spacetoday.net: Spacewalking astronauts complete repair of ISS coolant system

Posted: Wed, Dec 25, 2013, 10:43 AM ET (1543 GMT)
ISS EVA on 2013 December 24 (NASA)

Two astronauts successfully installed a replacement coolant pump on the ISS during a spacewalk Tuesday, completing repairs to the station's cooling system. Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins spent seven hours and 30 minutes outside the station Tuesday, continuing work started during an EVA on Saturday. The two installed a spare coolant pump on the S1 truss segment of the ISS, replacing a faulty pump the two had previously removed. The two then hooked up coolant and power lines to the pump module, overcoming difficulty disconnecting one of the coolant lines from a temporary jumper box. Controllers briefly tested the pump while the EVA was in progress, and afterwards confirmed the pump is working properly. While a third EVA was originally scheduled to complete the pump replacement, that additional spacewalk is no longer needed. The ISS crew plan a day of rest on Christmas Day before Russian cosmonauts perform a previously-scheduled spacewalk from the station's Russian segment on Friday.