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18.06.2014
The six-member Expedition 40 crew is counting down to a Thursday morning spacewalk. Meanwhile, the orbital residents are conducting an array of international science and station maintenance tasks.
A pair of cosmonauts spent Tuesday morning conducting a dress rehearsal of Thursday’s spacewalk. They donned their Russian Orlan space suits, checked their systems and performed a fit check at suit pressure.
Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov will exit the Pirs docking compartment Thursday at 9:50 a.m. EDT for about six hours and 30 minutes of work outside the Russian segment of the station. They will install an antenna and a cargo boom, swab samples from a window on the Zvezda service module and switch out science experiment gear.
After the completion of their spacesuit exercises they installed replaceable spacewalk elements on their suits. The duo also got in their daily workout regimen.
Their crewmate, Max Suraev, assisted the Russian duo during their dry run activities. In the afternoon, Suraev participated in the Matryoshka experiment checking instrumentation that detects radiation inside a phantom containing materials that simulate human tissue.
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9:15 a.m., Thursday, June 19 - Coverage of the ISS Expedition 40 Russian Spacewalk (all channels)
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 19.06.2014
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Cosmonauts Ready for Spacewalk While NASA Astronauts Work With Tiny Satellites
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This is the Orlan spacesuit of Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Expedition 40 flight engineer. Skvortsov and fellow cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev readied their Russian Orlan suits early on June 17 in preparation for a scheduled spacewalk on June 19.
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A pair of cosmonauts is ready for Thursday morning’s spacewalk. Meanwhile, two NASA astronauts are working with student-controlled micro-satellites while ground controllers prepare to reposition the Canadarm2 outside the International Space Station.
Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev will exit the Pirs docking compartment Thursday at 9:50 a.m. EDT. They will spend about 6.5 hours outside installing an antenna, relocating a cargo boom, swabbing samples from a window on the Zvezda service module and switching out science experiment gear.
They spent today and the past couple of weeks reviewing their spacewalk timeline and procedures. The duo also readied their spacesuits and systems, gathered spacewalk tools and performed fit checks at suit pressure.
Veteran cosmonaut Max Suraev assisted his crewmates throughout their preparations. In the afternoon, Suraev had time for some final Pirs maintenance preparing cables, replacing filters and cleaning fan grilles in the docking compartment.
Commander Steve Swanson and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman teamed up for test runs of the SPHERES-Slosh experiment during Wednesday afternoon. Students write algorithms that maneuver the soccer ball-sized satellites, monitored by the astronauts, to explore how liquids behave in containers.
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NASA TV to Air Space Station Russian Spacewalk
NASA Television will air live coverage of a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk by two Russian International Space Station crew members beginning at 9:15 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 19.
Expedition 40 Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency will don their Orlan spacesuits and exit the Pirs airlock at 9:50 a.m. to install new communications equipment on the Zvezda service module. They also will reposition hardware.
The spacewalk will be the 180th in support of space station assembly and maintenance and the first for both Skvortsov and Artemyev. Another spacewalk for the pair is planned for late August.
Skvortsov will be designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1) and will wear a spacesuit bearing red stripes. Artemyev will be designated as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2) and will wear a suit with blue stripes.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: Frams NASA-TV
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Update 21.45 MESZ
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Update: 20.06.2014
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Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev make their way back to the Pirs airlock compartment to wrap-up a successful seven-hour 23-minute spacewalk. (Credit: NASA TV)
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The excursion began at 10:10 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) and ended at 5:33 p.m. when the cosmonauts returned to the Pirs airlock and docking compartment. The spacewalk ran longer than the expected six-and-a-half hours because of minor but time-consuming problems with a balky latch and a tight bolt holding the jettisoned mounting fixture in place.
The new phased array antenna was mounted on the hull of the Zvezda command module to facilitate high-speed telemetry between the space station and flight controllers at the Russian mission control center near Moscow.
Skvortsov and Artemyev had problems getting one of three latches secured and in the end used cable ties to complete the antenna installation. The spacewalkers then swabbed one of Zvezda's porthole windows to check for thruster residue and moved a plasma wave experiment to a different location.
The final major item on the agenda was to remove a materials science space exposure pallet from a mounting frame and to attach it to a recently installed boom. The mounting frame then was removed and jettisoned, released in the station's wake along a trajectory that ensured no re-contact with the lab complex.
The boom carrying the materials science experiment then was erected and locked in place to complete the final major objective of the spacewalk.
Skvortsov and Artemyev then made their way back to Pirs, bringing a protective antenna cover back inside with them.
This was the 180th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the third so far this year and the first for Skvortsov and Artemyev, the 115th and 116th people to walk in. Total station EVA time by 116 astronauts and cosmonaut representing nine nations now stands at 1,130 hours and 51 minutes, or 47.1 days.
01:20 PM ET, 06/19/14: Spacewalkers complete antenna installation
Three hours into a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev have completed installation of a phased array antenna on the space station's Zvezda command module that will be used to beam high-speed telemetry to the Russian mission control center near Moscow.
It took the cosmonauts longer than expected to complete the installation after running into problems with a tight clamp, one of three in the antenna's mounting hardware, that refused to seat properly. After a bit of discussion on the ground, flight controllers told the cosmonauts to use wire ties to secure the third attachment fitting and to press ahead with cable connections.
Remaining work includes relocation of a plasma wave experiment, the collection of samples from a command module window to check for thruster residue and relocation of a materials science/space exposure experiment to a payload boom. The original mounting fixture will be jettisoned.
10:10 AM ET, 06/19/14: Russian spacewalk begins
Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev opened the hatch of the Pirs airlock/docking module at 10:10 a.m. EDT Thursday to officially begin a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
The goals of Russian EVA-38 are to install an antenna array on the hull of the Zvezda command module to provide high-speed telemetry to the Russian mission control center near Moscow; to relocate a plasma wave experiment; to collect samples from a command module window to check for thruster residue; to make sure an equipment mounting assembly is secure; to move a materials science/space exposure experiment to a payload boom and then to jettison the original mounting hardware.
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A view of the Russian segment of the International Space Station as cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev began a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk. (Credit: NASA TV)
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Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, just outside the Pirs airlock compartment, arranges tethers and safety equipment prior to taking an antenna array from inside the Pirs airlock. (Credit: NASA TV)
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For identification, Skvortsov, call sign EV-1, is wearing a spacesuit with red stripes while Artemyev, EV-2, is wearing a suit with blue stripes.
This is the 180th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since assembly began in 1998, the third so far this year and the first for Skvortsov and Artemyev. Going into the excursion 114 astronauts and cosmonauts from nine nations had logged 1,123 hours and 28 minutes of station spacewalk time, or 46.8 days.
Quelle: cbsnews
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