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Station Spacewalkers Install Experiments And Probe
Houston TX (SPX) Mar 12, 2009 Tuesday's spacewalk with Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov concluded at 5:11 p.m. EDT when the Pirs docking module airlock was closed. The spacewalk concluded ahead of schedule, lasting 4 hours and 49 minutes. The Exposing Specimens of Organic and Biological Materials to Open Space (Expose-R) experiment was installed on the universal science platform mounted to the exterior of the Zvezda Service Module. The spacewalkers also removed straps, or tape, from the area of the docking target on the Pirs airlock and docking compartment. The tape was removed to ensure it does not get in the way during the arrival of visiting Soyuz or Progress spacecraft. Fincke and Lonchakov later took photos of the exterior of the Russian portion of the station to document its condition after a decade of operation in the harsh environment of space. The photos will be used to assess the condition of the outer surfaces and structural elements of the station, including active components such as thrusters and vents. Tuesday's excursion was the 120th spacewalk in support of space station assembly and maintenance. Fincke and Lonchakov will return to Earth April 7 in their Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft now docked to the station. They have been aboard the orbiting laboratory since October 2008.
related report The spacewalk was conducted on Tuesday to finish work started on December 23. The spacewalk was initially scheduled to last for some five hours and 45 minutes, but the astronauts returned to the station after four hours and 50 minutes. U.S. astronaut Sandra Magnus was the only crewmember inside the ISS for the duration of the spacewalk. The pair installed a device, as part of European Space Agency's EXPOSE-R experiment, on a platform of the Zvezda module to test the effects of space on a number of materials. The astronauts also removed straps from a docking compartment of the Pirs station to ensure that they would not impede future dockings of Soyuz or Progress spacecraft. During their last spacewalk in December, Lonchakov and Fincke installed a Langmuir probe on an ISS dock to measure electromagnetic fields, in an attempt to solve a problem relating to Soyuz landings. Some analysts say these fields may have been a factor in the steeper-than-normal reentry of Soyuz capsules in April last year and October of 2007, which raised concerns over the safety of the landings.
Source: RIA Novosti
related report The streaming video views of Earth and the exterior structure of the station are from cameras mounted outside the laboratory complex, orbiting Earth at 17,500 miles an hour at an altitude of 220 miles. The video is transmitted to the ground - and Web viewers - primarily while the astronauts aboard the complex are asleep, usually from about 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. CST. When live feeds are not available, a map showing the current location and path of the station will be streamed from NASA's Mission Control in Houston. The streaming video will include audio of communications between Mission Control and the astronauts, when available. When the space shuttle is docked to the station, the stream will include video and audio of those activities. The International Space Station, a unique partnership between the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. Construction began in 1998 and will be completed in 2010. Eighteen crews have lived aboard the orbiting complex since 2000, including the current crew of three. Station residents have conducted important scientific experiments and gathered data to help assist future missions to the moon and Mars. Related Links Streaming station video Find out when the station will be visible over your city Space Station Station at NASA Station and More at Roscosmos S.P. Korolev RSC Energia Watch NASA TV via Space.TV Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com
NASA to unveil space station name on Colbert show
Washington (AFP) April 10, 2009NASA's sense of humor is being put to the test. |
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