STS-131 Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clay Anderson completed a seven-hour, 26-minute spacewalk at 8:56 a.m. EDT.
Using a combination of robotics and spacewalking expertise, Discovery’s crew members installed a new Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA) on the International Space Station’s Starboard 1 truss. Mission Control verified that electrical connections with the ATA are working. Because of a troublesome bolt, the spacewalkers fell behind the timeline and were unable to complete all the scheduled work. Tasks that were deferred from today’s spacewalk include fluid connections to the ATA and the retrieval of two micrometeoroid debris shields for return to Earth.
This was the second of three STS-131 spacewalks, the 235th conducted by U.S. astronauts and the fifth for both Mastracchio and Anderson. It was the 142nd in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance, totaling 887 hours, 9 minutes. It was the 114th spacewalk based out of the space station, totaling 699 hours, 54 minutes.
Mastracchio’s five spacewalks total 32 hours, 6 minutes and Anderson’s five spacewalks total 32 hours, 4 minutes.
NASA Television airs a Mission Status Briefing at 11 a.m. with STS-131 Lead Space Station Flight Director Ron Spencer and STS-131 Lead Spacewalk Officer David Coan.