After successfully hooking up ammonia coolant lines to the new Tranquility module, Endeavour astronauts Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick finished all tasks planned for the mission’s second spacewalk.
In their second spacewalk in three days, the spacewalk specialists fixed four long hoses to the space station’s new Tranquility node, thus completing the activation work at the node.
Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick turned into plumbers Saturday night, routing hoses to carry ammonia coolant to the space station’s newest room, Tranquility. By early Sunday, ammonia was flowing through the lines and Tranquility was coming alive with power.
“We’re so happy our feet are off the floor,” said astronaut Stephen Robinson, who coordinated the spacewalk from inside the shuttle-station complex.
“Everything was accomplished as we had planned,” Dempsey said. “The main objective, of course, was hooking up the ammonia lines. The ammonia lines provide cooling to the electronics and systems of the node 3 (Tranquility) module and integrates it into the cooling system of the space station.
NASA ended the spacewalk after six hours, a half-hour early because of the mishap. The new observation deck, which along with Tranquility cost $400 million, has seven massive windows and will allow breathtaking views of Earth.