Tag: spacewalk

The Expedition 70 crew participated in standard post-spacewalk activities today including health checks, spacesuit work, and a team conference. Meanwhile, science remained on Thursday’s schedule as the International Space Station residents studied future piloting techniques and space manufacturing.

NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara had their first post-spacewalk medical exams on Thursday. The duo spent a few moments measuring each other’s vital signs including temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. Afterward, the pair began cleaning up the Quest airlock and deactivating their spacesuits.

Moghbeli also downlinked imagery captured using spacewalk cameras on Wednesday. She then photographed the spacesuit gloves for inspection and analysis by mission controllers on the ground. O’Hara logged into a computer and participated in a cognitive assessment.

After lunchtime, the two astronauts joined Commander Andreas Mogensen and Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa for a conference with ground specialists and discussed the previous day’s spacewalk activities. Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) also spent an hour-and-a-half servicing the spacesuits the spacewalkers wore the day before. Satoshi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) joined the trio at the end of the day for eye scans using the Ultrasound 2 device.

The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts spent Thursday focused on space research and lab maintenance in the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment. Cosmonaut Nikolai Chub split his day on a pair of different experiments. During the morning, he explored spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques crews may use on future planetary missions. He then spent the afternoon testing a 3D printer that could help crews become less dependent on supply missions launched from Earth. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Konstantin Borisov worked throughout the day maintaining a variety of life support and electronics hardware.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 8:28 p.m. EST, Nov. 9, for launch of the company’s 29th commercial resupply services (CRS-29) mission to the International Space Station. The additional time allows for completion of final prelaunch closeout ahead of liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Prior to every Dragon mission, SpaceX conducts extensive prelaunch checkouts at every stage of refurbishment and final integration to ensure the spacecraft is ready to safely fly its next mission. During the initial propellant load in preparation for the CRS-29 mission, teams identified a leak of NTO (nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer) in a Draco thruster valve, which per standard procedure required a pause to the operation to troubleshoot. The team inspected the valve and respective data, and decided to replace the thruster.

SpaceX continues to keep NASA informed throughout the process and the joint team collectively decided to shift launch to account for the initial part replacement and subsequent system checkouts and data reviews.

With a Nov. 9 launch, the spacecraft will arrive at the space station about 5:20 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.

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NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara concluded their spacewalk today at 2:47 p.m. EDT after 6 hours and 42 minutes.

Moghbeli and O’Hara were able to complete one of the spacewalk’s two major objectives, replacing one of the 12 trundle bearing assemblies on the port solar alpha rotary joint, which allows the arrays to track the Sun and generate electricity to power the station. Mission Control told the station crew that the solar array is functioning well after the bearing replacement. Spacewalkers also removed a handling bar fixture to prepare for future installation of a roll-out solar array and properly configured a cable that was previously interfering with an external camera.

The astronauts had planned to remove and stow a communications electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group, but there was not enough time during the spacewalk to complete the work. The duo lifted some multilayer insulation to make a better assessment of how to approach the job before replacing the insulation and deferring the task to a future spacewalk.

During the activity, one tool bag was inadvertently lost. Flight controllers spotted the tool bag using external station cameras. The tools were not needed for the remainder of the spacewalk. Mission Control analyzed the bag’s trajectory and determined that risk of recontacting the station is low and that the onboard crew and space station are safe with no action required.

Moghbeli and O’Hara are in the midst of a science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 9:16 p.m. EST Tuesday, Nov. 7, for launch of the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The additional time allows for completion of final prelaunch processing ahead of liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and cargo Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Television coverage of launch will begin at 8:45 p.m. The spacecraft, which is carrying approximately 6,500 pounds of supplies, research, and hardware will arrive at the space station shortly before 12 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, with coverage beginning at 10:15 a.m.

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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 Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara began a spacewalk at 8:05 a.m. EDT today to conduct science research and station maintenance.

Moghbeli, designated extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), is wearing a suit with red stripes. O’Hara, designated extravehicular crew member 2 (EV 2), is in an unmarked suit. Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

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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 Television coverage of today’s spacewalk with NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara is now underway and is also available on the NASA app, the space station blog and the agency’s website.

The crew members of Expedition 70 are preparing to exit the International Space Station‘s Quest airlock for a spacewalk expected to begin about 8:05 a.m. EDT and last approximately six-and-a-half hours.

Moghbeli and O’Hara will exit the station’s Quest airlock to remove an electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group from the station’s truss that was temporarily stowed after a faulty communications antenna was replaced in Dec. 2021. They also will replace one of 12 trundle bearing assemblies on a solar alpha rotary joint. The bearings enable the station’s solar arrays to rotate to track the Sun as the station orbits the Earth to collect and store electricity for power generation for station systems.

Moghbeli will serve as extravehicular activity (EVA) crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. O’Hara will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. U.S. EVA 89 will be the first spacewalk for both crew members.

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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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Monday was a busy day for the seven Expedition 70 crew members packed with spacesuit work, microgravity research, and cargo operations. Two astronauts are also due to exit the International Space Station on Wednesday for a maintenance spacewalk.

Two astronauts and a cosmonaut joined each other on Monday afternoon practicing powering up spacesuits and suiting up their spacewalking crewmates inside the Quest airlock. The trio of flight engineers, including Jasmin Moghbeli from NASA, Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Nikolai Chub from Roscosmos, activated suit life support and communications components, checked water and oxygen levels, then performed a suit fit check.

Moghbeli and NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara are scheduled to start a spacewalk on Wednesday at 8:05 a.m. EDT for about seven hours of communications and solar array work. The duo will remove an electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group that was part of a communications antenna system. They also will replace one of 12 trundle bearing assemblies on the station’s port solar alpha rotary joint. The bearings enable the station’s solar arrays to track the Sun.

O’Hara took a day off from spacewalk preparations on Monday and focused on space botany and cargo tasks. She first replaced components inside the Plant Habitat facility to prepare for an experiment investigating how tomato plants defend against disease in the weightless environment. Next, she swapped cargo in and out of the Cygnus space freighter. She finally cleaned up cardiac and neuron cell research hardware to make space for an upcoming SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.

ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen worked throughout Monday staging gear that will soon be packed inside the visiting Dragon cargo spacecraft. He also readied hardware that will be used during Wednesday’s spacewalk. At the end of the day, he joined Furukawa and practiced Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers on a computer to support the spacewalkers.

Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko began his day wearing a helmet packed with sensors practicing piloting techniques crew members might use on future planetary missions. Afterward, he worked on Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo craft maintenance then practiced a medical emergency with O’Hara and Chub. Chub also worked on a 3D printing experiment testing manufacturing in space to reduce dependency on supplies from Earth.

First-time space flyer and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov spent an hour on an Earth photography session during the morning. He would then spend the rest of the day on a variety of life support maintenance tasks throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

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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 preparations and ongoing human research kept the Expedition 70 crew busy at the end of the week. Meanwhile, two cosmonauts continued cleaning up after completing a spacewalk at the International Space Station in the middle of the week.

NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli are scheduled to exit the Quest airlock on Nov. 1 for a six-and-half-hour maintenance spacewalk on the orbital lab. The duo will remove an electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group that was part of a communications antenna system. They also will replace one of 12 trundle bearing assemblies on the station’s port solar alpha rotary joint. The bearings enable the station’s solar arrays to track the Sun.

The duo started Friday morning organizing their spacewalking tools in Quest. In the afternoon, both astronauts tested the functionality of their spacesuit helmets, cameras, and other suit components. Moghbeli also printed checklists to be attached to spacesuit cuffs and verified the power capacity of the spacesuit jetpacks.

O’Hara spent the middle of Friday working with doctors on the ground for the CIPHER human research study. She scanned her arteries for the cardiovascular portion of the investigation that is composed of 14 medical studies. The experiment seeks to observe the psychological and physiological changes crew members will go through while living in space and farther away from Earth.

Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) began his day assisting O’Hara and Moghbeli when they were configuring their spacewalk tools. Afterward, he worked in the Kibo laboratory module setting up airlock hardware. He wrapped up his day replacing avionics gear inside the Destiny laboratory module. Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) cleared his schedule on Friday exercising during the morning and relaxing the rest of the day.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub spent Friday on standard post-spacewalk activities. The duo cleaned their Orlan spacesuits and uninstalled their suits’ batteries, lights, and tethers. They also reconfigured the Poisk airlock and called down to Roscosmos mission controllers for a post-spacewalk conference.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov collected air samples from Poisk for analysis then downloaded radiation data collected from sensors on the spacewalkers’ Orlan spacesuits. In the afternoon, he practiced spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques on a computer that may inform how crew members operate on future planetary missions.

The Expedition 70 crew is gearing up for another spacewalk planned at the beginning of November for maintenance on the outside of the International Space Station. The next United States orbital segment spacewalk now is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1, to allow the International Space Station crew and flight control team additional time to prepare for the excursion.

NASA astronauts  Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli will exit the station’s Quest airlock to remove an electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group that was part of a communications antenna system. They also will replace one of 12 trundle bearing assemblies on the station’s port solar alpha rotary joint. The bearings enable the station’s solar arrays to track the Sun. The spacewalk was previously planned for Monday, Oct. 30.

U.S. Spacewalk 89 will be the first for both Moghbeli and O’Hara. Moghbeli will serve as extravehicular activity crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. O’Hara will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit.

O’Hara and Moghbeli worked throughout Thursday checking tools and readying hardware they will take with them outside the Quest airlock for the maintenance spacewalk. The pair was also joined by astronauts Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) reviewing their spacewalk procedures during the afternoon.

O’Hara began her day installing communications hardware to support a laser technology study. Moghbeli spent a few moments on research maintenance removing a failed electronic unit from a science freezer and packing it for stowage. Mogensen analyzed station air samples then transferred data collected from wearable health-monitoring gear.

Furukawa had time throughout the day to focus on a variety of science activities including examining microgravity’s effects on astronauts and setting up a biology microscope. The two-time station visitor first took a cognition test measuring how long-term space missions impact a crew member’s brain structure and function. Next, Furukawa prepared a microscope to observe how cells respond to weightlessness. He later scanned the neck, shoulder, and leg veins of Mogensen using the Ultrasound 2 device with assistance from doctors on the ground.

The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts slept in Thursday following a seven-hour and 41-minute spacewalk the day before. Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov awoke mid-afternoon and conducted post-spacewalk cleanup activities then held a conference with specialists on the ground. Borisov would later collect air samples for analysis and configure life support gear in the Nauka science module.

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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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