Astronaut to NASA: duct tape could fasten troubled jetpack

After part of his jet pack came loose during a Monday space walk outside the International Space Station, Space Shuttle Discovery astronaut Piers Sellers suggested using duct tape to fix the potentially hazardous problem.

All astronauts are required to wear the SAFER jet backpack, used to propel an astronaut to safety in case of an emergency or in case they become untethered from the shuttle or space station.

The two latches that keep the emergency device attached came loose on Sellers at different points during the spacewalk.

Discovery crew members believe that the connectors came undone while Sellers was inside the shuttle's crowded payload bay.

Sellers and fellow astronaut Mike Fossum performed two complicated tasks during the walk, which required a lot of movement and "bumping around", according to Discovery pilot Mike Kelly.

Fossum had to help bind the pack to Sellers to keep it from floating away. That would have left the astronaut without a backup for getting back inside the space station.

The spacewalk was arguably the most daunting task of the latest mission to the International Space Station. The repair mission wrapped-up Monday at 3:01 p.m. EST, after seven hours in the vacuum of space to fix part of an airlock and the station's mobile transporter.

The transporter is essentially a cosmic rail car that moves astronauts and Canadarm2 along the station's growing network of trusses.

NASA gave Sellers and Fossum the go-ahead to do a third and final spacewalk Wednesday to test techniques for inspecting and repairing the shuttle's heat shield.

If all goes well, the Discovery mission will come to an end July 17 when the shuttle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere for a landing at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.

Photography: CBS News

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, July 11 edition