Tool PrOn: The Space Tools That Fixed The Hubble
By Kevin Pace
I consider very few tools “sexy,” but this set might fit the bill: these were just a few of the tools in the space shuttle Atlantis’s multi-billion-dollar kit on its recent mission to repair the Hubble Telescope.
Astronauts packed a total of 180 tools on this mission, 116 of which were specially designed for this trip alone. Pictured above are a CPU-powered hi-torque pistol, EVA mini work station, imaging spectrograph repair tool, and other items we’ll probably never get to see in person — still, it’s fun to dream.
The Weird And Wonderful Space Tools That Fixed The Hubble [Gizmodo]
June 1st, 2009 at 10:57 pm
By far the coolest tools on earth…………………wait.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:59 am
And the one tool which no robot mission to Hubble could have had in it’s tool box? Elbow Grease! Michael Massimino had to use brute force to bend back a hand rail with his hand because it had a stripped bolt which could not be removed. Ahh, the greatest tool in the universe, the human hand! Manned space missions FTW!
Then to top it all off, while Massimino was removing those 100+ screws which were not meant to be serviceable in space the battery in his tool died. It took him half an hour to get a new battery. Plus he had to top off his oxygen supply.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:10 am
Regular Car Talk listeners will know well the gripes that the shuttle crew had to deal with- they got a call from the shuttle while it was in orbit during one of their shows, and then last week one of the mission crew called in again and they talked a while. Awesome!
I think last week’s show is free to listen to on their website for all of this week. Check it out!