Atlantis 'nauts wrap boltastic first spacewalk
Atlantis spacewalkers Steve Bowen and Garrett Reisman wrapped their first STS-132 mission spacewalk at 19:19 GMT today, having spent seven hours and 25 minutes outside the ISS. Steve Bowen (right) and Garrett Reisman exit the ISS. Pic: NASA TV The pair successfully installed a second space-to-ground Ku-band antenna for the …
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Gap
Er, does the 1mm gap mean that they haven't done said boilts up tight enough? Or should we be discussing washers too?
Definitely
Sprung washers would be best methinks, just in case the ISS vibrates a bit.
Can we now update the classic newspaper headline..
of the maniac who raped some people at a launderette?
'Nut screws washers and bolts'...
Thank you - I'll be at my desk till lunchtime...
Mmmm...
"strapped the antenna and boom together to secure the two components."
I want to know, what colour gaffer tape did they use, nice shiny silver or a functional black?
Silver
Silver is definitely stickier. However, just how do they begin peeling it off the roll in those somewhat bulky gloves? Is there a false fingernail attached to the outside of them?
WTF
How can it be 1mm ???
The colonials always use Imperial measurement Units.
It should be 0.0394 INCHES gap !!!!
Oh and I trust the nuts for said bolts are castellated for safety.
Cotter pin
Did you every try to fit a cotter pin while wearing spacesuit gloves? I mean, they're hard enough to get in with your bare hands!
Didn't the airline industry use to use pairs of counter-rotating bolts with a wire between so that if one loosened, the other tightened? What about using those?
Excellent
They don't have to be counter-rotating, you can lockwire any two bolts together like that if you follow a certain method. However, as the ISS needs more left-hand threads then it is an admirable idea.
Traditionalist?
I realise that this new-fangled iBolt rage makes my views on threads seem somewhat old hat, but I'd like to point out that traditionally, a number of very common threads are left handed.
For instance, a pair of bicycle pedals has opposing threads to avoid them falling off mid-ride. Although not the direction you'd expect, but why that is requires a swivelling bar stool and several pints to explain.
Anyway, I'd like to know if there will be an AppStore for the iBolt that restricts the permitted applications of NASA's iBolts? I could imagine the solar panel mounts are too Flashy and would require e.g. duct tape.
Man, I'm starting to feel like amanfrommars....
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