CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A pair of astronauts floated back outside Saturday night to hook up plumbing on the newest room of the international space station and bring it alive with power.
Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick had to route extra-long hoses that were fashioned right before space shuttle Endeavour’s trip to the space station. Once ammonia coolant is flowing through the hoses, Tranquility will begin surging with power. Its systems cannot be turned on unless there is a way to get rid of the heat generated by the equipment inside.
It was the second excursion in three days for Behnken and Patrick. They have one more spacewalk to finish installing the Tranquility room and its attached observation deck, the last major building blocks of 11-year-old space station Alpha. The Associated Press
