Spacewalking Astronauts Use Toothbrush to Fix Station’s Power System

The spacewalking astronauts Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide rejoiced over the successfully fixing the sticky stubborn bolt and installing a new power system unit.

This was the second attempt made by the duo after the 8 hour spacewalk marathon that took place last week where they had a great trouble to install the 100 kg device known as Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU). The Thursday's spacewalk was the third longest in history. They faced an obstacle due to a jammed bolt and were forced to use a tether to temporarily tie the Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU).

Space-Travel quoted NASA saying, "Williams and Hoshide built some improvised tools to assist with their installation tasks."

The two astronauts were armed with a blue toothbrush and a wire brush that was made from some old cable and a few other tools.

It was 7 a.m EDT Williams and Hoshide left the station and headed towards the tethered MBSU. With the help of compressed nitrogen gas the pair blew away the debris and metal shavings and used greased to the sticky bolt. This walk lasted for 4 ½ year. 

"My left hand just fell asleep because my fingers were crossed too long," astronaut Jack Fischer radioed to the crew from Mission Control in Houston quoted by SMH. "We're holding our breath."

"Looks like you guys just fixed the station," astronaut Jack Fischer radioed from Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was quoted by Space.com. "It's been like living on the set of 'Apollo 13' the past few days. NASA does impossible pretty darn well, so congratulations to the whole team."

Within no time there was power flowing through the new unit. It is reported that this one unit is required to route power from the eight solar array wings over to the transformers. It is from here that electricity is being distributed to rum $100 billion orbital outpost. If the new unit wouldn't get installed the station wouldn't receive power from two of its eight solar panel wings.

The moment Hoshide reported "It is locked", the mission control applauded them.

"As to how the vexing shavings ended up on the space station, the bolt was probably damaged when it was installed before launch," said NASA's space station program manager, Mike Suffredini quoted by Washington Post.

It will be a few days before electrical systems are restored 250 miles up.

"One channel down is not a position you want to be in, but it doesn't send you into really worrying and having to rush out the door," Suffredini said as quoted in Washington Post.

Wednesday's outing was the sixth for Williams, who now holds the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman. "You go, girl," NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the previous record holder, said in a congratulatory message relayed to Williams as quoted by Reuters.

The International Space Station is currently home to six astronauts: Sunita Williams and Joe Acaba of NASA, Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Yuri Malenchenko and Sergei Revin.