Category: Space Station

Although the International Space Station is pretty safe from micrometeorite impacts, NASA wanted to give the station an extra layer of protection. So, cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov made their second trip outside the station on Wednesday, installing scientific equipment and improving the Zvezda module’s armour.

The team exited the station from the Pirs airlock on Wednesday, and spent 5 hours and 25 minutes performing a series of outside jobs. Their first task was to install a Russian scientific experiment called Biorisk. This measures the effects of microorganisms on structural materials used in space. This was hooked up to the outside of Pirs.

Then they connected an Ethernet cable onto a section of the Zarya module. This task is only halfway finished. They’ve got a second part to do in a future spacewalk.

Finally, they moved to the Zvezda Service Module, and installed a series of 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick aluminum panels to the outside of the module. These will give Zvezda more protection if it’s unlucky enough to get hit by a micrometeorite.

The station’s third resident, American astronaut Suni Williams, remained inside to help coordinate activities.

Original Source: NASA News Release

The International Space Station is getting an upgrade today. Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov stepped outside the station this afternoon, to begin a 6-hour spacewalk to install a debris protection system to the Zvezda module. The station’s 3rd resident, US astronaut Sunita Williams, remained inside.

If everything goes according to schedule, the two men will install the Service Module Debris Protection (SMDP) panels onto the Zvezda module, and reroute a Global Positioning System antenna cable.

While station operators are able to detect larger chunks of space debris and move the station, the smaller pieces are almost impossible to detect, and could punch through the station. These 17 protective panels will give an additional layer of protection to the station’s inhabitants.

They’re scheduled another spacewalk next Wednesday, where they’ll perform similar tasks.

Original Source: NASA News Release

The latest Progress cargo ship sent to the International Space Station docked today, delivering much needed air, water, fuel and other supplies. It was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday morning, and took 3 days to match orbit with the station.

Progress 25 linked up to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Tuesday morning while the station was above the northeast coast of Australia. The docking only took minutes, but now the hatch between the two craft will be slowly opened up overnight, so the astronauts can get to work unloading it.

On board Progress 25 are more than 476 kg (1,050 pounds) of propellant, 45 kg (100 pounds) of air, 420 kg (925 pounds) of water, and another 1,380 (3,042 pounds) of dry cargo.

Original Source: NASA News Release

A new Progress supply ship (P25) blasted off for the International Space Station on Friday, carrying more than 2.5 tonnes of fuel, air, water and other supplies. The unpiloted ship is expected to link up automatically with the station on Tuesday, docking at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module.

Once astronauts fully unload its cargo, they’ll fill it back up again with trash and other material from the space station. It’ll then undock and burn up through the Earth’s atmosphere on July 20, making the garbage disappear forever.

The Progress vessels are very similar to the piloted Soyuz spacecraft that the Russians use to launch cosmonauts, and serve as lifeboats for astronauts on board the International Space Station.

Original Source: NASA News Release