NASA astronauts, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins, are conducting a 6.5-hour EVA (EVA, or Spacewalk) activity to accomplish multiple delayed missions from a series of spacewalks conducted so far this year.
The EVA-73 duo got started in the US at 8:14 AM ET / 1:14 PM UTC when they took their spacesuits on battery power before exiting Quest airlock.
United States EVA-73
For a spacewalk, the EV1 would be Victor Glover, in a red striped suit, and the EV2 would be Mike Hopkins, in a plain white suit.
The first task, after translation into P6 trellis, will be to ventilate the EAS (Early Ammonia Service) jumper from ammonia so that it can be stored safely without the risk of breakage due to thermal expansion.
These jumpers were used during troubleshooting efforts to locate an ammonia leak on the P6 beam, in which a PVR heater was deployed to isolate the leak; However, the leak was eventually found in the pump flow control sub-assembly, so the PVR was repositioned.
Une fois que Glover et Hopkins ont évacué l’ammoniac des cavaliers, un cavalier sera rangé sur le treillis P6 tandis que l’autre est placé à l’extérieur du sas Quest afin qu’il soit facilement accessible si jama de nécessaire du côté The station.
The two spacewalks will then result in the European Space Agency’s Columbus Unit, where they will explore the P1 and P2 PAPOS (Payload Parking Interface) power connectors on the new Bartolomeo outdoor platform.
Crew weren’t able to properly mate connectors in a previous EVA, so Glover and Hopkins will try other steps to mate them – which includes inserting a pen-shaped tool to spread the pins into the connectors. , Which is going to be pretty tight.
At the Columbus site, the astronauts will also replace the cable for a broken amateur radio antenna on the International Space Station (ARISS) antenna.
Another set of defective WETA transmitters and receivers will also be replaced in the camera port 12 (CP12) on node 1 – an external wireless video data relay -.
The duo will then route two Ethernet cables along the back of the P1 package to the Camera Port 9 (CP9), in preparation for future wireless access point and external HD camcorder installations.
In addition, Glover and Hopkins will install a stiffening ring on the Quest air vent thermal blanket which will ensure that the canvas blanket closes properly around the hatch without any gaps and is not detached when the airlock hatch is opened. . , As the last remnants of air inside the airlock are blown into space.
The pair will then return to the airlock to complete the EVA.
Spacewalk preview of the International Space Station (until March 5, 2021). (Credit: NASA)
Previous hiking trails in space
Most of the work on this EVA has been delayed from the US EVA-72 on Friday, March 5.
During this flight, NASA astronaut Kate Robins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi completed all scheduled and delayed assignments related to the installation of new modification kits for the 2B and 4B mast enclosures on the P6 truss.
The mast housings contained the original / existing set of solar panels for the plant at launch, and the new modification kits will serve as mounting points for a new panel kit that will start later this year.
The International Space Station is equipped with eight Solar Array Wings (SAW), each designed to produce approximately 30 kilowatts of power, for a total of about 250 kilowatts across the eight arrays.
Due to the deterioration – which was expected – the power generation panels are now producing only about 160 kW of power. At the same time, users of the terminal, including Nanorax Ceiling Airlock Bartolomeo, the European outpost, would require more power than was initially envisioned when the outpost was designed.
While the station’s solar panels were originally designed to be removed completely and replaced by the space shuttle, the removal of this vehicle forced the International Space Station program to come up with an innovative solution to increase the amount of energy available.
As a result, the ISS Energy Augmentation Program (IPA) was born. The plan calls for adding six additional solar panels to the International Space Station to increase its electricity production and restore it to original levels.
The new IROSA was placed on the station’s solar panels. (Credit: NASA / Boeing)
Specifically, six new ISS Roll Out (IROSA) solar arrays will be added. IROSA is a new type of rack technology, which is different from the original station racks which were folded and spread like an accordion.
IROSA will be installed in new modification kits.
However, the task of building these first two sets of equipment took longer than expected in the US EVA-71 and -72. This, combined with the battery level that limits spacewalks on one of the EVA-72 spacesuits, means that many of the planned missions require waiting for a future spacewalk.
A one-time small hole detected in one of Kate Robins’ gloves during Spacewalk-72, while observing it, was not a problem nor was the reason for the conclusion of EVA.
(Main image: NASA astronaut Drew Vostel on a spacewalk in 2018. Credit: NASA)
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