There Is NO Job That Duct Tape Can't Handle

Aero-News reported on the difficulties astronaut Piers Sellers had with his SAFER backpack during a Monday spacewalk outside the ISS. While teammate Mike Fossum was able to jury-rig a harness to keep the safety pack safely attached to Seller's suit... the astronaut told NASA Tuesday that he needs a more permanent solution before his next spacewalk Wednesday morning.

But he had an idea... what about duct tape?

"Right now, is there some kind of tape fix that you guys could think about that would be helpful?" Sellers asked Mission Control Tuesday morning, according to the Associated Press.

Okay, so technically it's not "duct-tape," per se... as the high-strength tape NASA uses is shinier that what you'll find in your toolbox, and it can withstand the extreme heat and cold of outer space. For all intents and purposes, though, it'll do the job... just as it has done for nearly all of us at one time or another, with our own planes.

After all... is Seller's proposed solution any different really, than the last time we used some silver tape to secure a troublesome access panel in place for a trip back to our home airport... or, to [permanently] hold the plastic fairing together around a Cessna wing strut?

Call NASA's version "really, REALLY high speed tape."

Whatever the actual name of it is, you may be able to see some of the "interstellar duct tape" in photos from Wednesday's space walk. I know that I'll be looking for it...

FMI: www.nasa.gov, The Duct Tape Page