Astronaut suit problem delays spacewalk No. 3; father of new baby girl to head back outside

Astronaut suit problem delays spacewalk No. 3

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The third and final spacewalk of space shuttle Atlantis’ mission is being held up by a suit problem.

A valve on the drink bag in astronaut Robert Satcher Jr.’s suit came off Monday morning, as he was getting ready to step out. Mission Control instructed the crew to reattach the valve to the water pouch. To everyone’s relief, the valve went back on tightly.

NASA says the spacewalk could be delayed up to an hour.

Satcher will be joined outside by Randolph Bresnik, the father of a new baby girl. The two will hook up a fresh oxygen tank and science experiments at the International Space Station.

Bresnik is still walking on air following the birth of Abigail Mae. She arrived just hours after his first-ever spacewalk Saturday.

On the Net:

NASA: www.nasa.gov/mission(underscore)pages/shuttle/main/index.html