Emergency repairs to the International Space Station required some lateral thinking as repairs don't quite go to plan.
In a scene reminiscent of the now famous Apollo 13 DIY, to replace vital CO² filters and keep the astronauts alive, NASA scientists were called into action again when repairs to the International Space Station went awry. Although the situation wasn't life-threatening, the problem was just as tricky.
After an eight-hour space walk - the third longest ever made - US astronaut Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide partially completed the replacement of a key component in the space station's power system - the main bus switching unit. Although the new unit was successfully swapped, it couldn't be fixed in position as a stuck bolt was preventing the original unit from being removed.
The new unit was left in situ and the astronauts returned to the ISS for some head scratching and discussions with the NASA team back on Earth. Like the Apollo fix, the only items that could be used to make the repairs were those available to the astronauts on the $150bn ISS. The final solution involved a toothbrush, some bent wires and lubricants.
With the makeshift tools to hand, Williams and Hoshide took a second walk, managed to free the bolt and finally replace the unit permanently. The ageing ISS appears to be becoming increasingly troublesome, with a cooling pump requiring three space walks before it was successfully repaired. Concerns over spare parts for the Station could possibly lead to one further mission for the Space Shuttle as a delivery vehicle.