Camping out will never be the same again 鈥� not after astronauts from the shuttle Atlantis gave the term new meaning aboard the International Space Station.
Atlantis finally lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, after a long delay, and docked with the ISS on Monday. 鈥淭he rendezvous was just about as perfect a rendezvous as I have ever been a part of,鈥� says Paul Dye, the lead flight director for Atlantis.
On Monday night, Atlantis crew members Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piperand and Joe Tanner 鈥渃amped out鈥� in the deliberately reduced pressure of the ISS鈥檚 airlock. This is a new procedure designed to protect the astronauts from decompression sickness 鈥� familiar to divers as the bends 鈥� when they embarked on a spacewalk on Tuesday to add massive truss sections to the ISS.
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Ordinarily, the astronauts would do rigorous exercise on a stationary bicycle while breathing pure oxygen, just before leaving the station. The exercise helps to get rid of nitrogen in their bloodstream, which can cause the bends when they step out in their low-pressure spacesuits. The camp-out has the same effect and saves time.
鈥淚 kind of like it,鈥� says Atlantis astronaut Dan Burbank, who will make his first spacewalk on the flight. 鈥淚 like the idea of having a nice quiet night.鈥� Just before leaving the ISS for the spacewalk, the astronauts can dash into the main section for breakfast and a bathroom break.
