A robotic arm that works on the outside of the International Space Station got a hand today from two astronauts. Space station commander Scott Kelly and newly arrived flight engineer Tim Kopra spent a little over three hours on a spacewalk Monday morning to fix a stalled transporter that carries the robotic arm, used to grab onto docking space crafts and unload their cargo. Without today’s fix, the Russian supply ship, named Progress, would not be able to dock with the space station as scheduled on Wednesday. The arm’s mobile transporter, known as the MT, stalled after NASA ground controllers uplinked commands to move the MT from work site 4 to work site 2 on the station’s power truss, or backbone. The problem hit after the transporter moved only four inches along the truss and then jammed. Kelly and Kopra worked together to release the brake handles on either side of the mobile transporter rail car so it could be latched in place ahead of Wednesday’s docking of the cargo resupply spacecraft. If the transporter was not locked in place, vibrations from the docking could damage the space station’s structure. The resupply mission is an important one. Progress is loaded up with 5,753 pounds of propellant, supplies and equipment. The spacecraft is expected to dock at 5:31 a.m. E.T. on Wednesday. After taking care of the issue with the MT, the astronauts spent the rest of the spacewalk routing an Ethernet cable that will one day connect to the Russian laboratory module, as well as retrieving tools that had been stored outside of the station and routing a second pair of cables that will ultimately support U.S. commercial crew vehicles when they are up and running. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe