Spacewalk canceled again due to jammed hatch door

November 29, 1996
Web posted at: 4:00 p.m. EST

HOUSTON (CNN) -- The spacewalk plans for shuttle astronauts Tammy Jernigan and Tom Jones were on hold again Friday after NASA canceled a spacewalk for the second time.

Jernigan and Jones struggled for two hours Thursday night to try to open the door between Columbia's inner chamber and the cargo bay. They were unsuccessful, forcing the cancellation of Thursday's walk in the vacuum of space to test equipment that will be used to build an international space station. (42 sec., 1.1M small QuickTime movie or 2.4M large QuickTime movie

NASA engineers worked around the clock to try to determine what was jamming the hatch. They had hoped to have the problem solved in time for a spacewalk Friday, but finally told mission management they needed more time. (180K/16 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

If they can find the problem and fix it quickly, Jernigan and Jones could step into space Saturday night, when a second walk had been scheduled.

The astronauts took a break for their Thanksgiving meal after the Thursday walk was called off.

"We've got high hopes for tomorrow and the rest of this flight," said shuttle commander Ken Cockrell. "But we still have a lot to be thankful for."

NASA sources told CNN they suspected that a small piece of debris in the air lock could have floated up into the hatch mechanism when the shuttle became weightless.

The shuttle crew tried several ways to solve the problem, including removing the hatch handle and putting it back on, but the door remained stuck. Video from the camera on the shuttle's robot arm revealed nothing wrong, and mission managers were baffled. (14 sec., 489K small QuickTime movie or 951K large QuickTime movie

"It's fairly light forces overall (to open the hatch)," said Jerry Ross, the astronaut on the ground in charge of spacewalks. "That's what was a little bit surprising to us." (363K/17 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

The force needed to open the hatch under normal circumstances, he said, is "certainly not as high as a lug wrench on a bolt."

NASA would not speculate whether a second spacewalk would be attempted before Columbia returns to Earth if things go well and walk takes place Saturday. The shuttle's mission ends December 5.

Correspondent John Holliman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

Special section:

CNN Interactive's extended coverage

• CNN's Space Exploration Gallery

Related stories:

• NASA cancels spacewalk - November 29, 1996
• Columbia sets off on 16-day flight - Novmber 19, 1996
• Columbia flight will test space station equipment - November 19, 1996

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• NASA - Shuttle Web
• Boeing - International Space Station Site
• NASA - International Space Station
• NASA

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

Watch these shows on CNN for more sci-tech stories:

CNN Computer Connection | Future Watch | Science & Technology Week

Tell us what you think! You said it...

© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.