How did ISS Cosmonauts extract a Soyuz explosive bolt?
Two previous soyuz capsules re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere more violently than planned because this bolt failed to fire. The bolts on those 2 capsules burned up during re-entry, and so they could not be analyzed to solve the malfunction. The astronauts had to spacewalk out to the bolt for 6 hours, and remove it without causing it to explode. If a cause cannot be found, the next soyuz re-entry could be so rough that astronauts are injured or killed. So far that has not happened yet. The astronauts will be completely dependent on soyuz capsules when the shuttles are retired in 2010. There are plans for commercial capsules to low Earth orbit, but they are still just plans, and may or may not be allowed to dock with the space station. You can learn more at the link below. I hope this helps. Sources: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080710-spacewalk-wrap.
