Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Crews Conduct Spacewalk Review, Physics Research, and Orbital Plumbing

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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Mark Garcia

U.S. Spacewalk Update

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

Spacewalk Cancelled Due to Spacesuit Cooling Unit Water Leak

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Mark Garcia

NASA Astronauts Preparing for Spacewalk Live on NASA TV

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

NASA, Boeing Adjust Timeline for Starliner Return

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.

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Danielle Sempsrott