NASA spacewalkers install new hand on station’s robot arm

Spacewalking astronauts worked at giving the International Space Station’s big robot arm a new hand Thursday.

Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei tackled the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks.

The latching mechanism on one end of the 58-foot robot arm malfunctioned in August. 

It needs to be replaced before an Orbital ATK supply ship launches in November.

Spacewalking astronauts worked at giving the International Space Station’s big robot arm a new hand Thursday. Astronaut Mark Vande Hei can be seen working on the International Space Station

NASA AND RUSSIA TO BUILD MOON BASE

The Deep Space Gateway will orbit Earth and the moon and will open up opportunities for future exploration of deep space, as well as a return to the moon and missions to Mars.

The first modules of the station will be completed as soon as 2024 with construction starting in 2022.

Similar to the International Space Station, this new space station will be open to to astronauts and cosmonauts globally.

It could provide a staging point for the proposed Deep Space Transport vessel, which is designed to send astronauts and cosmonauts around the solar system.

China and India as well as other members of the BRICS Nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) may join. 

Within an hour-and-a-half, the spacewalkers had unbolted the degraded mechanism from the arm and turned their attention to the replacement part.

This bundle of latches – more than three feet (a meter) long – is used to grab visiting spacecraft, and provides power and data. 

The arm can also move like an inchworm across the space station by grabbing onto special fixtures.

The Canadian-built arm has been in orbit for 16 years. 

Engineers attribute the recent trouble to wear and tear. 

The two latching mechanisms, one on each end of the arm, have been used nearly 400 times.

The latching mechanism on the opposite end will be replaced early next year.

It was the first spacewalk for Vande Hei, a rookie astronaut who arrived at the orbiting outpost a few weeks ago.

‘Congratulations, my friend, on becoming the 221st human to exit in your own personal spacecraft into the void of space,’ said Bresnik, a veteran spacewalker.

‘That’s it for all of the tender moments you’ll get from me,’ Bresnik joked. ‘Now back to work.’

Astronauts Mark Vande Hei, left, and Randy Bresnik work on the International Space Station. The two tackled the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks

Astronauts Mark Vande Hei, left, and Randy Bresnik work on the International Space Station. The two tackled the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks

The outing by Americans Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei began at 8:05 am (1205 GMT) when the duo switched their bulky white space suits to battery power before floating out of the airlock.The two men will focus on removing and replacing the latching end of the arm

The outing by Americans Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei began at 8:05 am (1205 GMT) when the duo switched their bulky white space suits to battery power before floating out of the airlock.The two men will focus on removing and replacing the latching end of the arm

‘Exactly,’ Mission Control radioed. ‘Slow and steady, and go get ‘er done.’

As the duo worked, they marveled over the views of Earth below and the full moon above.

Six men currently live at the 250-mile-high outpost: three Americans, two Russians and an Italian.

On Wednesday, they marked the 60th anniversary of the Soviet launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, and the beginning of the Space Age.

 Within an hour-and-a-half, the spacewalkers had unbolted the degraded mechanism from the arm and turned their attention to the replacement part

 Within an hour-and-a-half, the spacewalkers had unbolted the degraded mechanism from the arm and turned their attention to the replacement part

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk