vendredi 6 novembre 2015

Pair of NASA Astronauts Wrap Up Second Spacewalk














ISS - Expedition 45 Mission patch / NASA - Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA) patch.

November 6, 2015


Image above: NASA Astronauts Scott Kelly (left) and Kjell Lindgren will conduct a spacewalk today to upgrade and service the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA TV.

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren ended their spacewalk at 2:10 p.m. EST with the repressurization of the U.S. Quest airlock. The astronauts restored the port truss (P6) ammonia cooling system to its original configuration, the main task for today’s spacewalk. They also returned ammonia to the desired levels in both the prime and back-up systems.


Image above: Astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren translate along the port truss structure back to the Quest airlock after completing cooling system servicing work. Image Credit: NASA TV.

In a minor departure from the planned tasks, the astronauts ran out of time to cinch and cover a spare radiator known as the Trailing Thermal Control Radiator. The radiator, which Lindgren retracted earlier in the spacewalk, was fully redeployed and locked into place in a dormant state.


Image above: Spacewalker Scott Kelly works on cables in the P6 truss structure to restore its cooling system back to its original configuration. Image Credit: NASA TV.

The radiator had been deployed during a November 2012 spacewalk by astronauts Sunita Williams and Aki Hoshide as they tried to isolate a leak in the truss’ cooling supply by re-plumbing the system to the backup radiator. The leak persisted and was subsequently traced to a different component that was replaced during a spacewalk in May 2013.

Outdoor Activity on the Space Station

The 7 hour and 48 minute spacewalk was the second for both astronauts, and the 190th in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Crew members have now spent a total of 1,192 hours and 4 minutes working outside the orbital laboratory.

Related links:

One-Year Crew: https://www.nasa.gov/content/one-year-crew/

Expedition 45: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition45/

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/NASA TV/Mark Garcia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch