Warmer Gloves Urged for Space Station Work

The space shuttle Discovery’s astronauts warned Friday that spacewalkers will need warmer gloves to build a space station but predicted smooth sailing for docking with Russia’s orbiting outpost.

The fingers of Dr. Bernard Harris Jr. and Michael Foale became extremely cold during their trip outside the shuttle Thursday to test thermal modifications to their suits. The experiment was deliberately conducted in colder than usual conditions--down to minus 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

During a space-to-ground news conference Friday, Harris admitted that he and Foale reached and probably exceeded the suits’ temperature safety limit out in the icy darkness of space. Foale, who scrunched up his fingers into the palms of his gloved hands to stay warm during the so-called stress test, said: “I was quite alarmed by that.”

Discovery and its crew of six were scheduled to land early today at Kennedy Space Center, though low clouds and high wind could send them to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Harris, a former NASA flight surgeon, said he was never concerned about frostbite because of safety limits that were established for the spacewalk long before the flight. Foale said battery-heated gloves might solve the problem for astronauts who will help build an international space station. Construction is set to begin in 1997.

As a result of Thursday’s test, spacesuit maker Hamilton Standard is speeding development of battery-heated gloves. The gloves will be tested by spacewalking astronauts later this year.

As for the shuttle Atlantis’ upcoming docking with Russia’s orbiting Mir station: No problem. Discovery’s commander, James Wetherbee, said the shuttle handled “beautifully” during Monday’s close encounter with Mir--the main objective of the eight-day mission. He steered his ship to within 37 feet of the station as a rehearsal for the June docking.

Commander Robert (Hoot) Gibson should have “no problems” when he flies Atlantis to Mir for the first of seven dockings, Wetherbee said.

Crew members also answered a different kind of question for the Coca-Cola Co. and NASA: How do chilled soft drinks taste in space?

“It tastes . . . like Coke,” Harris said.

The good, if not overly enthusiastic, review came after Harris and two crew mates had a chance to taste regular Coke and Diet Coke from a $750,000 soda fountain during their eight-day flight. About 1 1/2 liters of each variety of the drink were flown.

Astronauts frequently complain that food tastes bland in space. The Coke taste test was billed as a way of developing better-tasting space beverages for them.