Acaba and crewmate Steve Swanson installed a truss to support the solar array that powers the orbiting space station. They astronauts also installed a second Global Positioning Satellite antenna on the Japanese Kibo laboratory that will be used of a rendezvous with a Japanese cargo ship in September. Acaba also helped photograph areas of radiator panels extended from the Port 1 and Starboard 1 trusses and reconfigure connectors at a patch panel on the Zenith 1 truss that power Control Moment Gyroscopes. Last, Acaba and Swanson fixed a faulty pin that kept an unpressurized cargo carrier attachment system from fully deploying. The spacewalk was the mission's second and lasted about six-and-a-half hours. It ended at approximately 4:21 p.m. Pacific time. Dominican Republic RPCV Joe Acaba is a Mission Specialist Educator Astronaut with NASA.
Joseph Acaba Makes First Spacewalk
Local Astronaut Joseph Acaba Makes First Spacewalk
KTLA News
March 21, 2009
Caption: Spacewalker Joseph Acaba works on cargo attachment system in this image from NASA TV March 21, 2009. The cargo attachment system will be used for storing equipment and supplies on the outside of the International Space Station.
INGLEWOOD -- Astronaut Joseph Acaba, who grew up in Anaheim, made his first spacewalk Saturday outside the International Space Station, some 240 miles from Earth.
Acaba and crewmate Steve Swanson installed a truss to support the solar array that powers the orbiting space station.
They astronauts also installed a second Global Positioning Satellite antenna on the Japanese Kibo laboratory that will be used of a rendezvous with a Japanese cargo ship in September.
Acaba also helped photograph areas of radiator panels extended from the Port 1 and Starboard 1 trusses and reconfigure connectors at a patch panel on the Zenith 1 truss that power Control Moment Gyroscopes.
Last, Acaba and Swanson fixed a faulty pin that kept an unpressurized cargo carrier attachment system from fully deploying.
The spacewalk was the mission's second and lasted about six-and-a-half hours. It ended at approximately 4:21 p.m. Pacific time.
Acaba is scheduled for one additional spacewalk during the 14-day mission.
The space shuttle Discovery took off Sunday after being delayed several times.
Acaba was born in Inglewood, and lived in the San Fernando Valley and Anaheim as a boy.
He is the son of Puerto Rican immigrant and a former Marine who has a special interest in education. He spent two years working for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, training teachers about environmental issues.
When NASA selected Joseph Acaba for space training in 2004, he became the first astronaut of Puerto Rican descent.
Acaba graduated from Anaheim's Esperanza High School in 1985, and received a bachelor's degree in geology from UC Santa Barbara in 1990. He earned a master's degree in 1992 in geology from the University of Arizona.
He and his crewmate Richard Arnold started an educational Web site, complete with activity guides for K-12 teachers.
"As an educator, I think the most important thing for me is to fulfill the goal of inspiring the next generation," he said. "Motivating kids to learn is as important as the subject matter."
