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| S P E C I A L | CNN In-Depth: - Space |
Astronauts retrieve errant satellite
Latest developments:
Scott (left) and Doi wait for Spartan November 24, 1997
- Scott, Doi make the grab
- Catching Spartan easier than stowing it
- Retrieval at less than a foot per second
- Satellite may be deployed again
Web posted at: 11:17 p.m. EST (0417 GMT)CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- Astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi caught the wandering Spartan satellite in their gloved hands Monday night and tucked it into the cargo bay of the shuttle Columbia.
Two hours and seven minutes after their spacewalk began -- and after an hour of waiting patiently below the hulking, boxy satellite -- Scott and Doi grasped the out-of-control satellite as the Earth drifted 175 miles below.
"Now that we've got it, Mr. Doi, let's decide what we're gonna do with it," Scott said.
After grabbing Spartan, the spacewalkers began the tedious process of lowering it into its cradle on the cargo bay platform and latching it down.
Catching the satellite proved to be easier than stowing it, however, and Scott and Doi sounded increasingly like two frustrated men trying to pack the trunk of a car.
It finally required the help of mission specialist Kalpana Chawla operating the shuttle's 50-foot mechanical arm to force the satellite into position where it could be secured.
Nasa animation of spacewalk 2M/25 sec./320x240
858K/25 sec./160x120
QuickTime movieThe satellite failed to function when it was deployed from the shuttle last Friday. Attempts to retrieve it failed, necessitating the second-ever attempt by astronauts to catch a satellite manually.
Retrieval at less than a foot per second
Columbia, which orbited 45 miles from the satellite for three days, approached the slowly rotating satellite from beneath, reaching it about 7 p.m.
As Columbia eased into position, Cmdr. Kevin Kregel had the shuttle approaching the satellite at a tenth of a foot per second.
Scott and Doi were positioned at opposite ends of a platform spanning the cargo bay, their feet secured in restraints as they leaned out at an angle. Above them, a satellite the size of four washer-dryer sets stacked in a cube turned end over end like a slowly spinning football.
Only this "football" was traveling at 17,500 miles an hour.
To be captured safely, the 3,000-pound satellite and its 11-foot-long, 20-inch-diameter telescope had to be tilted so that the tube pointed directly at both spacewalkers.
Until the satellite was in the right orientation to the astronauts -- something that took more than an hour -- Scott and Doi waited and watched while Kregel made minute adjustments to position Columbia.
When Spartan was finally in range, Scott grabbed a metal pin and Doi grabbed one end of the telescope.
Doi works on the cargo bay Catching and stowing the satellite took approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes of a scheduled six-hour spacewalk.
Satellite may be deployed again
The last time astronauts grabbed a satellite manually was in 1992. Three spacewalks and three spacewalkers were needed to catch a slowly spinning, 9,000-pound communications satellite that had no good places to grip.
The $10 million Spartan was supposed to spend two days in orbit, simultaneously studying the sun's corona with another satellite positioned 1 million miles from Earth.
Ground controllers planned a series of checks to determine whether it might be feasible to send the satellite back out later this week or next to study the sun.
Some of the tests planned for the spacewalk had to be scrapped, including one of a free-flying, robotic camera, to allow for the rescue effort.
But once Spartan was stowed, Scott and Doi began testing a crane which is to be used on a space station.
Scott, 47, a Navy officer, performed a spacewalk once before, in early 1996, to test new thermal wear. Doi, 43, is a Tokyo-born engineer and the first Japanese to walk in space.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Astronauts poised to grab errant satellite - November 24, 1997
- Astronauts to recover satellite manually - November 23, 1997
- NASA ponders ways to retrieve spinning satellite - November 22, 1997
- Columbia lifts off for mission of firsts - November 19, 1997
- Solar storms could put a jolt into earthly affairs - November 6, 1997
- SOHO gives scientists a better look at the sun - July 31, 1997
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