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Astronauts used toothbrush to fix space station
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Model A
Thanks for the correction.
wd5gnr1
The story about NASA spending millions on the space pen has been around forever, ...
It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday.
NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools — including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush — to help them get the job done.
NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools — including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush — to help them get the job done.
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Model A
9/7/2012 11:41 AM EDT
Sometimes simple is better. Many years ago during the space race with the Russians, a similar problem existed. How do you write in a weightless environment? An ordinary ink pen requires gravity to push the ink out. NASA probably spent Millions of dollars developing an ink pen that would write in space. Meanwhile the Russian Cosmonauts used an ordinary lead pencil. Later, the Russians bought these "Space Pens" in the gift shop of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and sent then home in a courier pouch. Sometimes simple is better...and cheaper.
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Duane Benson
9/10/2012 12:25 AM EDT
Any good garage mechanic has a toothbrush or two just for such a purpose. Usually, they're (the toothbrush, not the mechanic) already coated with grease or solvent of some sort.
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wd5gnr1
9/10/2012 11:46 AM EDT
The story about NASA spending millions on the space pen has been around forever, but isn't really true. There is a Fischer Space Pen and it has been flown, but NASA didn't develop it. Read the real story at the NASA history site: http://history.nasa.gov/spacepen.html
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Model A
9/11/2012 12:06 PM EDT
Thanks for the correction.
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