323 DAY IN THE LIFE: RISKY AND REWARDING SPACEWALKS—SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-120/ISS-10A CHAPTER 18 Sure enough, our next video conference with our team on Earth involved a box full of makeshift parts, fashioned together and dumped out on a table, just like in the movies! They explained what we were going to do. They gave us vectors on where to find cable, pieces of metal, and sheet metal tools needed to build “cufflinks” to sew the torn solar array. Though years have slipped by since that day, it still amazes me that someone thought of this solution. It made me grateful to be alive, and grateful to be part of the NASA team. The plan was full of danger and unknowns. We taped everything metal on our spacesuits, including the neckring of our helmets, which really got my attention. I was going to be responsible for keeping Scott safely clear of the billowing array, so it wouldn’t fry the electronics in his suit and electrocute him. I was also responsible for feeding the guidewire cleanly into the inertial reel, while maintaining control of the wire. The engineers told me to keep my suit clear of the wire, since it retracts at 10 feet per second. They were concerned that if I lost control of the wire, it would tear through the solar array and even through my suit! Trust me, they had my undivided attention! It was game day, November 3, 2007. Scott was stoic and focused. I was full of fear, but if I was purposed and methodical, I would increase my chances of success. There is a saying we have in the astronaut corps, that there is no situation in space so bad that you can’t make it worse. Spacewalking demands a balanced level of logic and impulse, and the clear recognition of danger. When I exited the airlock, I felt like a machine. I knew what I had to do, and I wanted to get on with it while adrenaline still coursed through my veins. Mission Control told us they were going to maneuver the ISS to shadow as much of the array as they could to reduce the electrical power generation of the arrays, resulting in me being in shadow for the next 7+ hours. Scott was in position to cut the frayed part of the guidewire. I reached inside of the array with the needle-nose pliers to control the guidewire and give Scott a “go.” I held a metal tool mere inches away from the array power strip that carried 200 amps of current, and I was a bit nervous. But, everything went smoothly and the cable retracted fully into the inertial reel well. Scott finished installing the five cufflinks. We were ready to clear the area. The robotic arm operator maneuvered Scott away from the array and back to structure. I was asked to return to the airlock. By this time, my teeth were chattering and I couldn’t wrap my fingers around anything. My heart was pounding, and I had to figure out a way to warm my hands. I noticed a sliver of sunlight on the top of the mast canister, so I crept up the mast and stuck my hands into the sunlight. It took a couple minutes, but my hands warmed enough to grip the handrails and my tools, and make my way back to the airlock. Our repair worked! The array fully deployed, and the cufflinks are still holding to this day, years later. Now when I am asked what it is like to do a spacewalk, the answer is not so simple. It is mentally and psychologically the toughest yet most rewarding work I have ever been a part of. I have never felt more mortal than when I was out on a spacewalk. I have never felt as cold as I did that day in November 2007. But the sense of pride I will feel to the end of my days, of being a part of something great, is overwhelming. might not survive, which would result in an inability to check the thermal protection system of the shuttle before reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. 8. Spacesuit Failures A hole was discovered in the outer layer of Wheelock’s right glove at the end of the third spacewalk. Wheelock’s gloves were changed out with a backup pair for the next EVA, but the team questioned whether something sharp outside could puncture a hole in a glove during this upcoming EVA, possibly even creating a hole into the bladder of the suit and springing an oxygen leak. Several items that were theorized could cause the issue, but nothing was the obvious source. One leading suspect was a pair of foot restraints with difficult-to-turn knobs—they possibly had a defect or micrometeoroid orbital debris had damaged them. The team wanted to bring those inside, if possible, on this repair EVA for inspection. In the meantime, how could the team ensure the crew would stay safe from sharp edges? This was one more complicating factor that had to be discussed at length before the EVA.