NASA Earth Observatory captures Blue Eye of Cyclone Bansi

Tropical Cyclone Bansi was seen from the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA's Earth Observatory/NASA JSC/ISS

The Electric Eye of Cyclone Bansi
Though this image may look like they come from a science fiction movie, it is in fact a photograph of tropical cyclone Bansi as seen at night by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).

The image was taken when the ISS was east of Madagascar.

Bansi formed in the southwestern Indian Ocean on January 11, 2015. By the time the photo was taken on the following day, Bansi had achieved tropical cyclone strength, with sustained maximum winds over 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour.

The cyclone would reach category 4 strength before becoming a weak extra-tropical system on January 19.

The dim swirl of the cloud bands covers the ocean surface in this night image. The eye of the cyclone is brilliantly lit by lightning in or near the eye wall.

Image of Cyclone Bansi taken by ESA Astronaut Sam Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) on the ISS.

Image shows lightning illuminating the eye-wall of Cyclone Bansi in the Indian Ocean.

Credit: ESA

The low-light settings of the camera used to take the image accentuate the contrast.

The camera also accentuates the yellow-green airglow above the Earth’s limb, an atmospheric phenomenon frequently seen by astronauts.

Stars appear above the airglow layer, and the solar panels of a docked Russian spacecraft jut into the image (upper left).

Astronaut photographs ISS042-E-135015 and ISS042-E-135030 were acquired on January 12, 2015, with a Nikon D4 digital camera using a 28 millimeter lens, and are provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center.

The image was taken by the Expedition 42 crew.They have been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed.

The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet.

Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC.

Canadian Space Technology to Help Sick Children

Surgeons would have us believe that nothing rivals the dexterity of a good surgeon's hands, but humans being humans, fatigue or even tremors after a long day at the hospital can make things challenging, especially when operating on small children.

That is why Toronto's SickKids Centre for Image-Guided Innovation & Therapeutic Intervention (CIGITI) turned to the Canadian space technology behind Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre and partnered with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) to develop KidsArm.

KidsArm

KidsArm platform with biopsy tool attached.

Image Credit: MDA and CIGITI

The third prototype of KidsArm, the first image-guided robotic surgical arm in the world specifically designed for pediatric surgery, is currently being tested at SickKids Hospital, and researchers are hoping that the technology might soon lend a helping hand to surgeons around the country.

While more testing is needed, the robot is also promising for fetal, cardiac, neurological and urological surgeries.

The suturing tool demonstrates image-guided anastomosis, which means the connecting of parts such as vessels. 

The target on the top of the tool is used to lead the tool's tip. 

This is the same technology used to track the robotic systems on the space shuttle and the International Space Station.

Image Credit: MDA and CIGITI

Using a pair of hand controllers in conjunction with high-precision, real-time imaging technology, surgeons can pinpoint the area of concern to make it easier to reconnect delicate vessels, for example.

KidsArm is also equipped with miniaturized dexterous tools that can cut, coagulate, apply suction, or use a laser.

It is capable of working 10 times faster and with more accuracy than a surgeon's hands when performing intricate procedures.

Advanced technologies such as imaged-based tissue tracking and robotic assistance select and track sutures so that surgeons can compensate for the tissue motion that sometimes makes these surgeries difficult.

A stereo camera generates a 3D point cloud, a set of data points that guide the tool tip and apply a series of sutures. KidsArm pushes the envelope using advanced imaging to identify suture locations.

This allows the surgeon to automate the suturing of small vessels and other microsurgical tasks.

The precision required by KidsArm has to be at least 10 times better than what DEXTRE is able to achieve.

CSA DEXTRE on the ISS

To face this technical challenge, the MDA team adopted the virtual decomposition control (VDC) approach developed by Canadian Space Agency (CSA) engineer Wen-Hong Zhu.

Wen-Hong Zhu

Thanks to this technology, KidsArm is capable of performing intricate procedures such as the suturing of blood vessels and tissues 10 times faster and with more accuracy than a surgeon's hands.

The VDC is a Canadian game-changing technology for precision control of future medical manipulators and space manipulators.

In terms of robotics, the team used a combination of industrial robots, control electronics, cameras and haptics (force-feedback controllers).

The control software evolved directly from the Dextre and Canadarm programs at MDA, and the vision was adapted from their satellite navigation work for the CSA.

One day, this technology may help by making medical procedures on children less invasive and less painful, allowing them to return home faster... so that kids can be kids.

US Section of ISS suffers Ammonia leak: Astronauts evacuated to Russian module

The Expedition 42 crew members of the International Space Station were forced to evacuate the U.S. section Wednesday after a chemical leak, the American and Russian space agencies said.

All crew were safe and had moved to the Russian side of the facility after the leak of “harmful substances,” the Russian Federal Space Agency said on its website.

The U.S. section of the I.S.S. had been sealed off, it said.

NASA confirmed to reporters that the leak was ammonia. The space agency said the crew were safe.

Flight controllers at Mission Control in Houston saw readings that could indicate an ammonia leak in a worst case scenario and acted conservatively to protect the crew.

It is not yet known whether the alarm was triggered by a leak, a faulty sensor or a computer problem, as indicated by a recent podcast.

SpaceX Dragon Arrives at ISS - Docked

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrives at ISS to unload cargo and refresh astronauts' supplies. 

Credit: NASA

SpaceX's Dragon capsule is set to arrive at the International Space Station this morning.

The cargo craft, launched early Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is carrying more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and payloads, including the Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (CATS), which will monitor cloud and aerosol coverage that directly impacts the global climate.

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti tweeted; 'Dragon is berthed! Did leak check & equalized pressure, now our hatch is open. On Dragon hatch "smell of space".' 

Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (CATS) 

Credit: NASA

Midwinter Festival celebrations on the Space Station

NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore (left) floats with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (center) and NASA's Terry Virts (right) are decked out for Christmas 2014.

Credit: Sam Cristoforetti Twitter/ESA

Astronauts in space have decked the halls of the International Space Station in honour of the holiday season.

The international crew members on the station have hung stockings, pulled out the orbiting outpost's Christmas tree, and they generally seem to be getting into the Christmas spirit.

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti even sent out a picture of her with NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Barry "Butch" Wilmore with their decorations on the station.

"It's beginning to look like Christmas on the International Space Station," NASA officials wrote on a blog about the holiday.

"The stockings are out, the tree is up and the station residents continue advanced space research to benefit life on Earth and in space."

Space Station Christmas decorationsPin It ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti decorates the International Space Station for Christmas 2014.

Credit: NASA

Although NASA astronauts usually get the day off for Christmas, they have still been taking part in a variety of experiments leading up to the holiday.

On Dec. 23, for example, the crewmembers participated in a neurology experiment to monitor how motor control, perception and other aspects of brain function change over time in space, according to NASA.

In addition to Wilmore, Virts and Cristoforetti, the station's cre includes Russian cosmonauts Elena Serova, Alexander Samokutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov.

People on Earth can also send holiday messages of cheer to astronauts in space this season. NASA has set up a special portal for Earthlings that want to send their greetings to Virts and Wilmore on the station.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti enjoying ISS Zero Gravity

After a textbook Russian launch and precise docking on Sunday night, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos commander Anton Shkaplerov boarded the International Space Station.

This image taken by Terry of Samantha was Samantha’s first Tweet from space, with the comment: “Amazing being in space, better than anything I ever imagined. Saw my first sunrise from the Cupola today!”

The three astronauts have about a week to get used to floating around their new surroundings before taking on a full schedule of science and maintenance for the rest of their six-month mission.

Credit: ESA

US ISS space lab in relative darkness during 'sleep time'

The US ISS space lab in relative darkness during 'sleep time' on the space station.

This image was posted on Twitter by the new guy, NASA astronaut Terry Virts.

Credit: NASA

ISS Expedition 42 crew members Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts

In the front row, from left are the newest Expedition 42 crew members Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts.

In the back are Elena Serova, Commander Barry Wilmore and Alexander Samokutyaev.

They are in the Zvezda service module for a traditional crew greeting ceremony with family and mission officials on the ground. Credit: NASA TV

NASA astronaut Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency joined their Expedition 42 crewmates when the hatches between the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft and the International Space Station officially opened at midnight EST. Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore of NASA and Alexander Samoukutyaev and Elena Serova of Roscosmos welcomed the new crew members aboard their orbital home.

Expedition 42 will continue to take advantage of the orbital lab’s unique microgravity environment and expand the scope of research.

The crew will perform experiments that cover human research, biological and physical sciences, technology development and Earth observations as well as engage in educational activities.

They are scheduled to greet a host of cargo vehicles during their mission, including a number of U.S. commercial resupply flights, two Russian Progress resupply missions and the departure of the final European ATV cargo spacecraft. The crew will conduct up to three U.S. spacewalks.

Wilmore, Samoukutyaev and Serova will return home in March 2015. At that time Virts will become commander for Expedition 43. Virts, Shkaplerov and Cristoforetti will return to Earth in May 2015.

Russian Soyuz Delivers Crew of 3 to International Space Station

A Russian Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying three new members of the Expedition 42 crew approaches the International Space Station ahead of docking on Nov. 23, 2014.

Credit: NASA

Three new crewmembers arrived at the International Space Station late Sunday (Nov. 23), doubling the orbiting lab's population back up to its full six-person strength.

NASA astronaut Terry Virts, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov blasted off atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:01 p.m. EST (2101 GMT, 3:01 a.m. local time in Baikonur).

The trio reached the space station about six hours later after a quick trip through space.

Virts, Cristoforetti and Shkaplerov's Soyuz spacecraft linked up with the space station at 9:48 p.m. EST (0248 GMT).

Virts is planning on sharing his experiences in space via social media websites like Twitter. The NASA astronaut is planning to take photos of his views of the planet to help people experience a little bit of what spaceflight is like.

"It's such a unique experience and such a small number of people ever get to leave Earth, so I'm going to be using Twitter and Instagram to share pictures," Virts told reporters before launch.

"@AstroTerry is the call-sign [Twitter handle]. And hopefully I can just share the adventure that I'm going on with as many people as possible around the world."

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft are currently the only spaceflight vehicle that can transport NASA astronauts to the space station.

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti ready for Futura mission

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is all set for her five-month mission on the International Space Station. 

Credit: ESA

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will leave Earth on Sunday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov.

Samantha was assigned to the Futura mission more than two years ago and has travelled the world training on all the elements of the most complex machine ever built: the International Space Station.

She learnt how to control the Station’s robotic arms, how to handle any emergency and how to perform all the scientific experiments she will run for the scientists on Earth.

NASA astronaut Terry Virts, Roscosmos commander Anton Shkaplerov and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with the Soyuz spacecraft that will take them to the International Space Station on 23 November at 20:59 GMT (21:59 CET).

Credit: ESA

The last hurdles included the final exams to qualify for flying the Soyuz that will take them to space, and a two-week quarantine to avoid bringing any unwanted passengers to the Station.

The next ESA astronaut to head for space, Andreas Mogensen, is sharing the quarantine with Samantha as experience ahead of his own 10-day ‘iriss’ mission.

Samantha, Anton and Terry visited their spacecraft for the last time before launch last week and made a final check of the pressure suits they will wear during their journey to space.

The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft moved by train, 21 November 2014, from the assembly building to Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad 31, in Kazakhstan.

Credit: ESA

Different versions of the Soyuz spacecraft have been flying for almost five decades and many traditions have developed over that time.

This week the international crew planted a tree on a boulevard in Kazakhstan, adding to the trees planted by every astronaut before launch.

On Sunday, Samantha will sign the door of the ‘cosmonaut hotel’ before leaving.

Despite its age, Soyuz has been updated and improved continually and it will deliver the crew to their new home orbiting Earth 400 km high in under six hours.

To get there so quickly, Expedition 42/43 will be propelled by the Soyuz rocket to 28 800 km/h accelerating 50 km/h on average every second for the first nine minutes after liftoff.

Space Station Astronauts Grow a Water Bubble in Space

During Expedition 40 in the summer of 2014, NASA astronauts Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst, explored the phenomenon of water surface tension in microgravity on the International Space Station.

The crew "submerged" a sealed GoPro camera into a floating ball of water the size of a softball and recorded the activity with a 3-D camera. (Video: NASA)

Note: You will need red-blue stereoscopic 3D vision glasses to view the video.

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Futura mission

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti talks about her six-month International Space Station and the Futura mission provided by Italy’s ASI space agency. 

Samantha explains the story behind her mission name Futura, recounts the journey to becoming an astronaut and how her life has changed.

Follow Samantha and her Futura mission

ESA ATV-5 Georges Lemaître moves ISS away from Space Debris

A view from the International Space Station with ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle 5, Georges Lemaître. 

Credit: ESA/NASA

The International Space Station was threatened by space debris last week but ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle 5, Georges Lemaître saved the day by firing its thrusters to push the orbital outpost and its six occupants out of harm's way.

This is the first time the Station's international partners have avoided space debris with such urgency.

Ground stations continuously track space junk, leftover hardware from defunct satellites, for potentially life-threatening collisions.

A fleck of paint can cause major damage travelling at 28 800 km/h. When they raise the alarm, ground teams can move the Station to a safer orbit.

The calculations sometimes take hours, this is rocket science, but fortunately, most of the time, the radar network gives ample warning.

Sometimes a dangerous object can slip through the net or its erratic behaviour makes accurate predictions difficult.

This is where ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle 5, Georges Lemaître came in on 27 October.

A piece of a Russian Kosmos-2251 satellite that broke up after colliding with another satellite in 2009 was on a collision course with the International Space Station.

The object was around the size of a hand and calculations showed it would pass within 4 km, too close for comfort.

Just six hours before potential impact, the five space Station agencies agreed to an emergency manoeuvre.

The ATV Control Centre team in Toulouse, France, triggered a boost of 1.8 km/h, enough to raise the 420-tonne Station by 1 km and out of harm's way.

This image of the International Space Station with the docked ESA's ATV-2 Johannes Kepler and Space Shuttle Endeavour was taken by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli from Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking on 24 May 2011. 

Credit: ESA/NASA

Before 2012, if an object was spotted within 24 hours of a potential strike the astronauts returned to their spacecraft, prepared for evacuation and hoped for the best.

Since 2012, emergency manoeuvres at less than 24 hours' notice are possible using Russia's Progress supply ship, but none was in harbour earlier this week.

ATVs have been able to perform this move since last year, starting with ATV-4 Albert Einstein, but its services were not required during its mission.

Although this debris avoidance used a predefined manoeuvre, great care was taken to make sure that the move did not push the Station into a worse orbit or affect the docking of last week's Progress.

"This is what the ATV Control Centre team trains for," said ESA flight director Jean-Michel Bois.

"Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, we are ready to react and we practise often in simulations.

"Reacting so quickly to save the Space Station in real life was tense but rewarding."

ESA’s supply and support ferry ATV-5 Georges Lemaître approaches the International Space Station for docking. 

The fifth and last Automated Transfer Vehicle docked with the weightless research centre on 12 August 2014. 

Credit: Roscosmos–O. Artemyev

In close coordination with the Station's control centres in Moscow, Russia and Houston, USA, the ATV team commanded a four-minute thruster burn starting at 17:42 GMT (18:42 CET).

The helping hand from Georges Lemaître was one of the last tricks up ATV's sleeve. The versatile vessels have achieved many firsts for ESA.

They are the largest European spacecraft ever launched and the only non-Russian vehicle to dock automatically with the Station.

After delivering more than 6.6 tonnes of supplies, fuel and gases, Georges Lemaître will undock in February and burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, after demonstrating a new shallow reentry for planning Station decommissioning.

Soyuz TMA-03M and Progress as seen by ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers during his mission. Credit: ESA/NASA

"The debris avoidance demonstrates ATV's reliability and the great team behind mission control," concluded ESA's ATV-5 mission manager Massimo Cislaghi.

"With this manoeuvre, ATVs have met every requirement of the original design."

But the versatility does not end there. ATV technology will be a critical part of NASA's Orion, supplying power and life-support for the next generation of crewed spacecraft.

ESA’s supply and support ferry ATV Georges Lemaître approaches the International Space Station for docking. 

The fifth and last Automated Transfer Vehicle docked with the weightless research centre on 12 August 2014. 

Credit: Roscosmos–O. Artemyev

ESA ISS Astronaut detects the Orange glow over Africa

ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst reports that "When light from the Cupola tints the inside of the ISS orange, I can tell we're over Africa without even looking out the window." 

Credit: ESA, Alexander Gerst

Expedition 41 crew selfie portrait on the International Space Station

Expedition 41 crew portrait on the International Space Station. 

From left: ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, Roscosmos cosmonauts Elena Serova, Maxim Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev, and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore.

The rear astronauts are dressed in the Sokol suits they will wear in their Soyuz spacecraft that will take them back to Earth on 9 November. Alexander, Max and Reid were making sure their suits still fit and have no leaks after having been stored on arrival at the Station almost six months ago.

Yelena, Alexander Samokutyaev and Barry will continue working in the weightless research centre, but they will not feel lonely for long.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov will join their colleagues on 24 November.

Alexander Gerst commented on this image: “The International Space Station Expedition 41 crew. My favourite selfie in space!”

ISS Russian Cosmonauts conduct Third Spacewalk (EVA) of October

Spacewalker Maxim Suraev works outside the Poisk mini-research module in January 2010.

Image Credit: NASA TV

Russian spacewalkers Max Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev opened the Pirs docking compartment hatch to the vacuum of space at 9:28 a.m. EDT to begin the third spacewalk for Expedition 41 crew members in as many weeks.

Their spacewalk is expected to last six hours. Two U.S. spacewalks took place Oct. 7 and 15.

Russian spacewalkers Max Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev.

Image Credit: NASA TV

The duo’s first task is to remove the Radiometriya experiment that was installed on the Zvezda service module in 2011 and which is no longer required for data collection.

They will then jettison it for a later reentry into the atmosphere where it will burn up. The experiment gathered data to help scientists predict seismic events and earthquakes.

The veteran cosmonauts will then move on to another external experiment and remove its protective cover.

They will photograph the Expose-R experiment before taking a break during the orbital night period.

After orbital sunrise, they will take more photographs of the work area, translate back to Pirs and place the protective cover inside.

The European Space Agency study exposes organic and biological samples to the harsh environment of space and observes how they are affected by cosmic radiation, vacuum and night and day cycles.

Read the full story here

International Space Station: Astronauts continue with Business as Usual

Commander Maxim Suraev and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst are pictured in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA

The six-person Expedition 41 crew of the International Space Station tackled a range of biomedical research and cargo transfers Friday, capping off a week that included the second of two U.S. spacewalks and preparations for a Russian spacewalk on Oct. 22.

For Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, most of the day’s science activity focused on a pair of protein crystal growth experiments, which utilize the station’s microgravity environment to grow protein crystals too fragile to form in Earth’s gravity.

Gerst used a reflective microscope to capture images of samples from the NanoRacks-Protein Crystal Growth-1 study, which uses commercial off-the shelf equipment to grow protein crystals on slides.

Later, Gerst joined Wiseman to deactivate and pack up the completed Commercial Protein Crystal Growth-HM experiment.

This investigation is expanding on an ongoing program into the complex realm of membrane proteins that help cells identify each other for immune responses and move molecules to and from a cell’s interior.

Pure crystals that yield information about the protein’s structure will open the way for a coherent, structure-based design of a broader range of medicines for treating diseases and disorders.

The Commercial Protein Crystal Growth-HM experiment, along with about 3,800 pounds of other cargo, is slated to return to Earth on Tuesday aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft.

After the robotics team at Houston’s Mission Control Center uses the Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Dragon from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node, Wiseman, with assistance from Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore, will oversee the release of Dragon for its parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of California.

ISS Astronauts Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore prepare for EVA

Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman (right) and Barry Wilmore spent most of the day on Tuesday, Oct. 14 completing preparations for their 6 ½-hour Oct. 15 spacewalk. 

The two astronauts set up their spacesuits and tools in the equipment lock of the Quest airlock. 

Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, who is coordinating spacewalk activities from inside the station, joined Wiseman and Wilmore for a review of spacewalk procedures.

ISS Astronauts broadcast multimedia experience from Space Station - Video

Nasa's Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) and ESA's Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) posting incredible content captured from the International Space Station on their Twitter feeds.

In between conducting ISS experiments and research, the astronauts are taking videos, timelapses, Vines, photos and panoramas on the ISS.

The pair have so far shown off the Earth's beauty like never before, posting some fascinating demonstrations of zero gravity, inserting cameras into water bubbles and giving insight into daily life at the station.



This timelapse video from space was taken by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from the Cupola observatory module on the International Space Station as it orbited Earth at around 400 km altitude.

As the Space Station passes over Earth at night we can see city lights and lightning.

Below is a Vine clip of the spectacular Aurora Borealis taken from the ISS.

NASA Astronauts Wiseman and Wilmore Complete Spacewalk (EVA)

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore work outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Oct. 15, 2014.

Credit: NASA TV

Two NASA astronauts working outside the International Space Station raced against the clock during a spacewalk today (Oct. 15).

NASA's Reid Wiseman and Barry "Butch" Wilmore performed a 6.5-hour-long spacewalk that included one particularly tricky task that had to be started and completed when the orbiting outpost was in orbital night.

Wilmore and Wiseman managed to remove and replace a power regulator that shorted out in May during the short amount of time when the station experienced night.

"Whoop!" one of the astronauts exulted after the replacement regulator was installed. The regulator, which is used to regulate power from one of the station's solar arrays, needed to be changed out in order to restore the station to full power.

Mission controllers watched a clock ticking down the time the astronauts had to complete the task.

The spacewalk officially began at 8:16 a.m. EDT (1216 GMT) and ended 6 hours and 34 minutes later.

The two astronauts also removed a faulty camera from the outside of the station and installed a new one.

Wilmore and Wiseman also moved some equipment to get ready for the eventual relocation of the station's Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) in 2015, NASA officials said.

PMM was built by the Italian Space Agency and is attached to the Earth-facing side of Unity module.

Despite their hard day of work, the astronauts still had time to do a little sightseeing while outside the space station.

They both got some good views of Earth during the spacewalk.

"That is amazing," one of the astronauts said when the spacewalkers spotted a possibly erupting volcano while flying above Earth.

"I see Cairo," Wiseman said during a pass over Egypt. "Can't quite make out the pyramids, though."

The PMM needs to be moved in order to make way for a pair of commercial crewed vehicles that could begin flying astronauts to the orbiting outpost as early as in 2017.

Astronauts will also need to install a set of international docking adaptors that should fly to the station in 2015 for the commercial vehicles.

The two October spacewalks kick off a series of EVAs (extravehicular activities) designed to make way for the new private spaceships once they start delivering astronauts to the station.

"We're going to be doing the things we need to do on these EVAs to prep for moving some modules around," Kenny Todd, space station integration operations manager, said during a news conference before the spacewalks.

"All that is in preparation for being able to support future [commercial] crewed vehicles coming to [the] station. We're trying to get out in front of that … We'll be prepping for moving modules; we'll be installing a new docking adapter system. All of that will be happening throughout the next several months on board the station."