NASA astronauts on 2nd spacewalk to troubleshoot ISS power unitSeptember 5, 2012 - 20:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide began a spacewalk on Wednesday, September 5 in another attempt to install a power unit on the International Space Station, RIA Novosti said. The operation was broadcast live on NASA TV. Their main task was to complete the installation of a spare power unit on the station's truss, which caused problems during an August 30 spacewalk. Williams and Hoshide built some improvised tools to assist with their installation tasks, NASA said. The spacewalk was scheduled to last 6.5 hours and included other tasks postponed from last week’s excursion if the MBSU installation task is completed on time. Last time NASA Flight Engineer Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Hoshide spent 8 hours and 17 minutes in space, but failed to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the station’s s-zero truss as they had difficulties driving the bolts to secure the equipment. The MBSU is a heavy component that is used to relay power from the station’s solar arrays to its systems. Williams and Hoshide’s previous spacewalk was the third longest in history. The longest of 8 hours and 56 minutes was carried out by U.S. astronauts Susan Helms and James Voss in 2001. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |