Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Expedition 75 is Go for Tuesday Spacewalk to Install High-Speed Antenna

Two astronauts will exit the International Space Station on Tuesday and conduct a spacewalk to finish installing a high-speed space-to-ground antenna. The duo completed final spacewalk preparations on Monday with two of their Expedition 75 crewmates while the rest of the orbital residents studied the human respiratory system, activated Earth observation gear, and packed a cargo spacecraft prior to its departure.

Flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) wrapped up their spacewalk preparations on Monday with tool configurations, spacesuit leak checks, and procedure reviews inside the Quest airlock. They are scheduled to set their spacesuits to battery power at 8:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday signifying the start of a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to finish installing an antenna on the Z1 truss segment above the Unity module. NASA’s live spacewalk coverage will begin at 7 a.m.

NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, flight engineer and station commander respectively, assisted Menon and Adenot with their spacewalk preparations throughout Monday. All four astronauts gathered together at the end of their shift for a conference with mission controllers on the ground to discuss spacewalk readiness and robotics operations.

On Tuesday, Hathaway will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm from inside the orbital outpost with Menon attached and guide him along the antenna installation worksite.  Adenot will remain tethered to the Z1 where she and Menon will install the antenna and make the precise connections required to activate high‑speed transmissions with mission control. Meir will monitor the spacewalkers and work with Hathaway to help the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits.

Roscosmos flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina took turns at the beginning of their shift on Monday wearing an acoustic sensor around their necks that recorded their rapid exhalation rate. Doctors are exploring how microgravity affects air and fluid motion in the lungs. Afterward, Dubrov packed the Progress 94 resupply ship with trash and obsolete gear in advance of its departure in September. Kikina set up and activated Earth observation gear to automatically photograph islands and volcanoes throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev programmed a different set of Earth observation hardware to capture multi-wavelength imagery of African lakes and the continent’s Atlantic coastline.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Week Ends With Spacewalk Preps and Space Exercise Research

The Expedition 75 crew wrapped up the work week getting ready for a spacewalk to finish installing a high-speed antenna on the International Space Station. The orbital residents also explored new space exercise techniques, studied the human respiratory system, and completed an Earth observation session.

On Friday, flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) took turns inside the Quest airlock organizing the tools they will use during a spacewalk scheduled for 8:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. The pair configured the tethers they will use to stay secured to the orbital outpost, checked the bags carrying an array of specialized tools and parts, and staged them for readiness inside Quest. Adenot also studied her spacewalking procedures on a computer using 3D animation software that depicts her tasks outside of the orbital outpost.

The spacewalkers will be assisted throughout Tuesday’s excursion by flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir, both NASA astronauts. Hathway and Meir joined each other Friday and studied the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support Menon and Adenot as they install a spare space-to-ground antenna to the Z1 truss segment above the station’s Unity module.

During Tuesday’s spacewalk, Menon will ride the Canadarm2 and retrieve a spare antenna released by Adenot from an external platform. The duo will then translate to Z1, install the antenna, and make the precise electrical and data connections required to activate high‑speed transmissions with mission control. Next, Adenot will hand Menon the failed space-to-ground antenna from its temporary stowage on Z1. They will then install the old antenna on the same external platform that housed the spare finishing the swap. If time allows, the spacewalkers will also replace a retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module, which improves navigation, tracking, and alignment data for visiting spacecraft such as the SpaceX Dragon.

Hathway and Adenot still had time scheduled on Friday to study advanced workout methods to maintain muscle and bone health while living and working in microgravity. Hathaway began his shift collecting his blood sample to be analyzed as part of the Muscle Stimulation experiment. Afterward, he applied electrodes to his legs that sent electrical signals stimulating his muscles as he strapped himself in the Columbus laboratory module and relaxed. Adenot wore the EasyMotion-2 suit packed with electrodes that triggered muscle contractions while she jogged on the Tranquility module’s treadmill. Results from the investigations may enhance space exercise and enable faster muscle recovery after returning to Earth’s gravity.

Menon and Meir focused on hardware maintenance with their extra time at the end of the week. Menon worked in the Kibo laboratory module and removed a scientific payload from Kibo’s airlock that had been exposed to the vacuum of space. Meir refilled a spacesuit tank and a liquid cooling and ventilation garment with water to provide thermal conditioning to suit systems and keep astronauts comfortable during a spacewalk.

Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev started Friday helping scientists understand how weightlessness affects the respiratory system by wearing an acoustic sensor around his neck that recorded his rapid exhalation. Next, he documented radiation exposure measurements collected from the Nauka, Zvezda, and Zarya modules. Flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina joined each other at the beginning of their shift and uninstalled automated Earth observation gear that photographed landmarks on the ground during the crew’s sleep shift. Dubrov then inspected ethernet cables and network connections while Kikina took inventory and photographed lab hardware stowed throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Spacewalk Preps Continue to Finish Antenna Installation Job Next Week

On Tuesday, Aug. 25, NASA flight engineer Anil Menon and ESA (European Space Agency) flight engineer Sophie Adenot will conduct a spacewalk to finish replacing the space‑to‑ground antenna on the International Space Station. The pair began the work on Aug. 18.

Menon will ride the Canadarm2 robotic arm to retrieve a spare antenna that Adenot will release from an external platform. Together, they will install the antenna on the Z1 truss segment above the station’s Unity module. The astronauts then will make the precise electrical and data connections needed to activate the spare antenna for high‑speed transmissions with mission control. 

If time allows, Menon and Adenot will attempt a get‑ahead task to replace a retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module, which improves navigation data for visiting spacecraft. Menon will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Adenot will serve as crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. NASA’s live spacewalk coverage on Aug. 25 begins at 7 a.m. EDT. The spacewalk is expected to start at about 8:35 a.m. and last roughly six and a half hours.

NASA also is planning a fourth spacewalk on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to connect power channel cables and data relay systems as part of ongoing maintenance. However, the replacement of the retroreflector would become the primary task if it is not completed on Aug. 25. The agency will make a decision on whether the early September spacewalk is needed following installation of the space-to-ground antenna.

Inside station on Thursday, Adenot and Menon were joined by station commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Jack Hathaway, both NASA astronauts, for spacewalk procedure reviews throughout the day. Meir and Hathway will help the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits next week. Meir will also monitor the spacewalkers and assist Hathaway as he operates the Canadarm2 with Menon attached. The four astronauts also called down to mission controllers at the end of their shift on Thursday to discuss spacewalk procedures and robotics operations.

The astronauts still had time for research and lab maintenance on Thursday. Meir participated in a relaxation study to help reduce stress and improve sleep during a long-duration space mission. Hathaway photographed 3D colloidal crystal samples growing for a space manufacturing investigation. Menon and Adenot spent their extra time on light maintenance duties servicing life support and communications systems.

The three Expedition75 cosmonauts stayed focused on their station research and lap upkeep tasks for Roscosmos. Flight engineer Anna Kikina jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill as electrodes measured her heart rate for a regularly scheduled fitness assessment. Afterward, she assisted flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov as he installed Earth observation gear to automatically capture visible and near-infrared photography of rivers, lakes, and mountains throughout Europe and Asia. Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his shift on orbital plumbing and ventilation maintenance.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Expedition 75 Cleans Up After Spacewalk, Keeps Up Microgravity Research

The Expedition 75 crew members cleaned up on Wednesday after a spacewalk that saw two astronauts uninstall an antenna outside the International Space Station. The lab residents also continued their microgravity research exploring the circulatory system, studying artificial intelligence, and photographing the Earth.

Flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) are cleaning up after a six-hour and 23-minute spacewalk on Tuesday. During the spacewalk, the duo disconnected a failed high-speed antenna, then secured it with a long-duration tie down on the orbital outpost’s Z1 truss segment. A spare antenna will be installed in its place on the Z1 during a future spacewalk.

Adenot spent a portion of Wednesday inside the Quest airlock refilling spacesuit water tanks that provided cooling to the spacewalkers and their suit systems. Afterward, station commander Jessica Meir of NASA joined her in Quest and helped power down spacesuit components, remove suit batteries, and stow the suit hardware. At the end of Wednesday’s shift, the duo joined Menon and NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway and called down to mission controllers to discuss their experience during the previous day’s spacewalk. All four astronauts had a couple of hours set aside throughout Wednesday to relax after Tuesday’s intense spacewalking and robotics activities.

While Adenot was servicing spacesuits on Wednesday, Menon was in the Columbus laboratory module conducting blood tests and vein scans with assistance from fellow astronauts Meir and Hathaway. Menon began his shift collecting his blood sample, spinning it in a centrifuge, then analyzing the sample with help from Meir. Next, he operated the Ultrasound 3 device and scanned Hathaway’s veins and measured his blood pressure as doctors on the ground monitored in real-time. The biomedical activities were part of the Venus Flow investigation that is exploring space-caused health risks to blood flow.

The space station’s three cosmonauts continued their science and maintenance activities for Roscosmos, their home space agency. The experienced trio focused on human research, advanced technology, and Earth observations while maintaining life support systems.

Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev kicked off his shift wearing cuffs on his arm, wrist, and fingers to measure his blood pressure adding to the medical knowledge of microgravity’s effect on the circulatory system. Next, he pointed a multi-spectral camera at Earth and photographed North American lakes. Flight engineer Anna Kikina continued testing artificial intelligence tools to transcribe crew reports for review by Roscosmos mission controllers. Flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov attached electrodes to himself to measure his heart rate while he jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill for a regularly scheduled fitness assessment.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

NASA, ESA Astronauts Wrap Up Station Spacewalk

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 2:52 p.m. EDT.

During the 6-hour, 23-minute spacewalk, Menon and Adenot completed the removal of a failed Space-to-Ground antenna and performed a long-duration tie down of the unit on the space station truss structure. The crew members needed more time than expected to disconnect electrical cables and loosen bolts, delaying work to install a replacement antenna. The installation work is expected to be completed during a future spacewalk.

Near the end of the spacewalk, the crew also performed clean up tasks and an inspection and swap of a portable foot restraint near the Quest airlock.

The space station continues to operate with a fully functional Space-to-Ground antenna, which provides high-data rate communications with NASA’s Tracking Data and Relay Satellites and control centers across the world, including the agency’s Mission Control Center in Houston.

On the ground, mission planners will discuss the forward plan for the work scheduled to be completed during the next spacewalk, which is currently planned for Tuesday, Aug. 25.

U.S. Spacewalk 97 was Menon’s second career spacewalk and first for Adenot. She is the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk. It also was the 282nd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

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

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Mark A. Garcia