KSC-04-S-00213

In a true international effort, NASA and the Russian Space Agency combined language, equipment and expertise in a spacewalk to repair the International Space Station. On June 30th, Expedition 9 crewmembers Station Commander Gennady Padalka and Station Science Officer Mike Finke completed the challenging and complex spacewalk. At precisely 5:19pm EDT, the two crewmembers exited the Russian Pirs docking compartment to repair a faulty RPCM, or, Remote Power Control Module that shutdown gyroscope #2 back in April of this year. The RPCMs are circuit breakers that supply power from the Station's solar arrays to its four gyroscopes. The gyroscopes are an important system because they maintain the Station's position in space. Without them, the Space Station would have to rely heavily on the craft's steering jets and quickly consume the limited fuel supply. This unique task required thoughtful cooperation between both the Americans and the Russians to choreograph procedures and maintain communications. One agreement the two teams came to was the use of hand signals between astronauts in the event of a communications problem. It was also the first time Russian Orlon spacesuits were worn while work was performed on the American portion of the Space Station. The decision to use the Orlon suits was made after one of the American EMU suits developed a cooling problem during equipment inspection. Completing the job ahead of schedule, the two spacewalkers were safely back inside the Pirs airlock just before 11 pm, eastern time. With the closing of the airlock, the Russian and American teams congratulated each other on their repair of the International Space Station and a job well done.