NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover took a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Saturday to update the lab’s communications and cooling systems. The walk, which took place about 250 miles above the ground, lasted nearly seven hours.
Struggling with bulky electrical connectors, Hopkins was able to connect and secure three of the four thick power and data cables needed for a European experimental platform during a challenging space passage, leaving a cable for additional troubleshooting.
Hopkins and crew member Victor Glover also discharged the residual ammonia coolant from two jumpers used to service the station’s thermal control system, arranging the hoses at various locations for future use if necessary. A jumper threw more ammonia ice crystals than expected when it was evacuated into space, but astronauts said their suits did not appear to be contaminated with any flakes that could be brought back to the station.
Floating in the air Quest, Hopkins and Glover began their trip on Saturday when they changed their battery-powered spacesuits at 8:14 a.m. EST, starting with the 237th spacewalk dedicated to assembling and maintaining the station since construction began in 1998.
The first task on the agenda was to safely ventilate the two ammonia jumpers, used to load the coolant into the station’s thermal control system and to help detect leaks. The jumpers were located at the far left end of the laboratory’s solar farm, a segment known as port 6 or P6.
After confirming that there was no contamination with ammonia ice crystals, the spacecraft dropped a jumper on the P6 segment for any future troubleshooting that may be required on that side of the station, while the other was mounted outside the airlock for use, if necessary later on the right side.
“Of course, when dealing with ammonia, extra vigilance is needed because of the concern that if we had ammonia contamination on our suits and then brought that station inside, it could be a potential toxic atmosphere situation. for the crew and the station, ”spacewalk director Chris Edelen said earlier.
With the evacuation and relocation of the jumper, Glover installed a replacement wireless transceiver next to the Unity core module, while Hopkins was working on the front end of the station where the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory module is attached.
An external experimental platform known as Bartolomeo was earlier attached to the front of Columbus, but space passengers had trouble completing electrical connections during a previous exit. Hopkins struggled to finish the job on Saturday, but eventually managed with three of four wires.
NASA TV
Glover replaced a wireless transceiver and attached a stiffener to a flexible thermal cover on the outer hatch of the Quest airlock. He complained of an unusual irritation that briefly caused his right eye to break, but said that the repeated blinking seemed to help.
Hopkins also reconfigured a HAM radio antenna on the European Columbus module that failed to function properly after a recent upgrade, and both spacecraft began work on the route of two ethernet cables that will eventually be part of -an extended wi-fi network.
NASA TV
NASA TV
“Paired! It’s over the center,” Hopkins called as the first bulky connector was connected and locked in place. “Nice! And the crowd is going crazy!”
“Good job, wow, great,” Andreas Mogensen of the mission control replied. “Good news.”
“I’d say touchdown, but he played on the wrong side of the ball,” Glover joked, referring to Hopkins’ college football career as a defensive end for the University of Illinois.
“We’ve had interceptions from time to time,” Hopkins said.
The external transmitter assembly of the wireless video system, or WETA, installed by Glover is one of three mounted around the outside of the station. The unit in question failed at the end of last year.
“This is essentially an antenna that receives transmissions from the crew members’ headphones,” Edelen said. “We really appreciate that we have this in control of the mission during the EVAs so that we can have the perspective of the crew members to see exactly what they are working on. So we definitely want to … replace this so we have a good coverage thing. “
All major tasks were originally planned for spacewalk earlier this month, but were postponed after the assembly of two solar mountings took longer than expected.
The space journey ended at 15:01 for six hours and 47 minutes. The total time of the station through 237 trips is now 1,491 hours and 54 minutes, or 62.2 days.
This was Glover’s fourth career and Hopkins’ fifth.