Word: hatchings
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Conrad undocked and maneuvered Apollo to Skylab. Wearing a bulky space suit, Weitz leaned out of Apollo's hatch (while Kerwin held onto his knee to keep him from drifting out into space) and attempted to pull the jammed panel loose with a long-handled tool resembling a boat hook. The panel would not budge. After an hour of pushing, shoving and tugging-interspersed with streams of obscenities clearly audible to millions-the task seemed hopeless. "I hate to say it," said the exasperated Weitz, "but we ain't going to do it with the tools...
...original first choice of space officials. They had second thoughts about the sail-like canopy, because they feared that the light jet plumes from the command module's thrusters might fog the still functioning solar wings on the telescope mount. As he hung out of the open hatch of the command module, an astronaut would have to fasten the canopy in place while the ship hovered at Skylab's side. The final decision about which technique was to be used was left to the astronauts-the first time that so important a responsibility had been given...
...will maneuver their Apollo command ship within a few feet of the crippled space lab, circle it to inspect the damage, and transmit TV pictures down to earth. Then, after a respite, the astronauts will don their pressure suits and Kerwin will emerge part way from the command-module hatch. Using a pole with cutting shears at its far end (hastily being designed and built at Huntsville), he will try to trim away any debris around the root of the ripped-off solar wing or elsewhere. He will also attempt to swing out the intact wing...
...Tries. Attaching the sunshade will be even more difficult. In the first option open to the astronauts, Conrad (who practiced the delicate maneuver on simulators in Houston) will edge the command ship alongside Skylab (see diagram). As he does this, Kerwin or Weitz will lean out of the hatch and attach three newly designed clamps to the ship-two near Skylab's base, one on the telescope mount. The clamps will be used to anchor lines running to the trapezoid-shaped covering. As the lines are tightened, the shade will be pulled into its proper position like the spinnaker...
...effort to beat the larger Skylab into orbit, Salyut 2 was to have marked the resumption of the manned Soviet space effort after an interruption of nearly two years, in time for the big Communist May Day celebrations. It was in June 1971 that three cosmonauts perished when the hatch of their Soyuz space craft failed while they were returning from a highly successful 24-day mission aboard Salyut 1. Since then, the Russians have thoroughly redesigned Soyuz and were expected to use it to ferry men to the new orbital workshop...