Ongoing Spacewalk Preps, Science, and Plumbing Keep Crews Busy

NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore (at center) pose with Expedition 71 Flight Engineers (far left) Mike Barratt and Tracy C. Dyson (far right), both NASA astronauts, in their spacesuits.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore (at center) pose with Expedition 71 Flight Engineers (far left) Mike Barratt and Tracy C. Dyson (far right), both NASA astronauts, in their spacesuits.

Preparations continue for the next spacewalk at the International Space Station planned for next week. In the meantime, the orbital residents are rebuilding advanced plumbing gear and servicing video and science hardware.

Beginning around 8:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 26 NASA instructed crews aboard the space station to shelter in their respective spacecraft as a standard precautionary measure after it was informed of a satellite break-up at an altitude near the station’s earlier Wednesday. Mission Control continued to monitor the path of the debris, and after about an hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the station resumed normal operations.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt began Thursday morning reviewing procedures for a spacewalk that will see hardware replacements and installations, preparations for future upgrades on science gear, and photographic inspections of station pipelines. After lunchtime, the two astronauts turned on a computer that visualized the upcoming spacewalk tasks using 3D graphics. NASA will release an advisory soon announcing the spacewalking details and NASA TV coverage times.

NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps had a busy day with spacesuit maintenance, computer updates, and orbital plumbing. Dominick then worked in the Quest airlock during the afternoon recharging spacesuit batteries and dumping and filling the suit water tanks. Epps swapped out a hard drive on a science laptop computer then replaced plumbing components in the Tranquility module’s bathroom, also called the water and hygiene compartment.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both from NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, were back on orbital plumbing duty Thursday. The Starliner Commander and Pilot spent the afternoon preparing the rebuilt pressure control and pump assembly motor for installation in Tranquility’s bathroom.

The orbital outpost’s three cosmonauts relaxed part of Thursday morning before going right into their standard science maintenance tasks. Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub first began outfitting cables on video cameras. Kononenko then replaced video systems hardware in the Zvezda service module as Chub studied ways to create new materials on the lunar surface. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin photographed microbe samples, dismantled a science cooler, then cleaned air ducts in the Nauka science module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA Collins xEVAS Update 

The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during its departure and flyaround on Nov. 8, 2021.
The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during its departure and flyaround on Nov. 8, 2021.

In 2022 and 2023, NASA awarded Collins Aerospace two task orders under the agency’s xEVAS (Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services) contract. The first task order was to deliver a next generation spacesuit and spacewalking system for potential use on the International Space Station with a base value of $97.2 million. The second task order was to advance additional spacesuit capabilities with a base value of $5 million.

After a thorough evaluation, NASA and Collins Aerospace have mutually agreed to descope the existing task orders on the Collins Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services contract. This descope includes ending the International Space Station suit demonstration, which was targeted for 2026. No further work will be performed on the task orders. This action was agreed upon after Collins recognized its development timeline would not support the space station’s schedule and NASA’s mission objectives.

This change to the xEVAS contract has no impact on NASA’s spacewalking capabilities on the space station. Collins will continue to support NASA’s EMU (Extravehicular Activity Mobility Unit) spacesuit and is committed to supporting space station’s ongoing spacewalking capabilities through the existing Extravehicular Space Operations Contract.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Cargo, Science, and Spacewalk Preps Fill Station’s Day

The first rays of an orbital sunrise reflect off the International Space Station's roll-out solar arrays that overshadow and augment the orbital outpost's main solar arrays.
The first rays of an orbital sunrise reflect off the International Space Station’s roll-out solar arrays that overshadow and augment the orbital outpost’s main solar arrays.

Six NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station had a day filled with cargo packing, orbital plumbing, and a spacewalk conference. The orbital outpost’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos spent their day testing a 3D printer, collecting microbial air samples, and servicing life support gear.

Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps worked throughout Wednesday packing trash and discarded cargo inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo space freighter. Cygnus is targeted to complete a five-and-a-half-month mission in mid-July and depart the station’s Unity module before descending into Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery, but safe disposal above the South Pacific Ocean.

In the midst of the cargo work, Dominick videotaped the location of station hardware stowed in the starboard side of the Columbus laboratory module. Epps swapped sample cartridges inside the Materials Science Laboratory, a research furnace that safely exposes metals, alloys, polymers, and other materials to high temperatures to discover new applications for Earth and space industries. Dyson and Barratt continued spacesuit and tool configurations in the Quest airlock.

At the end of the workday, the four NASA astronauts gathered in the Destiny laboratory module for a video conference with mission controllers on the ground. The quartet called down to the NASA engineers and discussed procedures and readiness for an upcoming spacewalk.

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams started their morning with exercise sessions before organizing cargo packed inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module. The duo then spent the afternoon working to remove and replace a failed pressure control and pump assembly module that is part of the Tranquility module’s bathroom, or waste and hygiene compartment.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko from Roscosmos spent all day Wednesday testing a 3D printer and its ability to manufacture space hardware on demand. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub spent half his day servicing plumbing hardware in the Nauka science module before working out on the advanced resistive exercise device and jogging on a treadmill during the afternoon. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin’s list of duties included collecting more microbial air samples for analysis and maintaining electronics systems.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Crews Conduct Spacewalk Review, Physics Research, and Orbital Plumbing

Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson is pictured in her spacesuit prior to the start of a spacewalk that ended early after her suit experienced a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit.
Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson is pictured in her spacesuit prior to the start of a spacewalk that ended early after her suit experienced a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit.

The nine residents aboard the International Space Station comprising both the Expedition 71 and NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test teams had a day filled with spacesuit checks, advanced microgravity research, and orbital lab maintenance.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt kept up their spacewalk preparations following the early end to Monday’s excursion. The duo’s spacewalk only lasted 31 minutes following a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on Dyson’s spacesuit. Dyson and Barratt safely ended the spacewalk, repressurized the Quest airlock, and removed their spacesuits just over an hour after the spacewalk ended.

Barratt began Tuesday morning troubleshooting Dyson’s spacesuit and inspecting the suit’s components. Afterward, he joined Dyson for ongoing procedure reviews with fellow astronauts Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps for future spacewalks.

Dyson wrapped up her day swapping out a water resupply tank in the Destiny laboratory module while Barratt serviced spacesuit lithium-ion batteries in Quest. Dominick worked in the Kibo laboratory module testing flight trajectories and gesture-recognition software on an Astrobee robotic free flyer. Epps traded foam samples inside the Columbus laboratory module for a fluid physics investigation exploring the hydrodynamics of wet foams potentially benefitting mechanical and industrial processes.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Starliner Commander and Pilot respectively, spent Tuesday inside the Harmony module maintaining orbital plumbing gear. The Crew Flight Test duo replaced the pressure control and pump assembly motor that supports the space station’s main restroom, also known as the waste and hygiene compartment, in the Tranquility module.

Working in the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting outpost, Station Commander Oleg Kononenko photographed the condition of handrails in the Zvezda, Poisk, and Nauka modules to determine of they need replacing. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub swapped out toilet components inside Zvezda during the morning. He then spent the afternoon with Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin collecting microbial air samples in the Roscosmos modules for analysis. During his morning, Grebenkin downloaded radiation data then explored spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques future crews might use on planetary missions.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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U.S. Spacewalk Update

NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt are pictured training for spacewalks at the Johnson Space Center's Neutral Bouyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas.
NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt are pictured training for spacewalks at the Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Bouyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas.

NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt are back inside the International Space Station after U.S. spacewalk 90 ended early Monday due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on Dyson’s spacesuit. The crew members were not in any danger as result of the leak. Dyson and Barratt set their suits to battery power at 8:46 a.m. EDT and opened the International Space Station’s Quest airlock hatch to the vacuum of space before reporting the water issue.

The spacewalk lasted a total of 31 minutes, when the crew suits repressurized the crew lock section of the airlock at 9:17 a.m. Dyson and Barratt removed their spacesuits at around 10:25 a.m. The crew was scheduled to remove a faulty electronics box from a communications antenna on the starboard truss of the space station. The pair also intended to collect samples for analysis to understand the ability of microorganisms to survive and reproduce on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Spacewalk Cancelled Due to Spacesuit Cooling Unit Water Leak

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps (center) is pictured assisting NASA astronauts Mike Barratt (left) and Tracy C. Dyson (right) inside the Quest airlock. Credit: NASA TV
NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps (center) is pictured assisting NASA astronauts Mike Barratt (left) and Tracy C. Dyson (right) inside the Quest airlock. Credit: NASA TV

U.S. spacewalk 90 was cancelled Monday at the International Space Station due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s spacesuit. Dyson and Mike Barratt set their suits to battery power at 8:46 a.m. EDT and opened the hatch to the space station’s Quest airlock before reporting the water issue. The crew is working with ground controllers to repressurize the crew lock section of the airlock before returning inside the station’s equipment lock.

Coverage continues on NASA+, NASA Television, YouTube, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA will provide additional information on the space station blog.

The crew was scheduled to remove a faulty electronics box from a communications antenna on the starboard truss of the space station. The pair also intended to collect samples for analysis to understand the ability of microorganisms to survive and reproduce on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA Astronauts Preparing for Spacewalk Live on NASA TV

Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt, both NASA astronauts, pose for preflight portraits at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt, both NASA astronauts, pose for preflight portraits at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

NASA’s coverage is underway on NASA+, NASA Television, YouTube, the NASA app, and the agency’s website as two astronauts will conduct a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin after the crew sets their suits to internal battery power ahead of exiting the airlock. The spacewalk is set to last about six and a half hours.

NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt will exit the station’s Quest airlock to complete the removal of a faulty electronics box, called a radio frequency group, from a communications antenna on the starboard truss of the space station. The pair also will collect samples for analysis to understand the ability of microorganisms to survive and reproduce on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

Dyson will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Barratt will serve as spacewalk crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. U.S. spacewalk 90 will be the fourth for Dyson and the third for Barratt. It is the 271st spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA, Boeing Adjust Timeline for Starliner Return

An aurora streams below Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked to the forward port on the Harmony module as the International Space Station soared 266 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia.
An aurora streams below Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked to the forward port on the Harmony module as the International Space Station soared 266 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. Photo credit: NASA/Matt Dominick

NASA and Boeing leadership are adjusting the return to Earth of the Starliner Crew Flight Test spacecraft with agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station. The move off Wednesday, June 26, deconflicts Starliner’s undocking and landing from a series of planned International Space Station spacewalks while allowing mission teams time to review propulsion system data. Listen to a full replay of the June 18 media briefing where NASA and Boeing leadership discussed the ongoing efforts.

“We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We are letting the data drive our decision making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking. Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate for us to complete an agency-level review, similar to what was done ahead of the NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 return after two months on orbit, to document the agency’s formal acceptance on proceeding as planned.”

A media telecon with mission leadership will follow the readiness review’s conclusion, and the agency will share those details as they are solidified. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft remains cleared for return in case of an emergency on the space station that required the crew to leave orbit and come back to Earth.

Mission managers are evaluating future return opportunities following the station’s two planned spacewalks on Monday, June 24, and Tuesday, July 2.

“Starliner is performing well in orbit while docked to the space station,” said Stich. “We are strategically using the extra time to clear a path for some critical station activities while completing readiness for Butch and Suni’s return on Starliner and gaining valuable insight into the system upgrades we will want to make for post-certification missions.”

Wilmore and Williams remain integrated with the Expedition 71 crew, assisting with station operations as needed and completing add-on in-flight objectives for NASA certification of Starliner.

“The crew’s feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and they know that every bit of learning we do on the Crew Flight Test will improve and sharpen our experience for future crews,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing’s Starliner Program.

The crew is not pressed for time to leave the station since there are plenty of supplies in orbit, and the station’s schedule is relatively open through mid-August.

Get the latest mission updates by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Spacewalking Team Relaxes Ahead of Monday Excursion

The seven Expedition 71 crew members gather with the two Crew Flight Test members for a team portrait aboard the space station. In the front from left are, Suni Williams, Oleg Kononenko, and Butch Wilmore. Second row from left are, Alexander Grebenkin, Tracy C. Dyson, and Mike Barratt. In the back are, Nikolai Chub, Jeanette Epps, and Matthew Dominick.
The seven Expedition 71 crew members gather with the two Crew Flight Test members for a team portrait aboard the space station. In the front from left are, Suni Williams, Oleg Kononenko, and Butch Wilmore. Second row from left are, Alexander Grebenkin, Tracy C. Dyson, and Mike Barratt. In the back are, Nikolai Chub, Jeanette Epps, and Matthew Dominick.

Relaxation and a host of lab maintenance tasks filled the end of the day for the dual crews living and working aboard the International Space Station.

Four NASA astronauts, all Expedition 71 Flight Engineers, are taking Friday and Saturday off in space following several days of spacesuit checks and spacewalking procedure reviews. Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt will be relaxing for two days before a busy day of spacewalk preparations on Sunday. The duo is scheduled to begin a spacewalk at 8 a.m. EDT on Monday to retrieve faulty radio hardware and collect samples of microorganisms.

The other two relaxing astronauts, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps, will join the spacewalkers on Sunday for the preparations before practicing Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers they will use to support Dyson and Barratt on Monday. Dominick and Epps also will help the spacewalkers suit up in the Quest airlock as well as monitor Dyson and Barratt during their six-and-a-half-hour excursion.

NASA TV will begin its spacewalk broadcast at 6:30 a.m. on Monday. Live coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams, both NASA astronauts, spent Friday testing systems inside the Starliner spacecraft. The pair entered Starliner on Friday and worked throughout the day inside the spacecraft’s cabin. The experienced astronauts powered up Starliner while docked to the Harmony module’s forward port, checked its operations and hardware, then packed cargo inside the crew ship for a return to Earth.

In the Roscosmos side of the orbital outpost, cosmonaut and station Commander Oleg Kononenko spent his day configuring video equipment, setting up Earth monitoring hardware, then cleaning smoke detectors in the Nauka science module. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub replaced medical and electronics hardware then wrapped up his day in the Zarya module inventorying space behind its panels. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin pointed a pair of cameras outside a station window and programmed them to automatically take pictures of the Earth.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Astronauts Gear Up for Spacewalk Amidst Cardiac Research

Astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt assist astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, all three from NASA, during a spacesuit fit check inside the space station's Quest airlock.
Astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt assist astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, all three from NASA, during a spacesuit fit check inside the space station’s Quest airlock.

The two crews living and working aboard the International Space Station continued gearing up for next week’s science and maintenance spacewalk. The nine space lab inhabitants also focused on long-running heart research and continuous maintenance on orbital lab systems.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt are getting ready for the first spacewalk of the Expedition 71 mission set to begin at 8 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 24. The suited up duo will exit the depressurized  Quest airlock into the vacuum of space for six-and-a-half hours of radio hardware removal tasks and sample collections of microorganisms that may have exited through station vents.

The veteran astronauts joined Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps, both first time NASA flight engineers, studying and practicing the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support Monday’s spacewalk. Afterward, the astronaut quartet called down to mission controllers and discussed readiness for the communications hardware and research excursion. This will be Dyson’s fourth career spacewalk since 2010 when she was an Expedition 24 Flight Engineer. This will Barratt’s third spacewalk since 2009 when he was an Expedition 20 Flight Engineer.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Commander and Pilot respectively for the Boeing Crew Flight Test, helped tidy up the orbital lab on Thursday and adjusted seats inside the Starliner spacecraft. Wilmore first swapped out thermal gear that protects electronics hardware then refreshed crew provisions inside the orbital outpost. Williams packed trash inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter, swapped out plumbing components, then exchanged space physics research hardware. The two experienced crewmates also entered Starliner and configured the seats aboard the spacecraft before its upcoming departure.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub took turns on Thursday staying still for a period of time while wearing sensors recording their heart activity. The yearslong Roscosmos space cardiac study is helping researchers understand how the human heart adapts to long-term weightlessness. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin assisted the duo with the heart research, then set up a camera for automated photography of the Earth’s surface, and finally focused on life support maintenance.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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