Longest Space Walk in History

mashy writes "Sunday, astronauts on Space Shuttle Discovery set the record for the longest space walk in history, at nearly nine hours, according to this article at CNN. On the walk, the crew made room for a cargo carrier on the space station, among other things."

Comments

It's somewhat academic

[Soft]

The duration of the EVA is measured from the time the spacewalkers switch their suits to battery power and become autonomous, to the time they start repressurizing the airlock.

In this case, it lasted almost nine hours; but the last two were spent inside the airlock, back on Shuttle power and oxygen. The point was they had to be ready, should help be required in moving the PMA-3 Shuttle docking port. As in turned out, there was a problem which took time to solve. Help from the spacewalkers was eventually not needed, but that's why they spent so much time standing by in the depressurized airlock.

See the Spaceflight Now story for details.

9-Hour EVA

[ddillman]

Can you imagine spending 9 hours in one of those suits?! They can't be all that comfortable.

So they spent the last two hours in the airlock, they were still in the suits and unable to deal with such niceties as food or potty breaks. About halfway through, I'd get really hungry for some nice solid food and a beverage or two. And the sanitary facilities.... Sheesh! Better go before you get dressed!