When Mullen had the second EVA suit tethered to a grab bar of the SpaceHab module, he moved to a grab bar that was closer to Columbia’s airlock and slightly forward of Garrett. Next, he secured his retractable suit tether to the grab bar he’d been holding and disconnected the rope’s carabiner from the loop on his suit. This was a critical step. If he kept the transfer rope connected to his suit while he was also tethered to Columbia, then he and his space suit would be the one thing holding Columbia and Atlantis together. If the two orbiters moved apart beyond the rope’s length, then, well… it wasn’t something any astronaut wanted to think about.
Mullen’s next task was to serve as a crossing guard for the Columbia crew. Mission Control’s CapCom gave directions; Mullen was there for physical and emotional support as needed.
As the second Columbia astronaut lumbered out of the airlock, Mullen heard Mission Control give the go-ahead for the first of Columbia’s crew to head down the rope. Hearing this, Mullen checked his purchase and pulled the slack out of the transfer rope.
“Careful there with the rope,” Garrett called up from Atlantis after feeling the tug on his suit. “You’re gonna give me a wedgie.”
“Copy that, wedgie alert noted,” Mullen said.
Garrett and Mullen knew Columbia’s crew was listening; they hoped their class-clown type banter might relieve some tension.
“Okay now,” Mullen instructed the first Columbia crewmember who had just translated the distance from Columbia’s airlock to the roof of the SpaceHab module where Mullen was tethered. “It’s just a simple hand-over-hand motion until you’re down. Garrett will help you when you reach Atlantis. The steaks are on the grill.”
“Roger that,” the first Columbia spacewalker said.
“Me too,” said the second. “I like my steak seared with nothing more than cracked black pepper and a pinch of salt–just a little pink in the center.”
“You guys keep talkin’ about steaks and I’m likely to head back into Atlantis before all of you get down,” Garrett said.
As soon as the second Columbia astronaut was down off the transfer rope and tethered to Atlantis’s payload bay, Mullen fastened his end of the transfer rope to the grab bar on the roof of the SpaceHab module. Next, he made his way to Columbia’s airlock. He opened the external airlock door and placed the bag of spare LiOH canisters inside the airlock and closed the door. Then he went back for the spare EVA suits. One by one, he brought them to the airlock and placed them inside. When he was finished, he sealed the external airlock door.
For the remainder of the Columbia’s crew, the first task was to pressurize the airlock, remove the LiOH canisters, and then install the canisters in the ventilation system on the middeck. Installing the new canisters would instantly extend Columbia’s crew’s available time in space, since LiOH was the chemical used to scrub Columbia’s air of exhaled CO2. As soon as the empty EVA suits were retrieved from Columbia’s airlock, the next pair of Columbia astronauts began the tedious process of donning their space suits.
Back on Atlantis, the first two Columbia astronauts entered the airlock with the help of Garrett. Once they were inside, the external airlock door was sealed, and the airlock pressurized until it equaled Atlantis’s cabin pressure. Once they’d doffed their space suits, the internal airlock door was opened, and the two Columbia astronauts exited to become part of the Atlantis crew. Their space suits were quickly prepared for the trip back to Columbia.
Chapter 66
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
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“WE’RE FOUR HOURS and twenty-seven minutes into the historic rescue space walk,” Stangley said, looking away from the camera at a monitor displaying an elapsed timer and the raw NASA feed.
“Columbia’s astronauts have been systematically making their way from Columbia to Atlantis, four astronauts so far, assisted by Atlantis Mission Specialists Terry Mullen and Shane Garrett.
“We have a bit of a break in the action, so to speak, so I’d like to update you on what’s been accomplished, and what still has to be done before Atlantis can turn around and head back home.”
A bullet-point graphic of rescue mission milestones temporarily replaced Stangley’s face on televisions across America. His voice continued in the background. “So with the rescue space walk just over four-and-a-half hours old, here’s where we are: Four of Columbia’s seven-astronaut crew have been transferred to Atlantis. In the last transfer sequence, Columbia astronauts Jan and Steve, the two astronauts who performed the space walk to inspect Columbia’s wing more than twenty-five days ago, made their way safely over to Atlantis and exited the airlock, and are now in the process of removing their space suits.
“The fifth Columbia astronaut will be exiting Columbia’s airlock sometime within the next half-hour or so. We mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating: The fifth Columbia astronaut will make the transfer to Atlantis solo. This is because it can be very difficult to get into those space suits; they’re big and bulky. We’re told that it really can’t be done without help from another person. So the fifth astronaut transfers solo, leaving Columbia’s commander and pilot onboard to help each other put on their suits.
“So far the transfer has gone very well. We’re told by NASA officials that the rescue transfer is somewhat ahead of schedule. It was originally expected to take eight to nine hours to complete the transfer of all seven Columbia astronauts. As of right now, however, barring any unexpected problems—contingencies, as NASA calls them—the Atlantis rescue crew will finish their space walk ahead of schedule. Incidentally,” Stangley said, as the camera focused
