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Explosive Bolt Leads to Tense Moments at Space Station

July 13
00:00 2008

Explosive Bolt Leads to Tense Moments at Space Station

Jason Sandefur

MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts that show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies.

“In a daring spacewalk, two space station astronauts cut into the insulation of their descent capsule and removed an explosive bolt that could have blown off their hands,” the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

After installing devices to eliminate static electricity, the astronauts managed to safely disconnect the bolt and slid it into a blast-proof container. The 3-inch bolt has explosive power greater than an M-80 firecracker.

Explosive bolts in 10 locations separate the lower part of the Soyuz spacecraft from the central capsule, which carries the crew, just before re-entry.

Despite assurances that the bolt would not explode, Mission Control urged extreme caution during the spacewalk.

Russian engineers are working to understand the cause of the past two, off-course ballistic re-entries they suspect were caused by failed bolts.

The explosive bolt removed from the spacecraft will be returned to Earth for study. �2008 FastenerNews.com

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