It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday.

NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.

In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.

On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-called main bus switching unit (MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.

But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.

One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]

"We knew that we had particles down inside the socket, so they came outside with yet another tool that was developed by the ground team," Johnson told reporters in a post-spacewalk news briefing.

The inventive ideas that led to today's spacewalk success demonstrates how well the teams on the ground and in orbit work together, and shows the dedication of those involved in the agency's space station program, said flight director Ed Van Cise.

"It was really amazing to watch the ingenuity, to watch the flight controllers," Van Cise said. "It was amazing to see it all come together."

And with the MBSU now up and running, mission controllers are now able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Original post:

How a toothbrush helped fix the space station

Using makeshift tools that included a spare toothbrush, a pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully fixed a vital power system aboard the International Space Station.

It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).

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Suni is currently taking part in a planned 6 Hour, 30 Minute spacewalk to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the truss outside the International Space Station.

NASA spaceflyerSunita Williamsand Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.

In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including animprovised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.

On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-calledmain bus switching unit(MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.

But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.

One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]

Original post:

MacGuyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush.

Using makeshift tools that included a spare toothbrush, a pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully fixed a vital power system aboard the International Space Station.

It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

Suni is currently taking part in a planned 6 Hour, 30 Minute spacewalk to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the truss outside the International Space Station.

NASA spaceflyerSunita Williamsand Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.

In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including animprovised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.

On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-calledmain bus switching unit(MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.

But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.

One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]

The rest is here:

MacGyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush.

(Space.com) It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).

NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.

In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools -- including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush -- to help them get the job done.

On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-called main bus switching unit (MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.

But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.

One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]

"We knew that we had particles down inside the socket, so they came outside with yet another tool that was developed by the ground team," Johnson told reporters in a post-spacewalk news briefing.

The inventive ideas that led to today's spacewalk success demonstrates how well the teams on the ground and in orbit work together, and shows the dedication of those involved in the agency's space station program, said flight director Ed Van Cise.

"It was really amazing to watch the ingenuity, to watch the flight controllers," Van Cise said. "It was amazing to see it all come together."

And with the MBSU now up and running, mission controllers are now able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Continue reading here:

How astronauts used a toothbrush to fix space station

Using makeshift tools that included a spare toothbrush, a pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully fixed a vital power system aboard the International Space Station.

It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

Suni is currently taking part in a planned 6 Hour, 30 Minute spacewalk to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the truss outside the International Space Station.

NASA spaceflyerSunita Williamsand Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.

In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including animprovised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.

On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-calledmain bus switching unit(MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.

But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.

One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]

Read the original here:

MacGyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush. (+video)

A $100 billion space station saved by a simple $3 toothbrush? It was the brainstorm of astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihido Hoshide and NASA engineers on the ground: a tool to clean a bolt that gave them so much trouble during a marathon 8-hour spacewalk last week.

They were trying to replace an electrical switching unit, but on Thursday they couldn't bolt it to the outside of the station.

What to do if there is no hardware store in the neighborhood and the next supply ship is months away? Build it yourself -- so they attached a simple toothbrush to a metal pole and voila! They were able to clean out the bolt's socket today and finish the job. Shades of Apollo 13 -- when engineers threw parts on a table and brainstormed a solution, which saved the crew.

Spacewalking is incredibly difficult -- the astronauts wear space suits that fight every move they make. Williams wrote about last week's spacewalk in her blog.

"You don't just 'go outside,'" she said. "Usually that is the fun and easy part of the entire thing -- suit sizing, tool gathering and preparation, equipment gathering and preparations, studying new procedures, reviewing and talking through how to get us suited and how to get the airlock depressed, reviewing the tasks we will do with each other and with the robotic arm, talking about cleaning up, and then talking thru a plan to get back into the airlock, and any emergencies that can come up -- loss of communications, suit issues, etc.

"Yes, that took a lot of our time leading up to Thursday last week. Even planning when to go to sleep and what to eat are important. Remember, you are in that suit usually about 8 hours for a 6 hour EVA.

"To my surprise, the most intense part for this EVA happened to be outside when we encountered our 'sticky' bolt.

"That resulted in a long EVA, and over 10 hours in the suit. No bathroom and no lunch."

Williams and Hoshide accomplished their major tasks on today's spacewalk, and earned champagne when they got back inside the space station -- but, alas, there is no alcohol on the orbiting outpost.

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Space Station Saved by a Toothbrush?

A stubborn bolt on the International Space Station finally cooperated, thanks to a pair of spacewalking astronauts with improvised tools.

A pair of spacewalking astronauts cleaned, greased and finally coaxed a jammed bolt into position on Wednesday, restoring the International Space Station's power system.

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Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

The spacewalk by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide was the second in a week to replace a key part of the station's power system.

The astronauts were able to remove the faulty 220-pound (100-kg) device, known as a main bus switching unit, during a spacewalk last Thursday, but were unable to bolt a replacement into position.

While engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston mulled over repair options, Williams and Hoshide spent the weekend fashioning tools to clean the bolt and its receptacle of metal shavings and other debris believed to be causing the problem.

The homemade tools included a wire brush formed from a spare cable and another fashioned out of a toothbrush.

Toting their makeshift brushes and bags of tools, Williams and Hoshide left the station's airlock shortly after 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) and headed to where they had tethered the new power distributor into position on the station's metal framework.

They used puffs of compressed nitrogen gas to blow away debris, brushed the bolt clean and wiped it with greased cloths. Hoshide also practiced with a spare bolt to get a feel for how much force would be needed to drive the real one into its receptacle.

See original here:

Toothbrush-wielding, spacewalking astronauts repair space station

When we heard that astronauts aboard the International Space Station took a spare toothbrush along on a spacewalk today and used it to help clean debris from around some bolts they needed to secure in order to install a power unit, it got us thinking.

Just how versatile are old toothbrushs? We know we've used them to:

Clean bike gears.

Get grime out of our hubcaps.

Get at the crust around a car battery's terminals.

Polish jewelry.

Reach into aquarium filters.

There must be, though, many other ways they've been used. Please put on your "Hints from Heloise" hats and share in the comments thread.

By the way, NPR's Joe Palca tells our Newscast Desk that the two astronauts' spacewalk was a success. He says that:

"The space station gets its power from an array of solar panels. Four boxes, called main bus switching units, deliver that power to the electrical system on board the station. One of those units had stopped working properly. The station has a spare, so NASA decided to replace the malfunctioning unit.

Excerpt from:

The Toothbrush: It's In The Space Station's Toolbox. How About Yours?

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Toting homemade brushes and bags of tools, two astronauts left the International Space Station on Wednesday for a second spacewalk to try and install a new power system unit.

Lead spacewalker Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide floated outside the station for the second time in a week, hoping to resolve a problem that left a replacement power router tethered to its attachment plate.

The astronauts attempted to install the 220-pound (100-kg)device, known as a main bus switching unit, to the station's framework during a spacewalk last Thursday, but were stymied by a jammed bolt.

The unit is one of four needed to route power from eight solar array wings to transformers that distribute electricity to run the $100 billion orbital outpost.

Williams, who is making her sixth spacewalk, and Hoshide, on his second, left the station for another try shortly after 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT). Their gear included an assortment of brushes including one they fashioned out of a toothbrush.

NASA hopes that a thorough cleaning of the bolts and their housings will resolve the problem, though engineers came up with 15 pages of options and procedures.

If the new unit cannot be plugged into the station's power grid within four hours of the planned 6.5-hour spacewalk, Williams and Hoshide plan to bring it into the airlock with them for additional assessments inside the station, said NASA spokesman Josh Byerly from Mission Control in Houston.

Replacing the main bus switching unit was the primary goal of last week's spacewalk. The old unit was routing power but could not be commanded. Without the new unit installed, the station cannot get power from two of its eight solar panel wings.

An unrelated problem on Sunday took out power from a third wing.

Excerpt from:

Spacewalkers leave station to attempt power system repair

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION --

Its try, try again for astronauts on board the International Space Station today.

Two astronauts are making another attempt to boost power to the space station during a spacewalk this morning. They began the spacewalk just after 7 a.m.

They tools the astronauts are using are unusual -- a tooth brush and some wire cleaners, along with other equipment. Their goal is to clean stuck bolts that prevented them from installing a new power unit to the exterior of the space station.

Suni Williams of NASA and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will try to complete installation of a spare Main Bus Switching Unit. Its one of four boxes thats on the outside of the space station that helps route power from solar arrays to different parts of the station.

It is key to making sure the space station has the power it needs. In last weeks attempt, a stuck bolt prevented astronauts from properly installing the power unit. Last weeks attempt clocked in at eight hours, 17 minutes, the third longest spacewalk in history.

Todays spacewalk is only supposed to last six and a half hours. At the four hour mark, if the astronauts cant get the unit installed, they will start to bring it inside the quest airlock and work on the box inside the space station.

See the original post:

Astronauts to repair power unit on International Space Station

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Wednesday for the second time in six days to try to fix a power unit that was not properly installed during an earlier spacewalk last week.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide switched on the batteries on their spacesuits at 7:06 a.m. ET, signaling the official start of today's spacewalk.

The spacewalkers were expected to spend six and a half hours working in the vacuum of space to troubleshoot a pair of stuck bolts on a new replacement power unit that was to be attached to the space station's exterior. Wednesday's extra spacewalk was added after the troublesome bolts prevented the component from being properly installed on Aug. 30.

During Wednesday's outing, Williams and Hoshide were trying again to install the replacement power box called a main bus switching unit, or MBSU on the space station's backbone-like truss.

Last week, Williams and Hoshide removed a faulty MBSU and tried to install a new spare, but they were unable to drive in one of the bolts that fastens the unit to the station's truss. After repeated attempts failed, the astronauts used a tether to temporarily tie the MBSU down, and were forced to wrap up their marathon spacewalk. [Photos: Spacewalking Astronauts Fix Up Space Station]

The outing lasted 8 hours and 17 minutes, making it the third longest spacewalk in history and the longest ever performed by a space station crew.

The International Space Station has four MBSUs that harness power from the outpost's solar arrays and distribute it throughout the orbiting complex. Without the use of one unit, the station is unable to relay power from two of the eight solar arrays on the massive orbiting complex.

In an unrelated mishap, a component that ensures power is distributed at the proper amperage and voltage suffered a glitch late Saturday, NASA officials said. As a result, the station is able to use only five of its eight available power channels.

With three power channels unavailable, flight controllers reallocated available resources aboard the outpost for critical systems and to keep the crew safe. Despite the outages, space station operations have suffered only minimal impact, and the crew was not be affected during preparations for Wednesday's spacewalk, agency officials said.

Mission managers opted to proceed with the extra spacewalk after working around the clock to analyze the problem.

Go here to see the original:

Astronauts try, try again to fix space station

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station today (Sept. 5) — the second time in six days — to try to fix a power unit that was not properly installed in an earlier spacewalk last week.

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Astronauts Begin Spacewalk to Fix Space Station Power System

(SPACE.com) After an unsuccessful attempt last week to install a new power unit to the exterior of the International Space Station, two astronauts will try again during a spacewalk on Wednesday (Sept. 5).

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshide will battle stuck bolts that prevented them from properly installing the power box on the space station's backbone-like truss during their first spacewalk. Tomorrow's outing, which will be the second time the duo works outside the orbiting complex in six days, is scheduled to begin at around 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT).

Williams and Hoshide spent more than eight hours upgrading the exterior of the station last Thursday (Aug. 30), but a stubborn bolt on the so-called main bus switching unit (MBSU) prevented them from securing the power box to the outpost and attaching its electrical connections.

The International Space Station has four MBSUs that harness power from the outpost's solar arrays and distribute it throughout the orbiting complex. Without the use of one unit, the station is unable to relay power from two of the eight solar arrays on the massive orbiting complex.

In an unrelated mishap, a component that ensures power is distributed at the proper amperage and voltage suffered a glitch late Saturday (Sept. 1), NASA officials said. As a result, the station is only able to use five of its eight available power channels. [Photos: Spacewalking Astronauts Fix Up Space Station]

With three power channels unavailable, flight controllers re-allocated available resources aboard the outpost for critical systems and to keep the crew safe. Despite the outages, space station operations have only suffered a minimal impact, and the crew will not be affected as they prepare for tomorrow's spacewalk, agency officials said.

Mission managers opted to proceed with the extra spacewalk after working around the clock since Thursday to analyze the problem.

"The most probable cause is likely a combination of a slight misalignment in the positioning of the spare unit for its installation prior to bolting and possible damage to the threads of the receptacle posts on the S-zero truss to which the MBSU must be bolted in place," NASA officials said in an update.

A meeting will be held today (Sept. 4) to finalize procedures, according to agency officials.

Last week, Williams and Hoshide removed a faulty MBSU and tried to install a new spare, but they were unable to drive in one of the bolts that fastens the unit to the space station's truss. After repeated attempts failed, the astronauts used a tether to temporarily tie the MBSU down, and were forced to wrap up the marathon spacewalk.

Continue reading here:

Astronauts to take extra spacewalk on Wednesday

After an unsuccessful attempt last week to install a new power unit to the exterior of the International Space Station, two astronauts will try again during a spacewalk on Wednesday (Sept. 5).

Read more:

Astronauts to Take Extra Spacewalk Wednesday for Space Station Fix

Two veteran cosmonauts sailed through a six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station yesterday to prepare the orbital outpost for a new module and better shield its living quarters against small meteorite and debris impacts, officials said.

Stationcommander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko opened the hatch on thestation's airlock at 11:37 am EDT (1537 GMT) to begin aspacewalk to relocate a construction crane, install debris shields and release a small satellite into orbit.

Their departure was delayed about an hour while engineers assessed a leak between the Pirs docking module and Russian segments of thestation, a $100 billion laboratory for microgravity experiments and technology testing that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

But the issue was resolved and the experiencedspacewalkers more than made up the lost time.

Padalka, who was making his ninthspacewalk, and Malenchenko, on his fifth, moved a hand-operated, 46-foot (14-meter) crane, called Strela-2, from the outside of Pirs to Zarya, the cornerstone of thestation. Pirs is due to be detached from thestationnext year to make room for a new Russian laboratory and docking module.

The United States completed construction of its part of the outpost last year and retired its threespaceshuttles. Europe, Japan and Canada also are partners on the project.

With the crane in place, thespacewalkers then used a hand tool to launch a 20-pound (nine-kg) spherical satellite on a path behind thespacestation.

"Nice throw," a flight director in the Russian mission control center outside Moscow said through a translator monitoring radio communications with the cosmonauts.

The satellite, which is expected to remain in orbit for about three months, is intended to serve as a target for Russian engineers working on computer models that evaluate orbital tracking.

Thespacewalkers' last major task was to install five debris shields to the outside of the Zvezda module, the crew's primary living quarters. They also retrieved a briefcase-sized experiment that has been exposing various materials to the harsh environment ofspaceand installed two support struts on a ladder.

The rest is here:

Spacewalkers prepare International Space Station for new Russian lab

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the wake of an unsuccessful attempt to install a replacement power-switching unit on the truss of the International Space Station, two crew members will venture outside for a second time in six days to complete the work. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the spacewalk beginning at 6 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, Sept. 5. The spacewalk is ...

Read this article:

Next Space Station Spacewalk To Be Broadcast on NASA TV

37056929 story Posted by samzenpus on Sunday September 02, @02:11PM from the stripped-threads dept. Hugh Pickens writes writes "Reuters reports that astronauts at the International Space Station ran into problems after removing the station's 100-kg power-switching unit, one of four used in a system that distributes electrical power generated by the station's solar array wings, and were stymied after repeated attempts to attach the new device failed when a bolt jammed, preventing astronauts from hooking it up into the station's power grid. Japanese Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide got the bolt to turn nine times but engineers need 15 turns to secure the power-switching unit. 'We're kind of at a loss of what else we can try,' said astronaut Jack Fischer at NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston after more than an hour of trouble-shooting. 'If you guys have any thoughts or ideas or brilliant schemes on what we can do, let us know.' Hoshide suggested using a tool that provides more force on bolts, but NASA engineers are reluctant to try anything that could make the situation worse and as the spacewalk slipped past seven hours, flight controllers told the astronauts to tether the unit in place, clean up their tools and head back into the station's airlock. NASA officials says the failure to secure the new unit won't disrupt station operations but it will force engineers to carefully distribute electrical power from three operating units to various station systems and says another attempt to install the power distributor could come as early as next week if engineers can figure out what to do with the stubborn bolt. 'We're going to figure it out another day,' says Fischer." You may like to read: Post

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Space Station Spacewalkers Stymied By Stubborn Bolt

31 August 2012 Last updated at 11:11 ET

This week, two astronauts worked outside the International Space Station hundreds of kilometres above the Earth in the second of two space walks in as many weeks.

After years of construction work, the space station is formally complete, and with the station running well, space walks are becoming less common.

Meanwhile, the death of the astronaut Neil Armstrong and the presence of the rover Curiosity on the Martian surface, has led to renewed questions about the goals and visions of the orbiting space platform.

Sam Scimemi, deputy director for the International Space Station Programme at the US space agency Nasa, spoke to BBC News about the future of the ISS.

First of all the programme, which began in 1984 - if you can believe it's been that long - has spanned a long history of international collaboration beginning first during the Cold War with our European, Canadian and Japanese counterparts. When the programme was changed in 1995, we brought the Russians on, combining their space station programme with our space station programme. So as far as international collaboration, it's been a huge success even though it started off... difficult in so many technical, diplomatic (ways) and the like. It has really matured in a way that no-one's ever really expected, it's had a really deep and profound relationship between all the partnership.

Scientifically, for the most part, the space station has been concentrating on how micro-gravity affects the human body and we've also just begun doing studies on other areas such as technology development for extending human presence beyond low-Earth orbit. We've also spent many years to date on micro-gravity effects for biological and the physical sciences, we've begun to see results in things like bone density and bone disease, that may be coming out soon. We've also seen other effects on bacteria and its effects in zero gravity and how that might affect vaccines here on the Earth.

Human life and everything here on Earth has evolved in a gravity environment. To escape that gravity environment is expensive, and it's difficult, it's dangerous. The cost to make sure that it's safe and viable for humans to operate in - there's a high price for that. And the research that follows on to humans being in space adds to all that. The cost is quite high compared to doing that same type of research here on Earth. So in order to get the benefit of taking gravity away, there is a high price. But we believe that in the research to come that we will see benefits... of taking gravity away from the research we do here on the Earth.This is a peaceful endeavour - the largest peaceful endeavour in history - and the benefits have been tremendous, here on Earth on a diplomatic level and on a cooperation level that you really can't get a cost out of.

The space station's still being used to develop all the operational techniques, the technology, and experience of sending humans beyond low-Earth orbit. As far as a "jumping off point", like you'd use from an airport or the like, that's still under investigation.

Read more from the original source:

ISS: 'benefits are tremendous'

It's almost Labor Day in the United States and while many Americans across the country will enjoy a three-day holiday weekend, astronauts in space are gearing up for a potential extra spacewalk next week.

Astronauts living on the International Space Station will likely spend Labor Day weekend preparing their spacesuits and tools for a possible spacewalk to finish a repair job that was cut short by a jammed bolt on Thursday (Aug. 30).

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshide spent more than eight hours spacewalking outside the space station on Thursday to perform repairs. But, a single sticky space station bolt prevented them from replacing a faulty piece of power system hardware. NASA engineers are now discussing plans for an extra spacewalk to finish the job, an excursion that could occur early next week.

Williams and Hoshide will not perform the spacewalk on the Labor Day holiday on Monday (Sept. 3), but they may have to get their spacesuits ready and discuss plans for the orbital repair work with flight controllers and engineers on Earth, NASA spokesperson Kelly Humphries told SPACE.com.

During Thursday's spacewalk, Hoshide's spacesuit experienced higher-than-normal temperatures near the end of the excursion. So, he will spend the weekend re-sizing Williams' spacesuit in order to wear it on the next spacewalk. Williams, meanwhile, will assemble a backup spacesuit for her own use while engineers discuss the glitch with Hoshide's original suit.

The International Space Station is currently home to six people making up the orbiting laboratory's Expedition 32 crew. The crew includes two Americans (Williams and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba), one Japanese astronaut (Hoshide) representing the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka (the commander), Yuri Malenchenko and Sergei Revin.

Quiz: The Reality of Life in Orbit

As an any astronaut will tell you, life in space is a lot like life on Earthwith some very important differences. On Earth, for example, if you leave your fork floating in air while you grab for your spoon, it will quickly hit the floor. Other difference

0 of 9 questions complete

Quiz: The Reality of Life in Orbit

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Labor Day in Space: Astronauts Prepare for Extra Spacewalk

A stubborn bolt that prevented two spacewalking astronauts from properly installing a replacement power unit on the exterior of the International Space Station today (Aug. 31) will now require another spacewalk — possibly as early as next week — to attempt to resolve the problem, NASA officials said.

Read more:

Stuck Bolt Forces Extra Spacewalk for Space Station Crew