Spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the Nauka science module to deploy a radiator and install gap spanners on the European robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk May 12 at 5:01 p.m. EDT after 5 hours and 14 minutes.
Prokopyev and Petelin completed their major objectives, which included deploying a radiator on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module, connecting electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic lines, and filling a pair of cooling loops with coolant.
This was the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It was the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Roscosmos spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the International Space Station’s Roscosmos segment.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin began a spacewalk at 11:47 a.m. EDT to deploy a radiator on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module.
Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Prokopyev is wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It is the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Cosmonaut Spacewalkers Exiting Station Soon Live on NASA TV
Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev (left) is conducting his sixth career spacewalk. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin (right) is conducting his fourth spacewalk.
NASA Television coverage is underway for today’s spacewalk with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. The duo will deploy a radiator on the on the International Space Station’sNauka science module, connect electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic lines, and fill a pair of colling loops on the radiator with coolant. Coverage of the spacewalk is on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Prokopyev and Petelin will exit out of the Poisk module at about 11:55 a.m. EDT. Prokopyev is wearing the Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing the suit with blue stripes.
This is the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It is the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Cosmonauts GO for Spacewalk, Astronauts Work on Science Gear
Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin install a radiator on the Nauka science module during a spacewalk on April 19, 2023.
Station managers have given the go for a spacewalk on Friday to deploy and activate a radiator on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 69 crew is continuing its ongoing human research activities and science hardware maintenance.
Two cosmonauts will exit the Poisk airlock in their Orlan spacesuits at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Friday beginning a spacewalk to deploy and activate a radiator on the Nauka science module. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will spend up to seven hours in the vacuum of space configuring the same radiator they installed on Nauka during a spacewalk on April 19. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev will remain inside the orbiting lab assisting the spacewalkers in and out of their Orlans and monitoring their excursion.
The trio from Roscosmos spent Thursday morning completing their spacewalk preparations checking Orlan suit components, finalizing procedure reviews, and discussing their readiness with mission controllers. Prokopyev and Petelin then took the rest of the afternoon off, while Fedyaev collected radiation detectors and cleaned electronics and computer gear.
The four astronauts supporting the U.S. segment of the orbiting lab spent Thursday studying the effects of microgravity on humans and servicing an array of advanced science gear.
NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen spent all day Thursday helping doctors understand how the human body adapts to living long-term in weightlessness. He processed his blood and saliva samples during the morning then stowed them inside the Kubik incubator for 24 hours for the Immunity Assay investigation. After lunchtime, Bowen attached sensors and breathing gear to himself that recorded his aerobic capacity while he pedaled on the Destiny laboratory module’s exercise cycle.
Astronauts Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) focused their efforts on maintaining a variety of research hardware throughout the day. Rubio collected sound level readings aboard the station, installed an air quality monitor, and reconfigured a science education computer. Hoburg charged Actiwatches that monitor an astronaut’s heart activity and sleep cycle, replaced handles on the Human Research Facility, and finally cleaned and inspected U.S. module hatches. Alneyadi set up Bio-Monitor hardware and software that collects medical data from a headband and vest loaded with sensors that he is wearing for the Space Health study.
Spacesuit Work, Eye Checks, Human Research Fill Crew Day
Roscosmos spacewalker Sergey Prokopyev works outside the space station to install an experiment airlock on the Nauka science module on May 3, 2023.
Two cosmonauts spent the day readying the spacesuits they will wear for a spacewalk scheduled for Friday. The rest of the Expedition 69 crew concentrated on eye exams, orbital lab maintenance, and human research aboard the International Space Station.
Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are getting ready for their third spacewalk together since April set to begin on Friday. They will exit the Poisk airlock at 11:55 a.m. EDT in their Orlan spacesuits and translate toward the Nauka science module to deploy and activate a radiator they installed on April 19 during a previous spacewalk. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 11:30 a.m.
The duo spent Wednesday inside Poisk setting up their Orlan spacesuits for the planned six-plus-hour spacewalk. They checked the suits for leaks, then installed batteries, helmet cameras, and other communications gear on the Orlans. Prokopyev and Petelin coordinated the suit checks with mission controllers ensuring the suits were in operating condition and suit data was being received on the ground.
NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen and Frank Rubio worked on a pair of different spacesuits, the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), deconfiguring them for stowage in the Quest airlock. The two astronauts took turns dumping water and cleaning cooling loops inside the two EMUs that were worn by Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi during a spacewalk on April 28.
At the end of the day, Bowen joined Alneyadi for eye checks using standard medical imaging gear patients on Earth would find in an optometrist’s office. Alneyadi and NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg partnered together throughout Wednesday servicing station module hatches and power supply systems. The pair first inspected the Unity module’s top hatch that connects to the orbital lab’s Z1 truss. Next, Alneyadi went on and inspected and cleaned the rest of the hatches in the station’s U.S. segment. Hoburg moved on and installed an antenna power supply system with its two power cables inside the Tranquility module.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev conducted two different human research experiments on Wednesday. For the first experiment, Fedyaev attached sensors to himself then rested while his cardiac activity was recorded to understand blood pressure in microgravity. For his second experiment, Fedyaev wore a cap with electrodes that monitored his responses while practicing simulated spacecraft or robotic piloting techniques for future planetary missions on a computer.
