"太空人的平安夜修補作業"

最近在國際太空站兩名NASA太空人，為了要修繕冷卻裝置系統，十分難得地於耶誕夜太空漫步。

美國太空人Rick Mastracchio和Mike Hopkins在軌道實驗室外漂了七小時上下，為了修理一個氨幫浦的內部控制閥，那在12月11日就故障了。根據NASA的評論員Robert Navias指出，此次修繕行動十分順利，他並說：「現在我們有個恢復運作且運作良好的幫浦了。」

這是Hopkins的第二次太空漫步，而Mastracchio則是第八次。

儘管有人憂心那兩名太空人的太空衣會進水，因而造成阻礙，但他們兩人修理系統時都沒有回報此類問題，Navias說那兩件太空衣「運作地很完美，並且在今天的太空漫步過程中，從頭到尾都乾爽無比」。然而，Mastracchio完成最近一次太空漫步後，他在太空站的氣閘時，「少量的水」跑進了他太空衣的冷卻系統，之後他就換了一套太空衣。NASA的專家強調Mastracchio很安全。

上次太空人於耶誕夜太空漫步是1999年，發現號太空梭的太空人Steve Smith和John Grunsfield替哈伯太空望遠鏡安裝了絕緣裝置並升級。

(Technology) Astronauts Make Christmas Eve Repairs

Two NASA astronauts at the International Space Station had to make a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk recently in order to fix an equipment cooling system.

American astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins were left floating outside the orbiting lab for an approximate seven hours as they fixed an internal control valve on an ammonia pump that had failed on Dec. 11th. According to Robert Navias, NASA commentator, the repairs went smoothly and, We have a pump that is alive and well.

It was the second spacewalk for Hopkins and eighth for Mastracchio.

Despite concerns that the astronauts were having difficulty with leaky spacesuits, neither reported problems during the repairs, with Navias stating the suits, have functioned perfectly and have been bone dry throughout the course of todays spacewalk. Mastracchio had made a change in suits after, a small amount of water had entered his suits cooling system in the station airlock after he finished a recent spacewalk, however, NASA experts have stressed that Mastracchio was not in danger.

The last time astronauts went for a Christmas Eve spacewalk was in 1999, when space shuttle Discovery astronauts Steve Smith and John Grunsfield installed insulation and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope.

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