Canadarm2’s Installation Complete During Hadfield’s Second Spacewalk
Saint-Hubert (Quebec), 24 April 2001- Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris
Hadfield and NASA’s Scott Parazynski stepped out of the Shuttle Endeavour
for the second time today to rewire cables on the International Space
Station and power up Canadarm2 from its new connecting point on the Destiny
Lab.
“Hello Canadarm2,” said Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield in
the first minutes of his spacewalk. At 8:34am, the astronauts began a
seven-and-a-half hour spacewalk during which they reconfigured the cables on
the Station’s US Destiny lab in order to activate Canadarm2’s new connecting
point (known as a Power Data Grapple Fixture) on the lab. Primary power to
the arm was connected easily and quickly however the astronauts had
difficulty connecting secondary power. After opening a panel on the exterior
of the Station and removing and reattaching connectors the spacewalkers were
able to activate secondary power to Canadarm2.
Once their work was complete, Canadarm2 switched ends for the first time
ever to begin drawing electrical power and data from its new anchor point on
the Station.
At the end of the spacewalk, Canadarm2 was commanded to raise the pallet to
the parked position where it will remain overnight. Tomorrow, Canadarm2 will
be put through its paces once again. In a historic moment two generations of
Canadian robotic arms will work together as the new Station arm hands its
pallet back to the Shuttle’s Canadarm in a move that has been dubbed the
first robotic “handshake” in space.
Canadarm2 will continue to go through trial runs even after Mission STS-100
and its crew return to Earth. However its installation on its permanent
home, the International Space Station, is now complete. “The arm will
continue to work from its current base on the Destiny lab until Canada’s
Mobile Base System is delivered to the Station next year,” said CSA
President Mac Evans. “A moveable platform for Canadarm2, the Mobile Base
System will provide the arm with an additional mode of transportation by
sliding along rails on the Station’s main truss to transport the arm to its
worksites.” Equipped with four Power Data Grapple Fixtures, not only will
the base carry Canadarm2, but also the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous
Manipulator (to be launched in 2003-4). This highly sophisticated two-armed
robot will perform more delicate tasks and will work in concert with
Canadarm2 to build the International Space Station.
Media Program for 25 April 2001 (Flight Day 7)
payload bay for return to Earth.
Rominger and Guidoni. Canadian media at JSC and the CSA will be
invited
to view this press conference, but may not ask questions.
CSA’s Benoit Marcotte, Director, Operations Engineering, will
participate in the briefing. Media are invited to attend both at JSC
and at the CSA,
and may ask questions in both locations.
and Usachev. Canadian media at JSC and the CSA will be invited to
view
this press conference, but may not ask questions.
CSA spokespersons, including Mac Evans, President and Marc Garneau,
Executive Vice President, will be available for interviews at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston, Texas, at the CSA’s headquarters in Saint-Hubert,
Quebec.
For live coverage, media can log on to the NASA TV satellite on GE-2,
Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a
frequency of 3880 Mhz and audio of 6.8 Mhz. In cooperation with
Sympatico-Lycos, the CSA also brings you mission highlights live from NASA
TV at: www.space.sympatico.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Media Relations Office
Canadian Space Agency
Tel.: (450) 926-4345 or 4370
Fax: (450) 926-4352
Mission STS-100 Website:
www.space.gc.ca/sts100-mission
