).


I wonder if you'd ever get a Sherline or similar putting a mini lathe
and mini mill on the space station for those odd off duty moments :-)
and for brewing up little repairs?

think of the bragging rights :-) NASA saves the day with a Taig lathe
:-)

gotta be potential there.

Stealth Pilot

On Sat, 03 Nov 2007 09:17:50 +0900, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:30:33 -0700, Too_Many_Tools
wrote:

Thought you might enjoy reading this...I did.

I wish them the best of luck.



How exactly does one assemble a space station saving cufflink from
spare parts? Very carefully, as appears to be the case in the seven-
part instructions that were uplinked to the astronauts, complete with
illustrations for key steps.

SPACE.com's live coverage of the spacewalk begins Saturday morning at
5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT).


I wonder if you'd ever get a Sherline or similar putting a mini lathe
and mini mill on the space station for those odd off duty moments :-)
and for brewing up little repairs?

think of the bragging rights :-) NASA saves the day with a Taig lathe
:-)

gotta be potential there.

Stealth Pilot

Might call for some inventive ways to capture swarf. Can you imagine
the havoc if a bunch of conductive stuff was floating around in zero
gravity?

Might call for some inventive ways to capture swarf.

I read somewhere that one of the problems was caused by shavings from a
grinding operation. I thought when you did NASA work you needed to clean up
after yourself.
--
--
Stupendous Man
Defender of Liberty, Advocate of Justice

On Nov 2, 10:28 pm, "Stupendous Man" wrote:
Might call for some inventive ways to capture swarf.

I read somewhere that one of the problems was caused by shavings from a
grinding operation. I thought when you did NASA work you needed to clean up
after yourself.
--
--
Stupendous Man
Defender of Liberty, Advocate of Justice

Actually the personal reports I have read indicate that living in
close quarters in space the housekeeping takes the backseat to other
activities.

The closest analogy would be a bunch of college kids living in a dorm
room...including the locker room smell.

Remember you can't just open the windows to air the place out.

You only clean up when you get company or when you have a television
conference.

TMT

Too_Many_Tools wrote:

Remember you can't just open the windows to air the place out.

Sure you can. I wouldn't.

I don't believe it was from a mill or a lathe.
I believe it was in actuation.

Parts are cleaned and then go to the Quality lab to be verified.
And electronic test takes place making sure everything is just right.
A chip big enough to be spotted by someone in a space suit is large.
When surfaces moved it gouged one metal into another. Something was
off-axis.

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Stupendous Man wrote:
Might call for some inventive ways to capture swarf.

I read somewhere that one of the problems was caused by shavings from a
grinding operation. I thought when you did NASA work you needed to clean up
after yourself.

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But they have air scrubbers and oxygen. The scrubbers clean the air
so they can use it over. I doubt it is like a sub.

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Wes wrote:
Too_Many_Tools wrote:

Remember you can't just open the windows to air the place out.

Sure you can. I wouldn't.

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