CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two spacewalking astronauts tackled a backlog of outdoor work at the International Space Station on Tuesday.
It was the first spacewalk for Italy — a major contributor to the orbiting lab — as Luca Parmitano handled a variety of maintenance chores. He was accompanied by American Christopher Cassidy, a veteran spacewalker.
Cassidy encountered a stubborn bolt, eating up precious minutes, as he got started on the first of two planned spacewalks just a week apart. A slim gap of just one-eighth of an inch stalled the installation of a new space-to-ground radio transmitter. The old one failed in December.
"Nothing jumps out at me," Cassidy reported to Mission Control. "I can see a little wear on the bolt."
Finally, the former Navy SEAL managed to attach the transmitter. Mission Control said it appeared to be a tight fit.
It was smoother going for Parmitano as he collected science experiments for return to Earth later this year aboard a commercial SpaceX capsule.
"Any curve balls over there, Luca?" Cassidy asked. "Nope," came the reply.
The spacewalkers made up for lost time as they went through the hodgepodge of chores, removing a bad camera and relocating radiator grapple bars. Some of the work was done to make it easier to swap out bad parts if there's ever a breakdown.