Astronauts Get Ready for Spacewalk While Science Continues

Astronauts Get Ready for Spacewalk While Science Continues

(Clockwise from bottom) Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei, Megan McArthur, Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet participate in robotics training to support the solar array installation spacewalks.
(Clockwise from bottom) Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei, Megan McArthur, Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet participate in robotics training to support the solar array installation spacewalks.

Four Expedition 65 crew members spent Thursday preparing for the third spacewalk to continue new roll-out solar array installation work. The other three International Space Station crew members continued with variety of space research.

Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet are scheduled to exit the space station shortly after they set their U.S. spacesuits to battery power at 8 a.m. EDT on Friday. The veteran spacewalking duo will work about 6.5 hours to begin installing a second ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) on the station’s Port-6 truss structure.

Both astronauts set up their spacesuits then readied their tools inside the U.S. Quest airlock just before lunchtime today. Afterward, they joined NASA Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Mark Vande Hei and reviewed the procedures and robotics activities planned for Friday’s excursion. NASA TV will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 6:30 a.m. on both the agency’s website and the NASA app.

Commander Akihiko Hoshide started his day swapping samples inside the Materials Science Laboratory. Those samples, such as metals, polymers and alloys, are exposed to high temperatures possibly leading to new applications or new materials on Earth and in space. The three-time station visitor also investigated how microgravity affects bacteria and ways to counteract harmful changes for the Oral Biofilms experiment.

In the Russian segment of the orbiting lab, Roscosmos Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov partnered together and explored how long-term spaceflight impacts the blood circulation system. Novitskiy later worked in the Columbus laboratory module trapping clouds of particles for a plasma crystal experiment. Dubrov also researched piloting techniques that astronauts might use to maneuver future spacecraft and robots on planetary surfaces.

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Norah Moran

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Afternoon of Spacewalk Preps during Full Day of Physics, Biology

Afternoon of Spacewalk Preps during Full Day of Physics, Biology

NASA spacewalker Shane Kimbrough is pictured during a spacewalk to install new roll out solar arrays on the International Space Station's Port-6 truss structure.
NASA spacewalker Shane Kimbrough is pictured during a spacewalk to install new roll out solar arrays on the International Space Station’s Port-6 truss structure.

Wednesday was a light duty day for the five Expedition 65 astronauts, two of whom will go on their third spacewalk this month. The two Russian flight engineers aboard the International Space Station stayed  focused on cardiac research and plasma crystal physics throughout the day.

Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet joined NASA Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Mark Vande Hei for robotics training ahead of Friday’s spacewalk. The quartet reviewed and practiced robotics maneuvers on a computer planned to support the installation of the station’s second roll out solar array.

Kimbrough and Pesquet will begin their third spacewalk in nine days on Friday at 8 a.m. EDT when they set their U.S. spacesuits to battery power. The veteran spacewalkers will spend about six-and-a-half hours on the Port-6 truss structure installing the second roll out solar array on the opposite side of where they installed the first solar array. NASA TV, on the agency’s website and the NASA app, will begin its live coverage at 6:30 a.m.

All four astronauts, including Commander Akihiko Hoshide, spent the morning relaxing following a busy period during the first two solar array installation spacewalks. Hoshide had a full day of rest as the other four astronauts spent the afternoon concentrating on Friday’s spacewalk preparations.

In the orbiting lab’s Russian segment, Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy continued trapping clouds of particles using both neon and argon gas for a plasma crystal experiment. He also joined cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov attaching electrodes to themselves and monitoring their cardiac activity before exercise activities. Dubrov also worked on a navigation study to precisely predict the location of the space station during its orbit.

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Mark Garcia

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Crew Looks to Friday Spacewalk, Cargo Ship Swap Next Week

Crew Looks to Friday Spacewalk, Cargo Ship Swap Next Week

Spacewalkers (from left) Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet work to complete the installation of a roll out solar array on June 20, 2021,
Spacewalkers (from left) Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet work to complete the installation of a roll out solar array on June 20, 2021,

The Expedition 65 crew continued its space research activities today while two astronauts prepared for their third spacewalk in less than two weeks. The International Space Station will also see a U.S. cargo craft depart and a Russian one launch on the same day next week.

NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei strapped himself to an exercise cycle and attached sensors to himself on Tuesday morning for a workout study measuring aerobic capacity in space. NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur explored how bacteria is affected by microgravity and ways to counteract harmful changes.

Eye checks were back on the schedule for four astronauts on Tuesday afternoon. Commander Akihiko Hoshide and Vande Hei took turns operating medical imaging gear and scanned the eyes of astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet. A variety of eye exams take place on the station helping researchers understand how weightlessness impacts an astronaut’s vision.

Kimbrough and Pesquet are also getting ready for more solar array installation work on the outside of the orbiting lab. The duo reviewed procedures today for installing a second roll out solar array on the station’s Port-6 truss structure. The veteran spacewalkers will set their spacesuits to battery power at 8 a.m. EDT on Friday signifying the official start of their third excursion in 9 days. Live coverage on NASA TV starts at 6:30 a.m. on the agency’s website and the NASA app.

Hoshide and Vande Hei spent some time Tuesday morning loading Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter ahead of its departure scheduled for July 29 at 12:25 p.m. Russia’s ISS Progress 78 resupply ship will launch the same day at 7:27 p.m. and dock to the station two days later at 9:02 p.m.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy packed the ISS Progress 77 resupply ship readying the vehicle for its undocking in late July. The veteran cosmonaut also trapped clouds of particles using both neon and argon gas for a plasma crystal experiment. Russian Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov had an exercise test on a treadmill today then serviced a variety of communications and life support hardware.

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Mark Garcia

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Astronauts Look to Friday Spacewalk after Roll Out Solar Array Installation

Astronauts Look to Friday Spacewalk after Roll Out Solar Array Installation

Spacewalker Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) works to complete the installation of a roll out solar array on the International Space Station's Port-6 truss structure.
Spacewalker Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) works to complete the installation of a roll out solar array on the International Space Station’s Port-6 truss structure.

The International Space Station has a new solar array that was installed during Sunday’s spacewalk by Expedition 65 astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet. The duo will conduct a third spacewalk on Friday to install a second solar array.

The first ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) was successfully installed and deployed during a spacewalk on Sunday and is performing well. Ground teams will continue to collect data on its performance and compare it to last year’s information, calculating the total power gained.

Kimbrough and Pesquet completed the solar array installation work and began configuring a second iROSA during Sunday’s six-hour and 28-minute spacewalk. The duo now turns its attention to Friday’s excursion to install the second iROSA on the opposite side of the Port-6 truss structure where the first solar array is installed. NASA TV, on the agency’s website, and the NASA app, will start its live coverage at 6:30 a.m. with the spacewalk set to begin at 8 a.m. when the veteran spacewalkers set their U.S. spacesuits to battery power.

The spacewalking duo joined NASA Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Mark Vande Hei for a conference with ground specialists. Then Kimbrough and Pesquet serviced some spacesuit components and organized tools for Friday’s upcoming spacewalk. McArthur and Vande Hei will once again assist the pair in and out of their spacesuits and provide robotics support on Friday.

Research still continued aboard the orbital lab today as the crew explored pharmaceuticals, protein crystals and the human eye.

Commander Akihiko Hoshide serviced samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a study that explores freeze-drying as a way to preserve medicines for long periods of time. Kimbrough peered through a microscope looking at samples for the Real-Time Protein Crystal Growth experiment which could lead to new disease therapies on Earth.

Vande Hei took on the crew medical officer role today and scanned the eyes of McArthur using medical imaging hardware. The eye exams take place regularly on the station since astronauts have reported vision issues after living in space for months.

The two Roscosmos flight engineers, cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, split their day between science and maintenance activities. Novitskiy explored plasma crystals first then photographed the condition of the Pirs docking compartment ahead of its departure later this summer. Dubrov checked communications gear and worked Russian life support hardware.

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Mark Garcia

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Spacewalkers Complete First Roll Out Solar Array Installation

Spacewalkers Complete First Roll Out Solar Array Installation

Spacewalkers Shane Kimbrough (foreground) and Thomas Pesquet work to prepare the second roll out solar array ready for installation an upcoming spacewalk.
Spacewalkers Shane Kimbrough (foreground) and Thomas Pesquet work to prepare the second roll out solar array ready for installation an upcoming spacewalk.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet concluded their spacewalk at 2:10 p.m. EDT, after 6 hours and 28 minutes. In the eighth spacewalk of the year outside the International Space Station, the two astronauts completed the deployment of a new ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) on the far end of the left (port) side of the station’s backbone truss structure (P6).

Kimbrough and Pesquet successfully unfolded the solar array, bolted it into place, and connected cables to the station’s power supply to complete deployment. Additionally, the astronauts removed and stowed hardware in preparation for releasing the second iROSA from the flight support structure for installation. The pair will work toward the second solar array upgrade – this one on the P6 truss’ 4B power channel – during another spacewalk, tentatively scheduled for June 25.

NASA is augmenting six of the eight existing power channels of the space station with new solar arrays to ensure a sufficient power supply is maintained for NASA’s exploration technology demonstrations for Artemis and beyond as well as utilization and commercialization.

This was the eighth spacewalk for Kimbrough, the fourth for Pesquet, and the fourth they have conducted together. Kimbrough has now spent a total of 52 hours and 43 minutes spacewalking, and Pesquet’s total spacewalking time is 26 hours and 15 minutes.

Space station crew members have conducted 240 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 63 days and 56 minutes working outside the station.

In November 2020, the International Space Station surpassed its 20-year milestone of continuous human presence, providing opportunities for unique research and technological demonstrations that help prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars and also improve life on Earth. In that time, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the orbiting laboratory that has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @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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