An astronaut walking through space joined the millions of pieces of garbage orbiting the Earth on Friday, losing a small mirror on his sleeve as soon as he left the International Space Station to work on batteries.
Commander Chris Cassidy said the mirror floated away. The lost item poses no risk to the spacewalk or station, according to NASA.
While millions of pieces of space debris orbit Earth, more than 20,000 items, including old pieces of broken rockets and satellites, are large enough to be tracked to safeguard the space station and working satellites.
Spacewalk astronauts wear a wrist mirror on each sleeve for better views while working. The mirror measures just 5 by 3 inches (7 by 12 centimeters), and along with its band it has a mass of just one-tenth of a pound (50 grams).
The mirror was released in the dark. Cassidy inspected the sleeve of her spacesuit later in the sunlight, but saw no clue that could explain how the mirror came off.
The rest of the six hour spacewalk was incredible.
Cassidy and Bob Behnken rushed through the first of four planned spacewalks to replace the last battery pack of the old station. They removed five old batteries and installed two new ones, which worked well, and they jumped on their next spacewalk on Wednesday. They have four more to plug in before the job is complete.
“I think we have done enough for one day,” said Behnken.
Once all the new batteries are installed in the next few weeks, the orbiting lab should be good for the rest of its life, according to NASA. The large, square batteries are more powerful and efficient than the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that go out and keep the station running when it is on the night side of Earth.
Battery replacements started in 2017, with previous teams putting in 18 lithium-ion batteries, half of which replaced older ones. It’s cumbersome work: each battery is about a meter (meter) tall and wide, with a mass of 400 pounds (180 kilograms).
His spacewalks are expected to continue until July before Behnken returns to Earth in August aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Behnken and Doug Hurley made history in late May with SpaceX’s first astronaut launch.
This was the seventh spacewalk for both men. Each has spent about 40 hours in the vacuum of space.
When the spacewalk ended, Cassidy thanked the Mission Control cleaning staff in Houston, who were especially busy during “this crazy and interesting time.”
“Everything has to be cleaned and disinfected several times a day, so a special thanks to the custodial staff at Johnson Space Center,” he said.
Spacewalkers also paid tribute to NASA space station program manager Kirk Shireman, who retired on Friday after 35 years to enter private industry. “I am sure we will meet him in his future line of work,” said Behnken. “Thanks, Uncle Kirk.”
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