Md. Astronaut Reid Wiseman Successfully Completes His Second Spacewalk
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Mission accomplished. NASA says the second spacewalk outside the International Space Station went very well.
But Mary Bubala reports, there were some tense moments for local astronaut Reid Wiseman as things didn't go exactly as planned.
Two-hundred and sixty miles above Earth and two hours into their six hour spacewalk, Reid Wiseman, who grew up in Baltimore County, and astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore encounter difficulty securing a bolt to replace a failed electrical unit.
"That instantly twerked out. It didn't turn at all," Wiseman said.
To avoid electrical shock, Wiseman and fellow astronaut Wilmore waited until darkness to remove the old unit and put in the new one.
But time was running out. The sunset pass would end within a minute. Wiseman came up with a solution.
"I'd be happy putting the ratchet on and just giving it a nice light turn until the status indicator is fully locked.I know that's not what engineering would want, though," he said.
Reid Wiseman secured the bolt, restoring full power to the International Space Station. Mission Control was thrilled.
This was Wiseman's second spacewalk this month. He is still in awe of his surroundings.
"I see Cairo! Can't quite make out the pyramids, though," he said.
The astronauts also installed new cameras and wireless radio systems and that went well also.
Wiseman has been on the space station for just over five months. He's due to come back to Earth in November.
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