NASA's Scientist-Astronauts by Shayler David;Colin Burgess

Author:Shayler David;Colin Burgess
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2008-03-11T00:07:00+00:00

Deep-space EVA

When America was 184,000 miles from Earth, it was time for Command Module pilot Ron Evans to take his turn in the limelight. As Apollo 17 sped back to Earth, he made a one-hour spacewalk to recover three reels of film from the rear of the spacecraft. Linked to a long, white tether, which carried an oxygen line and communication cables, Evans made his way to the rear of America, crawling hand-over-hand for 4.5 in along the side of the spacecraft to retrieve the film, using a series of handrails. Schmitt floated in the open hatch, keeping Evans's umbilical line from tangling. After the EVA, Schmitt guided Evans back into the Command Module feet first. By the time the hatch was sealed and the cabin re-pressurised nine minutes later, America had moved 2,000 miles closer to Earth. As Capcom Bob Overmyer had reminded the crew on waking them that day, Evans's spacewalk had taken place on the sixty-ninth anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight.

America was on such a true return trajectory that when it finally crossed into the dominant influence of Earth's gravity, a midcourse correction manoeuvre was cancelled. After nearly two weeks, the final Apollo mission was nearing its end, and Schmitt says the tempo began to pick up.

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