Space

Perilous walk in space cut short

CAPE CANAVERAL - Two astronauts who stepped out of the international space station for an unusually risky spacewalk were quickly ordered back in Thursday when Mission Control spotted a pressure drop in one of the men's oxygen tanks.

NASA stressed that the astronauts were never in any danger. They were safely in the pressurized confines of the orbiting complex within minutes and said they were feeling fine.

The spacewalk - a critical repair effort to replace a failed circuit breaker - was put off until Tuesday at the earliest. Flight controllers said they need to understand what went wrong before sending astronauts Mike Fincke and Gennady Padalka back outside.

Fincke had just popped open the hatch and floated outside when the frightening words came from Russian mission control: "You need to return. Something is not right."

Mission control informed the astronauts that the pressure in Fincke's prime oxygen tank was falling rapidly. They needed to get back inside, fast, and close the hatch.

Fincke and Padalka were using an odd mishmash of U.S. and Russian gear on a mission to replace a circuit breaker. A new breaker is needed to restore power to one of the gyroscopes that help keep the station stable and pointed in the right direction.

The mission was fraught with risk, even before Thursday night's suit trouble. NASA had to leave the space station empty during a spacewalk for only the second time ever. Flight controllers on the ground kept an eye on the outpost's systems.

WASHINGTON - A week after a presidential commission called for changes at NASA, the agency's administrator announced a restructuring.

Sean O'Keefe said Thursday the changes were "not box shuffling" but rather real-world, "three yards and a cloud of dust" work in improving NASA's effectiveness.

The changes take effect Aug. 1, and O'Keefe said that over the next several weeks he will visit NASA offices to discuss them.

In its report issued last week the president's commission on NASA (www.nasa.gov) said the agency needs to transform itself into a leaner, more focused agency.

The change creates several so-called mission directorates including:

Aeronautics research to study and develop aeronautical technologies for safe, reliable and efficient aviation systems.

Science, to carry out the exploration of the Earth, moon, Mars and beyond; chart the best route of discovery; and continue Earth and space exploration. This combines research in the Earth and other planets.

Exploration systems, to develop capabilities and supporting research and technology that enable sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration in space. It includes the biological and physical research necessary to ensure the health and safety of crew during long duration space flight.

Space operations, to direct space flight operations, space launches and space communications.

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