Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Astronauts Prepare for Spacewalk Today Live on NASA TV

NASA Television coverage of today’s spacewalk with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover on the International Space Station is now underway and available on the agency’s website.

The crew is in the airlock and have put on their suits in preparation to exit the airlock and begin today’s activities.

Hopkins and Glover will work on completing cable and antenna rigging for the “Bartolomeo” science payloads platform outside the ESA (European Space Agency) Columbus module. The duo also will configure a Ka-band terminal that will enable an independent, high-bandwidth communication link to European ground stations. After completing the upgrades on the Columbus module, Hopkins and Glover will remove a grapple fixture bracket on the far port (left) truss in preparation for future power system upgrades.

Leading the mission control team today is Flight Director Rick Henfling with support from Sarah Korona as the lead spacewalk officer.

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

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Mark Garcia

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NASA TV Broadcasts Science Upgrade Spacewalk on Wednesday

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover are scheduled to depart the International Space Station’s Quest airlock Wednesday for the first in a series of spacewalks to upgrade station hardware and systems.

The duo will set their spacesuits to battery power about 7:05 a.m. EST tomorrow, signifying the start of their spacewalk. NASA will begin its live coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 5:30 a.m.

During their spacewalk, the two astronauts will focus on completing cable and antenna rigging for the “Bartolomeo” science payloads platform outside the ESA (European Space Agency) Columbus module. The duo also will configure a Ka-band terminal that will enable an independent, high-bandwidth communication link to European ground stations. After completing the upgrades on the Columbus module, Hopkins and Glover will remove a grapple fixture bracket on the far port (left) truss in preparation for future power system upgrades.

The spacewalk will be the third in Hopkins’ career and the first for Glover, and the 233rd spacewalk overall in support of space station assembly and maintenance. Hopkins will be designated extravehicular crew member 1 and wear a spacesuit bearing red stripes. Glover will be extravehicular crew member 2, wearing a suit with no stripes.

Hopkins and Glover arrived at the space station in November as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission.

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

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Mark Garcia

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Astronauts Ready for Wednesday Science Upgrades Spacewalk

Two NASA astronauts are ready for the first spacewalk of the year on Wednesday with support from two of their fellow Expedition 64 Flight Engineers. The rest of the crew aboard the International Space Station kept up research and life support operations today.

Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover will exit the Quest airlock after setting their spacesuits to battery power tomorrow about 7 a.m. EST. They will maneuver to the Columbus laboratory module and spend about six-and-a-half hours outfitting its Bartolomeo science platform with an antenna and cables. NASA TV will begin live coverage of all the spacewalk activities at 5:30 a.m.

The spacewalkers will be supported by Kate Rubins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA throughout the duration of the excursion. Rubins will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm as Noguchi backs her up. They will also help Hopkins and Glover in and out of their spacesuits.

The quartet got together in the middle of the day for a final procedures review with specialists in Mission Control. Afterward, Hopkins and Glover staged their tools and safety tethers inside Quest where they take them into the vacuum of space.

The three other station residents rolled on with space science, cargo operations and life support maintenance.

NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker set up fluid physics hardware for an experiment seeking ways to improve spacecraft systems such as fuel tanks and propulsion. Roscosmos Commander Sergey Ryzhikov refueled the Progress 76 resupply ship ahead of its Feb. 9 departure.  Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov worked on a navigation computer and checked on Earth observation and radiation studies.

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Mark Garcia

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Station Crew Gearing Up for Wednesday’s Spacewalk

Several Expedition 64 crewmembers are gearing up for the first two spacewalks of 2021. The rest of the crew spent Monday on science and maintenance tasks aboard the International Space Station.

Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover spent Monday configuring the hardware they will install on Europe’s Columbus laboratory module during Wednesday’s spacewalk. The spacewalkers will attach a new antenna and route cables on the  Bartolomeo science platform outside Columbus.

Hopkins and Glover will set their U.S. spacesuits to battery power around 7 a.m. EST Wednesday signifying the start of their spacewalk. NASA TV will begin its live coverage at 5:30 a.m. as both astronauts prepare to exit the station’s Quest airlock into the vacuum of space.

Their fellow astronauts Kate Rubins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA will assist Hopkins and Glover during the first spacewalk. The duo practiced robotics maneuvers today on a computer and reviewed spacewalk procedures. Rubins will be the prime operator of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, with Noguchi backing her up, to assist both spacewalkers.

The second spacewalk will take place on Feb. 1 with the same two spacewalkers. This time they will wrap up battery maintenance on the port side of the orbiting lab’s truss structure. The duo will then move over to the Kibo laboratory module to remove and replace high-definition video cameras. NASA TV will again start at 5:30 a.m. with the spacewalk set to begin about 7 a.m.

The three other crew members aboard the orbiting lab focused on space research and lab maintenance throughout Monday.

NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker explored ways to produce vitamins and other nutrients to enhance a crew member’s diet while living in space for the BioNutrients study. Commander Sergey Ryzhikov joined his fellow cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov for Russian research in the morning. Ryzhikov then moved on to packing a Russian cargo craft ahead of its Feb. 9 departure. Kud-Sverchkov worked on Earth observations then serviced computer gear.

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Mark Garcia

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Station Boosts Orbit During Research and Spacewalk Preps

DNA, time perception and combustion investigations filled the research schedule aboard the International Space Station today. The Expedition 64 crew is also training for a pair of spacewalks set to start next week.

Researchers are studying how microgravity affects a human’s DNA and even time perception as astronauts spend more time living in space. Radiation and weightlessness can impact DNA while the lack of an up-down orientation and a day-night cycle may influence spatial and time perception.

Biologist and NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, the first person to sequence DNA in space in 2016, was once again preparing DNA samples for sequencing to learn how to monitor crew health and identify organisms in space. She also replaced fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to maintain safe fuel and flame studies aboard the orbiting lab.

Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA took turns Thursday morning helping researchers understand the subjective changes in time perception they may experience in space. The duo wore a virtual reality headset, used a trackball and performed tests to measure their timed responses.

All three astronauts then joined NASA Flight Engineer Victor Glover in the afternoon to practice robotics maneuvers they will use during a pair of spacewalks set for Jan. 27 and Feb. 1. Hopkins and Glover will be the spacewalkers for both excursions. The duo will set up European science and communications hardware on the first spacewalk and configure battery gear and high definition cameras on the second.

The orbiting lab slightly boosted its orbit this morning after the Progress 75 cargo craft fired its engines for nearly seven minutes. The new altitude readies the station to receive a new cargo craft, the Progress 77, when it docks on Feb. 17 to the Rassvet module.

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Mark Garcia

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