Spacecraft troubles

A space equivalent of a bucket brigade; passing bags the size of refrigerators crew-to-crew.
A space equivalent of a bucket brigade; passing bags the size of refrigerators crew-to-crew.
A bungee jail; we quickly stored bags behind this network of bungee cords until their final location could be sorted out.
A bungee jail; we quickly stored bags behind this network of bungee cords until their final location could be sorted out.

We had a long and tiring week and were all looking forward to some off duty time this weekend. We worked well into Friday evening catching up on loose ends resulting from the arrival of the new spacecraft. Gardener said he would treat us to some window time. There is nothing like catching a few rays to green up the foliage.

Then early Saturday morning, the big Gardener that speaks to us from the wall told us the cargo vehicle had suffered an electrical failure and might need to undergo a contingency undock within the next day (or two). It was planned to stay docked for months where we could unpack the supplies in an orderly process requiring about three crew-weeks to accomplish. To save our precious supplies we now had one day to do three weeks of work. Sudden intense effort is not uncommon here; when you live in a thin walled aluminum bubble where even the air you breath requires supplies from Earth, you work as hard as necessary to stay alive. Our crew, in bucket brigade style, worked all day passing cargo bags out from the stricken vehicle and neatly stacked them inside of Space Station. With all the large bags floating by, it was good to stay out of the way. Any one of them could have easily smash us into salad. Later that evening, Gardener came by and we presented him with our vibrant green and tickled is nose with our fresh plantly aroma. When we saw a tired smile come to his face, we knew we had done our part in this contingency.

Node 1 storage; we stashed bags on the ceiling as well as in the airlock. In space you can use locations that simply don’t work on Earth.
Node 1 storage; we stashed bags on the ceiling as well as in the airlock. In space you can use locations that simply don’t work on Earth.
At the end of the day, we found in one bag marked “for crew” with a note to Gardener that said, “When you need a helping hand”. When away from your family for many months, small gestures take on huge meaning.
At the end of the day, we found in one bag marked “for crew” with a note to Gardener that said, “When you need a helping hand”. When away from your family for many months, small gestures take on huge meaning.