NASA Spacewalkers Move Crane, Install Experiment

International Space Station Expedition 30 Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Anton Shkaplerov wrapped up a six-hour, 15-minute spacewalk at 3:46 p.m. EST Thursday.

The two spacewalkers moved the Strela-1 crane from the Pirs docking compartment to begin preparing the Pirs for its replacement next year with a new laboratory and docking module. Kononenko and Shkaplerov used another boom, the Strela-2, to move the hand-operated crane to the Poisk module for future assembly and maintenance work.

Both telescoping booms extend like fishing rods and are used to move massive components outside the station. This task was originally scheduled during an Expedition 28 spacewalk on Aug. 3, 2011, but was called off due to time constraints.

While Kononenko and Shkaplerov were on the exterior of Poisk, they also installed the Vinoslivost Materials Sample Experiment, which will investigate the influence of space on the mechanical properties of the materials.

The duo also collected a test sample from underneath the insulation on the Zvezda service module to search for any signs of living organisms.

The pair was unable to complete all the originally planned tasks, including the installation of five debris shields on Zvezda.

Both spacewalkers wore Russian Orlan suits bearing blue stripes and equipped with NASA helmet cameras.

This spacewalk was the 162nd in support of space station assembly and maintenance, totaling 1021 hours, 47 minutes. With two previous spacewalks during Expedition 17 in 2008 under his belt, Kononenko now has a total of 18 hours, 27 minutes of spacewalking time. It was Shkaplerov's first spacewalk and the only one scheduled during Expedition 30.

Because of the location of the activities, Commander Dan Burbank and Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin entered the Poisk module at 7:20 a.m., where they were isolated for the duration of the spacewalk with access to their Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft in the event of an emergency.

Meanwhile, Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers, whose Soyuz TMA-03M is docked to the Rassvet module, were free to move about the U.S. segment of the complex.

DEXTRE: Canadian Robot Repairs Components on ISS

Canadian built Dextre was designed to reduce the need for astronauts to conduct spacewalks for routine maintenance, therefore freeing up the crew's time for more important activities, like conducting science.

Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency's robotic handyman aboard the International Space Station (ISS), has successfully replaced a faulty circuit-breaker box on the orbiting lab.

The robot swapped the failed component for a fresh one, thereby restoring part of the orbiting lab's backup electrical systems. The maneuver marks the first time Dextre replaces defective equipment on the Station.

Known by the technical term "Remote Power Control Modules," (RPCMs)," circuit-breaker boxes control the flow of electricity through the ISS's secondary power distribution system, and tend to fail occasionally. Up to now, exchanging the boxes was done by spacewalkers, which always carries a certain level of risk.

Dextre was designed to reduce the need for astronauts to conduct spacewalks for routine maintenance, therefore freeing up the crew's time for more important activities, like conducting science.

Canadarm2 supported Dextre during the entire operation, which took place on August 28-29. Dextre was operated from the groundbotics flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and supported by several teams of engineers both in Houston and at the Canadian Space Agency's headquarters in Saint-Hubert, Quebec.

While the robotic handyman remains on-call for duty if any issues arise, Dextre also has a full list of scheduled tasks. Later this week, the Canadian-built robot will relocate two small storage pallets from their current location the robot's workbench to the Express Logistics Carrier 4 on the ISS.

One of the pallets carries the equipment for the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), Dextre's first research and development project to test the technologies and techniques necessary to refuel satellites in flight.

NASA ISS: Expedition 24 space walk

Expedition 24 Flight Engineer Shannon Walker works on the Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory. Credit: NASA.

The members of the International Space Station's Expedition 24 crew shifted their sleep schedule Monday in preparation for their mission's first spacewalk, waking up at about 2:40 p.m. EDT.
Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin, a veteran of three spacewalks in 2007 during Expedition 15, and Mikhail Kornienko, a spacewalk rookie, will perform the six-hour spacewalk. The pair will exit the Pirs docking compartment and work outside the Zarya and Zvezda modules. The Pirs Docking Compartment hatch is slated to open at 11:45 p.m. to begin the excursion.

The pair will outfit the Rassvet module's Kurs automated rendezvous system, install cables and remove and replace a video camera. Kurs is a Russian radio telemetry system that allows automated dockings of unmanned spacecraft such as the Progress resupply vehicle.

The new video camera will document the rendezvous and docking of future Automated Transfer Vehicles to the aft end of the Zvezda service module.

The next spacewalk will take place Aug. 5 with Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Doug Wheelock. The astronauts will exit the Quest airlock and install a Portable Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) on the Zarya module extending the reach of Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm, and increasing a spacewalker's capabilities.