Comments by "C S ~ \x5bDuke of Ramble\x5d" (@DUKE_of_RAMBLE) on "" video.
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@macthelost Your heart is in the right place, but not sure if you're grasping all of the issues with your suggestion to "just weld it!"
There's a reason you bring a ship into a dry dock to perform major repairs like that.
With the space station, you have such a finite amount of space, so you literally use every inch and millimeter of it. That means you have spots you can't access, at least not easily without shuffling major components all over to gain the necessary access.
Then there's the issue of the layering. I don't know specifically how they are setup, but my gut tells me there's a fabric layer (ballistic fiber maybe); a thermal layer; and one, maybe two, metal layers.
The amount of heat generated during welding is quite possibly (even likely) going to melt any fabric layer.
What's more, is your going to have to also depressurize whatever module your welding on, because during that heating, the metal is weaker until it cools... So having a blowout would be quite catastrophic!
Even then, the dexterity while in a spacesuit diminishes significantly. Dunno if you've welded before but I've welded before, it's very fun. If not, then you don't just pull the trigger and drag it across the metal. You have to prep it first. If you want to do it RIGHT, and sufficiently, you have to grind a bit of a channel. You can lay the bead on top, overlaying the crack, but it won't be as strong.
Then there's laying the bead, which is a back and forth motion, imparted by twisting your wrist. Which goes back to the issue of dexterity. I think ideally, you'd want a robot to handle that, maybe attached to the CanadArm.
Anyways, I've speculated enough. 😊
Enjoy the read!
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