spacetoday.net: Second STS-126 spacewalk a success

Posted: Fri, Nov 21, 2008, 8:21 AM ET (1321 GMT)
STS-126: EVA #2 (NASA)

Two astronauts marked the tenth anniversary of the launch of the first module of the International Space Station by performing a spacewalk outside the orbiting outpost, continuing work on a balky joint. Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough spent six hours and 45 minutes outside the station on an EVA that started at 12:58 pm EST (1758 GMT) Thursday. As with Tuesday's spacewalk, the two spent much of their time cleaning a Solar Array Rotary Joint (SARJ) that has experienced problems moving in recent months. The two also moved a pair of equipment carts and lubricated a component of the station's robotic arm during the EVA. The spacewalk was the second of four scheduled for the STS-126 mission, and took place ten years to the day after the station's first component, the Russian module Zarya, was launched. The shuttle and station crews plan to work on a new water recycling system inside the station on Friday while preparing for the third EVA of the mission on Saturday.