Astronauts attaching an equipment-stuffed, 17.5-ton truss carrying solar panels and other gear onto the International Space Station orbiting about 220 miles above the earth, are staying on schedule with marathon spacewalks, but have struggled periodically with "captive" bolts that spring away, and one that was so stubborn it took two astronauts to break it free.
In an interview Sept. 13, David McCann, Boeing�s manager of structural and mechanical systems at the space flight center in Houston, cautioned against "putting this out of proportion." He pointed out that the astronauts on the third spacewalk alone "torqued and turned over 300 fasteners" and were having great success in accomplishing their mission, but he admitted that the issues with fasteners would be looked at closely. "We will probably sensitize the crew a little bit more" about problems that could occur when working with them, he said.