Astronaut Terry Virts Completes 3rd Spacewalk In 8 Days
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Mission accomplished! Howard County native Terry Virts successfully completed his third walk outside the International Space Station---but it did not go off without a hitch!
Mary Bubala reports it was the 187th spacewalk in the history of the International Space Station.
Before 7 a.m. Monday, Space Station Commander Barry Wilmore and flight engineer Terry Virts were already at work---260 miles above earth.
Their spacewalk lasted roughly five and a half hours. They installed two sets of antennas and 400 feet of cable for a new communication system aboard the space station. It was the third spacewalk for Virts and the fourth for Wilmore.
Once Virts returned to the station, he discovered water had built up inside his helmet, a continuing technical issue for NASA. On his spacewalk last Wednesday, Virts has the same issue. He was never in danger and NASA engineers determined the water was due to condensation but they need to fix this problem with the spacesuits.
Wilmore is schedule to return to earth this week after five and a half months. Virts is midway through his mission.
Monday's spacewalk is one of many planned this year to help prepare the space station for the next wave of human spaceflight. The first commercial spaceflight by Boeing is scheduled to arrive at the station in late 2017.