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CX2SA > ISS 02.06.06 15:13l 95 Lines 4606 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: ISS STATUS REPORT #06-27
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CX2SA
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : ISS@WW
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*International Space Station Status Report #06-27*
*1 a.m. CDT, Friday, June 2, 2006*
*Expedition 13 Crew*
The residents of the International Space Station ventured outside their
orbital home Thursday night to conduct a 6-hour, 31-minute spacewalk to
repair, retrieve and replace hardware on the U.S. and Russian segments
of the complex.
Clad in Russian Orlan spacesuits, Expedition 13 Commander Pavel
Vinogradov and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer Jeff Williams
opened the hatch to the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock at 5:48 p.m.
CDT to begin the 65th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and
maintenance. It was the sixth spacewalk for Vinogradov and the second
for Williams. The spacewalk began as the station flew 220 miles over
southern Asia.
After setting up tools and tethers outside Pirs, Vinogradov and Williams
used the telescoping boom, designated Strela and attached to the
airlock, to transport them to the forward area of the Zvezda Service
Module that connects to the Zarya Module. There, Vinogradov installed a
new nozzle to a valve that helps vent hydrogen into space from the
Elektron oxygen-generator in Zvezda. Elektron uses the process of
electrolysis to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water in the system.
Oxygen is circulated into the cabin atmosphere while hydrogen is vented
overboard. A nozzle on the hull of Zvezda used for that purpose
previously had become clogged, reducing Elektron’s efficiency and
forcing Elektron to use the same vent line employed by a contamination
monitoring device.
Two weeks ago, Vinogradov rigged a vent line inside Zvezda as the
precursor to the installation of the new vent valve nozzle on the
exterior of the module. The refurbished Elektron is scheduled to be
reactivated on Monday.
Next, the two moved to the aft end of Zvezda where they took pictures of
one of several antennas designed to provide navigational information for
the unpiloted docking of the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV),
scheduled to make its maiden flight next year. Russian engineers suspect
the antenna’s cable may have prevented a cover on one of Zvezda’s
reboost engines from opening during an aborted test firing earlier this
year.
Later, Vinogradov took up cable slack from another ATV navigation
antenna and took pictures for technicians to study.
While on the Russian segment of the station, Vinogradov removed a device
called Kromka from Zvezda’s hull that has collected jet thruster residue
while Williams retrieved the third in a series of three canisters from
the outside of Pirs in an experiment called Biorisk that studied the
effect of the space environment on microorganisms. Both Kromka and
Biorisk were brought inside and will be returned to Earth.
Williams also collected a contamination monitoring unit from Pirs and
returned it to the cabin for later analysis.
With the crew slightly behind schedule, a decision was made to extend
the maximum time for the spacewalk. Following that decision, control of
the spacewalk was handed from the Russian flight control team at the
Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow to the U.S. flight control
team at Mission Control Houston, as planned.
Vinogradov and Williams maneuvered themselves on the Strela to the
juncture of the Russian and U.S. segments of the outpost, and then moved
to the station’s truss. They removed a video camera on the Mobile Base
System that sits upon a rail car that moves up and down the truss to
position the station’s robotic arm for assembly work. They replaced the
camera, which failed in February 2005, with a new one.
Russian flight controllers reassumed responsibility for the spacewalk as
Vinogradov and Williams used Strela to move back to the Pirs Docking
Compartment. They re-entered the station and closed the hatch at 12:19
a.m. CDT to conclude their excursion.
The crew will reactivate station systems early this morning and open up
the internal hatches between the U.S. and Russian segments before
beginning a sleep period that will extend into Friday afternoon.
Vinogradov and Williams will enjoy a few days of relaxation through
early next week.
The next station status report will be issued on Friday, June 9, or
earlier if events warrant. For more about the crew's activities and
station sighting opportunities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
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