The spacewalk to fix a ripped solar panel on the international space station ranks as a riskier-than-usual operation, but there have been other such critical moments in the history of spacewalking. Click through this interactive to learn more about the most dramatic spacewalks in orbit, as described by NBC News space analyst James Oberg.";
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SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "Skylab 2
in June 1973
With one solar array torn off during launch, and the other jammed closed, astronauts Pete Conrad and Joe Kerwin (shown here) took improvised tools and ropes outside and managed to pry the wing open. Conrad tumbled head over heels to the end of his safety line when the wing suddenly unfolded."; SpaceDramaticWalks[i++] = new Array("","Salyut 6 in August 1979","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "485", "", "", "", "", ""); SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "Salyut 6 in August 1979
A 35-foot test dish antenna at one end of the Soviet Union's Salyut 6 space station failed to separate when commanded to, blocking the station's second docking port and making supply missions impossible. If uncorrected, the snag would have doomed the station. Cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakhov and Valery Ryumin went outside with improvised tools to cut the antenna loose, and Ryumin was lashed by the antenna's ribs as he successfully cut it away."; SpaceDramaticWalks[i++] = new Array("","Salyut 7 in 1984","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "485", "", "", "", "", ""); SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "Salyut 7, April to August 1984
Following a catastrophic rocket fuel plumbing rupture late the previous year, cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov performed series of unprecedented spacewalks to re-plumb the fuel lines from outside. The operation restored maneuvering capability to the station, extending its life."; SpaceDramaticWalks[i++] = new Array("","Mir in April 1987","","","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "NASA", "196", "198", "", "", "", "", ""); SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "Mir in April 1987
The very first attempt to expand the Soviet Mir space station with a new module failed when the docking mechanism mysteriously failed. Cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Laveykin made a quickly planned spacewalk to inspect the problem and found the docking unit jammed with a trash bag that was discarded earlier in the mission. Despite the potential for getting their hands crushed, they reached between the loosely attached modules and removed the obstruction.";
SpaceDramaticWalks[i++] = new Array("","STS-37 in April 1991","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071102/071102_sts37_hmed_.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "273", "387", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "STS-37
in April 1991
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, a major astronomical satellite, was threatened with failure when an antenna boom jammed. During a contingency spacewalk, Jerry Ross (shown here) and Jay Apt manually forced the antenna open, opening the way for a successful deployment.";
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SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "STS-49
in May 1992
During Endeavour's first flight, astronauts tried unsuccessfully to grapple an errant commercial satellite, despite robotic-arm maneuvers and extravehicular activity. Finally, NASA decided to send three spacewalkers outside - for the first and only time in history. The trio grabbed the satellite manually and held it down for the elusive grapple. Although the shuttle was never in danger, the bold move permitted salvage of the satellite."; SpaceDramaticWalks[i++] = new Array("","Mir in August 1997","","","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "Mir in August 1997
After a collision pierced the hull of one module, cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Anatoly Solovyov had to perform a dangerously tight \"internal spacewalk\" in vacuum to install power jumper cables and reconnect a critical set of solar panels. The operation enabled the station to function for four more years.";
SpaceDramaticWalks[i++] = new Array("","STS-97 in December 2000","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071102/071102_sts97_hmed_.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "273", "411", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
SpaceDramaticWalks[i-1].body = "STS-97
in 2000
Astronauts attached a power-generating wing during Endeavour's mission to the international space station. While the solar array unfolded, a wire jumped its tracks and jammed. Astronauts Carlos Noriega and Joe Tanner (pictured) used quickly assembled tools to put the mechanism back on track."; // END editorial data