Word: hatches
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...immediate goal of Friday's fix-it call was to install a new hatch on Spektr--one equipped with a cable assembly that would let the crew tap electrical power from the lab's solar panels while keeping the module sealed off from the rest of the station. Before the walk got started, NASA's Greg Harbaugh, who helped plan the exercise, played down its difficulty, brushing off news reports calling it the most dangerous EVA ever. "I don't think they get much easier," he said...
...exactly. Shortly after Solovyev and Vinogradov donned their spacesuits and depressurized an airlock adjacent to Spektr in preparation for opening the airless lab's hatch, Vinogradov's left glove began leaking air. At first the cosmonauts were unconcerned, and a ground controller even joked as Vinogradov struggled to adjust his suit. "Pull it with all your proletarian force," he instructed...
When the cosmonauts turned again to Spektr's hatch, they had no idea what they would find behind it. In the wake of the accident, officials feared the lab would be filled with waving wires, glass debris and even globules of blood collected from the crew for medical tests. But when Vinogradov popped his head inside and peered around with a flashlight, he found that the place looked surprisingly undisturbed. The darkened instrument panels were covered with a layer of sparkly frost, and a cloud of white crystals floated about like fireflies. These were thought to be the remains...
Reassured by what he saw, Vinogradov eased himself into the module and turned to his principal task: connecting power cables from outlets in the wall to the new hatch. On Earth, the job would be little harder than screwing cables into a vcr, but in bulky gloves and zero G, it was far more difficult. As Vinogradov struggled, Mission Control urged him to take his time. "Don't rush. You have enough oxygen," the Mission Control chief admonished...
...more thorough search, and Vinogradov and Solovyev went so far as to disassemble Foale's stationary bicycle in order to create maneuvering room. "Michael," Solovyev joshed, "your riding days are over." For all that, the cosmonauts found no bulkhead rupture, and tiring rapidly, they backed out, sealed the new hatch and climbed out of their suits...