[BACKGROUND SOUNDS OF ASTRONAUTS AND MISSION CONTROL THROUGHOUT]
Astronaut Dan Tani is going to talk us through what is possibly
the most dangerous thing that any astronaut ever has to do.
Dan why are they having to do this spacewalk, this wasn't expected,
this wasn't in the plans for Tim.
He wasn't expecting to get up on the space station
and almost immediately have to help supervise a spacewalk.
– Absolutely, they were doing a routine move of what's called
the mobile transporter, and the mobile transporter is like this trolley
that goes back and forth
– Yeah we can see it here can't we?
–Yeah let's talk about that, and so they were doing a
routine maneuver from one work state to another and unexpectedly it got stuck.
It had to release from one more site and it got stuck between before it could get
to the other work site, and they don't know why.
– And that's a big deal because they depend very heavily on that arm?
– It's a very big deal because two of the supply ships
that bring cargo to the space station, the food and the experiments
and sometimes oxygen and critical things are grappled by that arm,
and right now that arm is completely useless, it's not hooked up to the space station
and so they need to get that arm, the mobile transporter, locked into place,
so that the arm can be operated.
– They're going out the lock there
– Yep, there they go, yeah.
If they are unsuccessful at performing this EVA [extravehicular activity],
it will put a halt to everything on the space station,
they have got to fix this mobile transporter,
they cannot continue operating the space station
with the mobile transporter in this position.
This is a helmet camera, you can see their perspective
of what they're doing.
[ASTRONAUT COMMS SOUNDS]
– So they're navigating their way to their destination,
and that's what they're doing now right, hand over hand,
working their way around this structure, out of that air lock,
and out towards the seater car, this transporter we've been hearing about.
–Right. The space station is so large, there are there are labels out here
with arrows that say 'airlock', so that we know how to get home.
[LAUGHTER]
We'll see those, because the last thing you want is to be so disoriented
like I'm not sure where I'm going, and so we have basically
how to get home arrows out there.
– Is it easy to get lost on the outside of the space station?
– It's very surprisingly easy to lose your orientation and not be sure
am I on top, am I on bottom, am I behind
especially if it's dark and all you see are a couple handrails.
– Right, and that's a good point to make because right now they're in sunlight,
So they time the walk to start with an ISS sunrise
and then they've got 45 minutes before the Sun goes down again
and then this view will go dark and only be illuminated by their helmet lights
– Helmet lights, yeah there are a few external lights on the space station yes.
– Let's have a listen to the down link...
[DOWNLINK] –... Brake pedal on the starboard seater cart
will initiate the release of the brake handle which is believed on the
starboard this is a guard to be the suspect that is preventing the movement
of the mobile transporter...
[ASTRONAUT COMMS]
[KEVIN] – So they are at their destination now?
[DAN] – They're there yep, they're working it. What they want to do is make sure
that the brake is the problem, and there is no other problem.
[ASTRONAUT COMMS] I've got a lead on the nadir
stanchion that's the port on the lap. – Okay copy that then you can go ahead and
translate it up to face one and you're looking for handrail 35:23 which is in
bays 0 to 4 your green hook.
[KEVIN] – So some very specific instructions there so just not the handrail,
a numbered handrail, and telling him where he's gonna find it,
and how useful is that information to you when you're walking?
-Oh it's real it's critical what they're instructing him to do is go to that
handrail and take his safety tether and attach it to that handrail because in
the whole choreography they don't want to cross their tethers or I'll get it
caught up in anything else.
– So right now, what Tim Peake is still in vehicle,
I guess he's probably monitoring their progress?
– Oh yeah he's certainly monitoring what's going on,
making sure that he understands where everybody is but he has to be
acutely aware of what's happening on the outside so that if anything happens he's
ready to jump into action and receive them in the airlock again.
– And it sounds like that they might just be about to get this cart moving?
–Done everything they've needed to do in the cedar cart and it sounds like they're
given the go and getting out of the way...
– So they're gonna get out the way
so that Mission Control can move that car automatically from the ground
so there's an instruction is gonna be issued from Mission Control and
get that cart moving and we're gonna see in the next couple of minutes.
[ASTRONAUT COMMS] – Okay I'm ready for motion whenever Tim and you guys are.
– And I'm ready for motion too.
–Okay we're putting in the last command
– I see motion.
– Yes we do see motion on the mobile transporter.
– I see motion down here as well that's good.
[KEVIN] It's inching towards its destination very slowly.
[ASTRONAUT COMMS] OK guys, good news,
it appears to have reached the worksite center so we are a go to continue.
[DAN] It's a big success, they couldn't be happier with how things went on the space walk.
[ASTRONAUT COMMS]
That's taking a picture of Tim Kopra,
that's what he's doing he's told him who he said he saw a good picture
so he's setting up a picture.
– Alright so enough time for selfies?
– Yes, yeah
[LAUGHTER]
– I think they're doing pretty well oh that is remarkable so the crews have
gone out the airlock, they've got on to that bit of the space station that was
broken, they have got that break off, moved into place, tiny fingers crossed
to make sure that that couples into the power so they can move it again,
but I think that they have literally saved this mission,
I think that's a round of applause for them.
– I believe they have
[APPLAUSE]
you