spacewalk | Common News Update

Mar152022 by adminNo Comments

Astronauts plan spacewalk at ISS on Tuesday to prepare for new solar arrays

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ORLANDO, Fla., March 15 (UPI) -- Two NASA astronauts plan a spacewalk on Tuesday to prepare for the installation of new solar arrays at the International Space Station, amid tension between Russia and the United States over the Ukraine conflict. Astronauts Kayla Barron, 34, and Raja Chari, 44, plan to exit the station around 8 a.m. EDT for a roughly six-hour spacewalk -- their second and first spacewalks, respectively. They intend to install brackets and struts that will support the future installation of solar arrays. Two of six new solar arrays have been unfurled to power the station's electronics over the past year. NASA officials commented on the tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a press conference Monday. Joel Montalbano, NASA manager of the ISS program, directly addr...

Mar132021 by adminNo Comments

NASA astronauts complete spacewalk

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March 13 (UPI) -- Astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover, Jr., completed a nearly 7-hour spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Saturday afternoon. The astronauts wrapped their spacewalk at 3:01 p.m. EST, according to NASA's Twitter feed, which also live streamed the event. Advertisement Hopkins and Glover captured video of the walk using helmet cameras, allowing the public to see from their perspective. The astronauts were scheduled to conduct space-based maintenance on the orbiting platform, including connecting power cables for the new European science platform, Bortolomeo. Glover and Hopkins attempted to connect the cables in January but couldn't due to a mechanical issue. The walk began as scheduled at 8:14 a.m. According to NASA, on Saturday, the astronauts vent...

Mar72021 by adminNo Comments

Astronauts conclude spacewalk maintenance on International Space Station

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ORLANDO, Fla., March 5 (UPI) -- Astronauts Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi completed a spacewalk Friday of 6 hours, 56 minutes to perform maintenance on the exterior of the International Space Station. Rubins, of NASA, and Noguchi, of the Japanese Space Agency, installed a device on an airlock cover to prevent it from blowing out when a hatch is opened. The two also attached new apparatus that will hold upgraded solar panels when they are installed over the summer. Advertisement The outing was the fourth career spacewalk for both Rubins and Noguchi and the 236th spacewalk at the space station. Rubins reported a pinpoint abrasion on one of her gloves after several hours in space. She was concerned enough to stay close to Noguchi after the discovery, but her spacesuit didn't leak. Rubins, 4...

Feb282021 by adminNo Comments

NASA spacewalk Sunday will prepare for new solar power

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ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover Jr. participated in a 7-hour space walk outside the International Space Station on Sunday. About 250 miles above the Earth, the spacewalk began at 6:12 a.m. ET and ended at 1:16 p.m. Advertisement They took the first steps toward a major addition to the International Space Station's solar panels. NASA plans to deliver six panels in a SpaceX cargo capsule starting in June. Glover and Rubins have conducted two spacewalks previously. For Glover all three were since his arrival to the ISS in November and Rubins both during her first time in 2016. In all, 235 spacewalks have been performed from the ISS. Rubins will also team up with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi for a spacewalk on Friday. Fo...

Jan272021 by adminNo Comments

Watch live: Astronauts plan spacewalk to hook up new science platform

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ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Two NASA astronauts plan to begin a spacewalk early Wednesday morning to finish installing Europe's Bartolomeo science platform on the International Space Station's exterior. Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover are to begin the expedition outside the space station at 7 a.m. EST. The assignment will be the first spacewalk for Glover, who is the first Black astronaut to live and work aboard the space station. Advertisement NASA estimates the spacewalk will last 6 1/2 hours. Glover, like all astronauts, trained in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Johnson Space Center, where trainees wear suits underwater that simulate weightlessness. [embedded content] "We also give them videos to walk through, as well as conferences where we get to talk with them, and give ...