US, German astronauts finish spacewalk to maintain ISS

[Buster's Uncle]

US, German astronauts finish spacewalk to maintain ISS
AFP
1 hour ago



This NASA image released October 1, 2014 shows astronaut Reid Wiseman's view from the International Space Station of the Milky Way (AFP Photo/Reid Wiseman)



Washington (AFP) - An American and a German astronaut spent just over six hours on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday for equipment repairs and maintenance, NASA said.

NASA's Reid Wiseman and the European Space Agency's Alexander Gerst left the space station at 1230 GMT and were back inside at 1843 GMT.

The astronauts completed all the scheduled repairs, NASA said on its website.

The two astronauts moved a failed cooling pump to an external storage platform just outside the Quest airlock module. Gerst then replaced a light on a television camera located on the Destiny module.

The astronauts also installed a Mobile Transporter Relay Assembly, which can shift gear and supplies on rails along the space station's backbone.

NASA's Barry Wilmore, who arrived at the ISS on September 25, was operating a Canadian robotic arm to maneuver Gerst during the spacewalk.

A second spacewalk is planned for October 15, when Wiseman and Wilmore will replace a failed voltage regulator. They will also move external camera equipment ahead of a major reconfiguration of station modules next year, NASA said in a statement.

The reconfiguration will allow for the arrival of new docking adapters for commercial crew vehicles.

Boeing and SpaceX last month won NASA contracts to build these spacecraft.

The two spacewalks are the 182nd and 183rd carried out to maintain the ISS.


http://news.yahoo.com/us-german-astronauts-spacewalk-maintain-iss-184932765.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Astronauts venture outside station for spacewalk
Reuters
By Irene Klotz  3 hours ago



NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman checks his spacesuit in preparation for the first Expedition 41 spacewalk in this image released on October 7, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Gerst/NASA/ESA/Handout



(Reuters) - A pair of astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Tuesday for a six-hour spacewalk to perform maintenance work including putting an old cooling pump into storage.

Flight engineers Reid Wiseman with NASA and Alexander Gerst with the European Space Agency left the station’s Quest airlock about 8:50 a.m. EDT, a first spacewalk for both, a NASA Television broadcast showed.

Their primary goal was to finish work from December to replace a failed ammonia cooling pump.

“Nice work today, guys. Great job on the tasks,” NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock from Mission Control in Houston radioed to the astronauts as they returned to the airlock six hours later.

The old cooling unit was removed and a spare installed during two December spacewalks, but the repair crew ran out of time to put the failed module into storage for possible repair and reuse.



The Milky Way is pictured in this September 28, 2014 handout photo from the International Space Station taken by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman. REUTERS/NASA/Handout via Reuters


After gathering tools, Wiseman prepared the intended storage site on one of the station’s external stowage platforms while Gerst attached himself to the end of the station’s 58-foot- (18-metre) long robotic arm to move the old pump.

With NASA crewmate Butch Wilmore operating the crane from inside the station’s cupola module, Gerst carried the module, which on Earth weighs about 850 pounds (385 kg), over to its storage site.

"Nice flying, Butch," Wheelock radioed to the crew.

After bolting the module into place, Wiseman and Gerst tackled some electrical work to provide an alternative power source for equipment on the robot arm’s mobile base.

They also replaced a light in a television camera outside the Destiny laboratory module.

A second outing by Wiseman and Wilmore is scheduled for Oct. 15 to replace a failed component in a voltage regulator that is part of the station’s solar power system.

The device failed in May, taking down one of the station’s eight power channels.

Wiseman and Wilmore also plan to relocate some camera equipment before a major reconfiguration of station modules next year, intended to prepare berthing spots for new commercial passenger spaceships.

The station is a $100 billion science laboratory owned by 15 countries that flies about 260 miles (420 km) above Earth.

(Reporting by Irene Klotz in Portland, Maine; Editing by Letitia Stein, Doina Chiacu and Peter Cooney)


http://news.yahoo.com/astronauts-venture-outside-station-spacewalk-171606062.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Astronauts resume routine spacewalks for NASA
Associated Press
By MARCIA DUNN  6 hours ago



In this image taken from NASA TV, American astronaut Reid Wiseman works outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014. Wiseman and German spaceman Alexander Gerst are performing NASA's first routine maintenance outside the International Space Station in more than a year. (AP Photo/NASA)



CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) — Two spacewalking astronauts moved an old, broken pump into permanent storage Tuesday, NASA's first routine maintenance outside the International Space Station in more than a year.

American Reid Wiseman and German Alexander Gerst, both first-time spacewalkers, cheerfully completed the long overdue job 260 miles (418.41 kilometers) up.

"I can't wait to see these pictures," Gerst said.

U.S.-based spacewalks were curtailed in July 2013 after an Italian astronaut nearly drowned because of a flooded helmet. NASA solved the problem with the suit's water-cooling system. Then concern arose over the spacesuit batteries.

New batteries arrived late last month, clearing the way for Tuesday's spacewalk and another one scheduled for next week.

Gerst clutched the 780-pound pump — about the size of a double-door refrigerator — as he rode on the end of the station's big robot arm. The crane swung him from the pump's temporary location to the new permanent spot in about 12 minutes.

"You should see my view right now," Gerst said, referring to the sprawling space station, lit up like gold in the darkness.

The pump ended up in short-term storage during urgent spacewalking repairs to the station's ammonia-cooling system last December. NASA did not want to waste time back then parking the pump in its long-term garage, given all the spacesuit worries. So the job was deferred — until now.

With Wiseman looking on, Gerst slid the pump into its permanent slot, a large rectangular sheath formed by white protective blankets, and then bolted it down. "Nice work," Mission Control radioed.

The spacewalkers hustled through their other chores — replacing a camera light and installing a power-relay device for the station's robot-arm railcar — before calling it quits.

As the six-hour excursion drew to a close, Wiseman thanked the hundreds if not thousands of people who worked on NASA's spacewalk recovery team over the past year.

"Alex and I, we'd like to express just our huge gratitude for getting us back into planned EVAs (spacewalks), safely outside, safely back in," Wiseman said. EVA is NASA talk for extra-vehicular activity.

"It's a good day for NASA" and the European Space Agency, he added.

A follow-up spacewalk is scheduled for Oct. 15 to further whittle down NASA's lengthy to-do list, on hold since the 2013 close call. That spacewalk will be conducted by Wiseman and fellow American Butch Wilmore, a newcomer.

A week after that, two of the three Russians on board will perform a spacewalk on their country's side of the orbiting outpost. The Moscow-led spacewalks were unaffected by NASA's spacesuit troubles.

NASA considered December's U.S. spacewalks — to replace the failed ammonia pump and thereby restore full cooling to the space station — too important to wait. The same went for a critical spacewalk by Americans in April to replace a dead computer.

The helmets used by Wiseman and Gerst contained absorbent pads and makeshift snorkels in case of water leakage. The items became mandatory following last year's close call experienced by Italian spacewalker Luca Parmitano, safely back on Earth for nearly a year now.

As for the spacesuit batteries, NASA sent up replacements on the latest SpaceX cargo ship and Russian Soyuz capsule. Ground testing uncovered a potential fuse problem earlier this year, and NASA opted to switch out the batteries on board.
___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html


http://news.yahoo.com/astronauts-resume-routine-spacewalks-nasa-134055692.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Spacewalking Astronauts Upgrade Space Station
SPACE.com
by Miriam Kramer, Staff Writer  6 hours ago



NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman works outside the International Space Station on Oct. 7, 2014.



Two astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station to do some maintenance and repair work during a more-than-6-hour spacewalk today (Oct. 7).

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and German European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst performed the spacewalk to take care of a couple of necessary chores on the outside of the station. The spacewalk officially started at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), and ended about six hours and 13 minutes later. It was the first spacewalk for both Wiseman and Gerst, and it came one day before Wednesday's highly anticipated "blood moon" total lunar eclipse.

"Alex, it looks like we've almost got a full moon out here," Wiseman said as he stepped outside of the hatch for the first time. "It's beautiful."

The astronauts moved a failed pump module that had been removed from the space station's vital cooling system to a long-term storage area. The pump module's new home will give it some protection and insulation in case a future crew decides to try to fix the module, NASA TV officials said during a broadcast of the spacewalk.

The pump module was stored temporarily on a different part of the station after another pair of astronauts performed two urgent spacewalks in December 2013.

Gerst grabbed the pump module while he rode the space station's robotic arm, which was being controlled by NASA astronaut and space station crewmember Barry Wilmore from inside the laboratory.

"Take your time," Gerst told Wilmore as he moved him with the robotic arm. "I'm very comfortable."

The astronauts also replaced a light on a camera on the outside of the station's United States laboratory and installed a relay that feeds backup power to the rail system that helps move the outpost's robotic arm.

To prep for spacewalking before flying to the station, Wiseman and Gerst trained in water to simulate the weightlessness of space. "Just like in the pool, except for that big blue planet down there," NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock said from Mission Control during the spacewalk.

Wiseman will head out on another spacewalk next week to perform more maintenance on the station. Wilmore (who has not performed a spacewalk before) will be partnered with Wiseman on the Oct. 15 excursion.

These U.S. EVAs (short for extravehicular activities, another name for spacewalks) are part of a series of spacewalks that will ultimately start prepping the station for the arrival of commercial crewed vehicles, according to Kenny Todd, space station integration operations manager.

"We're going to be doing the things we need to do on these EVAs to prep for moving some modules around," Todd said during a news conference previewing the spacewalks last week. "All that is in preparation for being able to support future [commercial] crewed vehicles coming to [the] station. We're trying to get out in front of that … We'll be prepping for moving modules; we'll be installing a new docking adapter system. All of that will be happening throughout the next several months onboard the station."

The station currently plays host to an international crew of six. Wiseman, Gerst and Wilmore are joined by Russian cosmonauts Maxim Suraev, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova, who round out the Expedition 41 crew.


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