Astronauts Erect Scaffold, Put It to a Stress Test
Towering over the loftiest ironworkers on Earth, Columbia’s astronauts erected a scaffold and then jolted it Monday for the benefit of space station architects.
Crewman Charles (Sam) Gemar snapped the thin rods and cylindrical joints together on day four of the 14-day shuttle research mission. He subjected the rectangular structure--a miniature version of a space station truss--to electronic vibrations so engineers could gauge its sturdiness.
After about four hours, Gemar said he was going to “punch the clock” and take the rest of the day off. Pierre Thuot took over for him.
Because of the length of the mission--it will be the second-longest shuttle flight if all goes as planned--NASA has scheduled time off for the five astronauts. Each gets two four-hour breaks in orbit.
Before going to sleep, Gemar and Allen tested two faulty electrical plugs. They didn’t mind the repair work--Allen said it’s “a great thing to do on your day off. That’s what you’d be doing at home anyhow.”
“When you’re up here, it’s like every day is a holiday and every meal is a feast,” Allen added.
Mission Control continued to closely watch Columbia’s auxiliary power units, one of which had unusually high pressure readings earlier in the flight.
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