NASA Astronauts Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio have stepped outside the International Space Station for a short spacewalk to replace a failed Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) back up computer. They set their spacesuits to battery power at 9:56 a.m. EDT signifying the excursion’s official beginning time. The backup computer failed April 11 after a routine health check by the Mission Control team in Houston. While the primary computer continues operating flawlessly NASA managers ordered today’s spacewalk repair to ensure redundancy on critical systems. The computer outage did not pose a risk to the six crew members aboard the space station. - NASA; more: nasa.gov/content/astronauts-exit-station-after-progress-undocks-for-tests/
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 14:15:12 +0000
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