LONDON, United Kingdom. Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station will go on a spacewalk today to fix a stalled rail car.
Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra will spend around three hours outside the craft, hoping to move the mobile transporter car “a few inches”.
It is currently stuck, and needs to be coaxed into a new position and latched in place, then connected up electrically to the station.
The mobile transporter rail car is a piece of movable equipment that is attached to the station’s robotic arm.
It stalled while it was moving around the outside of the station, and experts believe it could be due to a stuck brake handle.
Engineers at mission control in Houston attempted to robotically move it back into place, but failed.
If it is a brake fault, it should be easy to fix, allowing the astronauts to spend the rest of the time outside the spacecraft doing general housekeeping duties.
NASA says the fix is a “cautionary measure” that needs to be done before a Russian supply ship arrives on Wednesday.
On Saturday Commander Kelly wrote on Twitter: “Working weekend @space_station for likely #spacewalk. No easy job. Decision tmrw. Thx for your patience #YearInSpace.”
The decision to go ahead with the spacewalk was made on Sunday. The outing begins at 1.10pm UK time.
Credit: Sky News
