Metal Shavings On ISS Concern NASA

(AP)  Spacewalking astronauts doing construction work outside the international space station Sunday made a disturbing discovery: what appear to be metal shavings inside a joint that is needed to turn a set of solar power panels.

The rotary joint, 10 feet in diameter, has experienced intermittent vibrations and power spikes for nearly two months. Space station managers were hoping a thermal cover or bolt might be hanging up the mechanism, which would have been relatively easy to fix, and were disheartened when Daniel Tani radioed down that metal shavings were everywhere.

"It's quite clear that it's metal-to-metal grating or something, and it's widespread," Tani said.

"Wow," said his spacewalking partner, Scott Parazynski.

The shavings resembled small flakes and were clinging to the joint as if to a magnet, Tani said. "It looks like a dusty table that you'd want to dust at home," he called down.

The astronaut used tape to dab up some of the shavings. It will be returned to Earth aboard Discovery next week for analysis. NASA is uncertain whether the flecks are actually metallic, possibly from the aluminum foil lining the thermal covers, or some other material.

This rotary joint, launched and installed just four months ago, controls the huge solar panel wings on the right side of the space station, to make sure they're facing the sun. The joint for the left solar wings is working fine.

The right rotary joint will remain in a parked position as much as possible until the problem is solved, said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager. Flight controllers were trying to determine whether any more inspections or even repairs will be needed in the coming week, or whether they can continue to work around the problem following Discovery's departure.

The astronauts have spare parts for the joint with them in orbit, including extra bearings.

It's possible that the debris, whatever it is, could cause permanent damage, Suffredini said. Another possibility is that the joint could stall in a position that would diminish solar power. That's why he intends to move it as little as possible, for now.

It's too soon to know whether the joint - if it continues to malfunction - will affect science operations aboard the European laboratory that is scheduled to fly to the space station in December, or the Japanese lab that will follow, Suffredini said.

"We have lots of time to work through this problem. It's not an immediate issue," Suffredini said at a news conference Sunday afternoon following the spacewalk.

The problem overshadowed the rest of Sunday's spacewalk, the second of five planned for Discovery's construction mission.

The spacewalkers' first job out the hatch was to disconnect bolts and cables holding a 35-foot-long, 35,000-pound girder to the orbiting complex, so astronauts working inside could pull it away with the robot arm. It was the first time the girder and its attached solar power wings were moved since being installed seven years ago, and the job went well.

The girder will be reattached to another spot on the space station Tuesday, and its solar wings unfurled to their full 240 feet across. NASA considers this one of the most difficult construction jobs ever attempted in orbit.

During their 6½ hours outside, Tani and Parazynski also added handrails and other equipment to the outside of Harmony, the school-bus-size compartment that was delivered by Discovery and attached to the space station last week. They did not have enough time to finish installing a grappling hook to Harmony, and they had to skip some other work, too.

The rotary joint inspection was added to the spacewalk just a few days ago.

Another last-minute chore involved checking the railroad-like tracks for the space station's robot arm, to see whether any sharp edges might be protruding. Tani found dozens of micrometeorite dings on a handrail for the tracks but said they did not look particularly sharp.

Spacewalking astronauts have cut their gloves twice on previous missions, and NASA wants to find out where that's happening.

Mission managers, meanwhile, formally cleared Discovery for re-entry on Nov. 6, saying its thermal shielding is in good, solid condition. It is an eagerly awaited milestone in each mission, based on exhaustive photography and inspections, ever since the destruction of the shuttle Columbia in 2003.

[ckcool192001]

Oscarez & crzmeat I have one word...Ignorance.

Ignorant of the innovations that have come from space exploration. It would not be possible for you to sit at your computer and comment on this story if it were not for the space program.

There are hundreds of things that you probably use on a daily basis that has roots with the space program. Your satelite tv..for one, think about it without the space program you would not have the satelite. Your cell phone, without satelites it would be impossible to have a network in which you could dial somone that is across the country or ocean from where you are. Your GPS that is most likely sitting in your car...impossible without satelites. Things that you take for granted every day impossible without the space program. So before you complain about all the money being spent on exploring space, turn off your tv, cell phone, GPS devices and try to get through a day without them. Oh don''t use the land line phone either, if you''re calling a cell phone or across the country...that goes through a satelite as well.

Now, any complaints about the space program?

[badmofojim]

Dam all these ways trying to figure out how to get some Power from space so we can rid of all these Harmful elments from earth, is meaningless!!!

Oh forget about Planes, Rockets, your Cell Phones, the internet, radios, Minturization, Global Surveying.

NASA is one of the fewer funded agencys that we do pay for. crzmeat, ill i hear from you is, "US SUCKS"

Everything you say is negative. With those Billions we spend what would you put it all in? Cant put it into any other research about elimaniting fossil fuel usage or ozone montioring. See all those pretty pictures from space of the california fires? Guess who took those? NASA. How about Near instantous World Wide Communication? NASA. Hi-def? NASA. Google Earth? NASA. The GPS system that you trust your piolts lives with. Once Agian NASA. Without NASA, we wouldnt have Most of this stuff now.

[enlightenu]

hey don''t forget those comfy squishy mattresses!

You know we can''t complete the story of where we came from without knowing how the solar system came to be. Thats the burning question, and I think the knowledge is invaluable. And I agree with toolmangler, all our modern technology is a result of a world war and a cold war arms race. Even the space race is a result of the cold war. Historically war has always been the motivation behind technological progress and wealth (and survival) has always been the driver behind the exploratory spirit. But now, as a step in our evolution, our exploratory spirit is based on a desire for a wealth of knowledge. It''s true crzmeat, we won''t see any resources returned from space exploration. We sure have come a long way!

[Krazcarl]

tool outside the computer there is nothing they can say for it doesn''t really matter the weather on Saturns moons and lets get honest the computer would have made it without NASA there has been 0 benifits nane one. There is nothing in this solar system worth traveling to it''s 60 below at the equator at mars 635 at venus but if we blow off the cloud cover easy most of it is sulfer it might be interestin plus put those nuclear bombs to good use for the first time. That is our only hope in this solar system and we haven''t the brains to get out of it except probes they we''ll be dead and buried before if at all before we get anything usefull.

[Krazcarl]

yes lets waste taxpayers money on useless projects.

[toolmangler-2009]

How many more billions are we going to waste with nothing as a return.

Posted by crzmeat at 10:09 AM : Oct 29, 2007


C''Mon Crzy, you are smarter than that, (I hope)

[toolmangler-2009]

Most things invented in the past 50 years came from space and war research. Get rid of space research and all you have left is war. NAH!!!! Space is better.

[toolmangler-2009]

How many more billions are we going to waste with nothing as a return.
Posted by crzmeat at 10:09 AM : Oct 29, 2007


It would be nice to have a place to live after the extremist (whoever) turn this mudball into a glowing cinder.

[Krazcarl]

Faulty enginering lets spend a trillion going to Mars it''s a waste of cash like this is not one valuable thing have we learned though I''d love to go it''s a waste of cash we have more pressing problems than living in 0 gravity. How many more billions are we going to waste with nothing as a return.

[oscarez]

"Have you any idea how much of the technology in the computer you used to type your comment came either directly from, or was inspired indirectly by, technological advances that arose because of the space programme?

This sounds like an add from NASA to keep the funding rolling in. There are some questions about the space program benefits being worth the Costs. When the U.S. budget is balanced maybe we can afford to spend money on NASA.