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EVAs in May


GordonD

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3 MAY

 

1984 Leonid Kizim & Vladimir Solovyov (Salyut 7 Expedition 3)

 

Duration 2 hr 45 min

 

The cosmonauts made another attempt to repair the leak in Salyut's propulsion system, removing the thermal blankets again and installing a second conduit in the oxidiser feed line. This did not restore the system to operation but it did enable ground controllers to at last pin down the precise location of the fault. Unfortunately the tools to fix it were not aboard the station and would have to be delivered on a future flight. Three days later, Progress 20 undocked from the station, taking with it the special platform from which the cosmonauts had been working, evidence that the repair attempts had ended for the time being.

 

Fourth EVA for both men.

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10 MAY

 

1992 Pierre Thuot & Rick Hieb (STS-49)

 

Duration 3 hr 43 min

 

Three EVAs were planned for this Shuttle mission: in the first, the astronauts would retrieve the stricken Intelsat VI F-3 satellite, which had been stranded in low orbit since its launch by Titan III two years earlier. The plan was to attach a new solid-fuel rocket which would carry the satellite up to geostationary orbit. The other EVAs would be taken up by various activities in the cargo bay, rehearsing assembly techniques for the planned Space Station Alpha. However things did not go to plan. Endeavour, on its maiden flight, rendezvoused with the satellite during orbital night and Thuot, carrying a capture bar fitted with a grapple fixture, rode the end of the manipulator arm while Bruce Melnick in the crew cabin lifted him into position to snare Intelsat. He attempted to capture the comsat but the grapple fixture failed to secure itself. He tried twice more but again without success. The satellite was moving out of reach of the manipulator and, worse, had begun to wobble, so the EVA was cut short and Endeavour pulled away to a safe distance so ground controllers could stabilise it. The retrieval would have to wait until another day.

 

First EVA for both astronauts.

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11 MAY

 

1992 Pierre Thuot & Rick Hieb (STS-49)

 

Duration 5 hr 26 min

 

Thuot and Hieb made a second attempt to retrieve Intelsat, but with no more success than the first time. Rendezvous was again completed on the night side but this time Thuot waited until sunrise to begin trying to snare the satellite. Hieb was watching from the cargo bay and could confirm that Thuot's alignment was perfect, but the capture bar simply would not latch onto the satellite. Thuot was using less force than before but nothing was working. Once again the satellite was left wobbling and Endeavour pulled away. But the crew were planning a new strategy, one that had never been tried in nearly thirty years of EVA operations.

 

Second EVA for both astronauts.

 

 


2013 Chris Cassidy & Tom Marshburn (ISS Expedition 35)

 

Duration 5 hr 30 min

 

The prime task was to inspect and replace a pump controller box on the P6 Truss, which had been leaking ammonia coolant. The leak had been observed only two days earlier, and the entire EVA operation had been planned and conducted in record time. The new unit had been parked nearby on a previous EVA and installation was completed after about two and a half hours. When the pump was started up, the astronauts watched closely for any signs of ammonia 'snowflakes' that would show a leak still existed, but there were none. As the EVA drew to a close, Cassidy paid tribute to Marq Gibbs, the long-term lead support diver at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, who had died unexpectedly a week earlier aged just 43.

 

Fourth EVA for both astronauts; also Marshburn's last one (he would return to Earth just three days later) giving a career total of 24 hr 29 min.

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12 MAY

 

1995 Vladimir Dezhurov & Gennadi Strekalov (Mir Expedition 18)

 

Duration 6 hr 8 min

 

At some point prior to the EVA, Strekalov had cut his hand while working inside Mir and the wound had become infected. It was rumoured that US astronaut Norm Thagard would take his place but the Russian authorities denied this and said that he did not have the required training. In the end Strekalov carried it out without incident. Preparations began ten days earlier when the cosmonauts carried out an inventory of the cables that would be used, and on 6 May they began the checks of the space-suits. A minor problem with one of the radio transmitters was found but this was soon dealt with and at last all was ready. The cosmonauts installed new wiring on the Kvant Module in preparation for the transfer of the two big solar arrays from Kristall. They then transferred to Kristall itself and practiced folding three small panels of one array: each had 28 in all. By this time the cosmonauts were well behind schedule, so the retrieval of a US-built space exposure experiment had to be postponed. Both men were reported to be very tired afterwards so were permitted to rest the whole of the following day.

 

First EVA for Dezhurov; the second for Strekalov.

 

 


2000 Sergei Zalyotin & Aleksandr Kaleri (Mir Expedition 28)

 

Duration 5 hr 30 min

 

The cosmonauts carried out a general assessment of the station's condition, extensively photographing its exterior, and retrieving various data samples. They also inspected a solar cell cable which had previously short-circuited, and finally carried out a successful test of a leak repair sealant on the station's hull.

 

This was the last EVA to be carried out from Mir. It was Kaleri's fourth and Zalyotin's only one.

 

 

 

2017 Peggy Whitson & Jack Fischer (ISS Expedition 51)

 

Duration 4 hr 13 min

 

The astronauts replaced a large avionics box supplying electricity and data connections to the science experiments. They also completed additional tasks in installed a connector to route data to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, repaired insulation on the Japanese module's manipulator arm, and fitted a protective shield on Pressurised Mating Adapter 3.

 

Fischer's first EVA; Whitson's ninth (breaking her own record for the number carried out by a female astronaut)

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13 MAY

 

1992 Pierre Thuot, Rick Hieb & Tom Akers (STS-49)

 

Duration 8 hr 29 min (a new record)

 

This was the first three-man EVA in history and in fact remains the only one to this day. The three astronauts had to squeeze together in the airlock, as mission rules prohibited the outer hatch being closed while a crewman was outside, in case it jammed and he couldn't get back in again. On the ground, astronauts Story Musgrave, Rich Clifford and James Voss used the Shuttle mock-up in the WETF training facility to check that it was physically possible. Other checks prior to the attempt were by flight controllers to ensure that Endeavour had enough propellant for a third rendezvous, and by Intelsat engineers to verify that the satellite's surface temperature would not exceed 160°, the safe touching limit for the space-suit gloves. Everyone gave the go-ahead, and once rendezvous was complete the three astronauts emerged into space and took up position: Thuot on the end of the manipulator arm, Hieb near the starboard wall of the cargo bay and Akers in the middle, his feet attached to one of the struts to be used in the assembly experiment. Daniel Brandenstein manoeuvred Endeavour the last few metres up towards the satellite and after studying its rotation for some fifteen minutes the astronauts simply reached up and caught hold of it. Thuot and Akers maintained their grip while Hieb finally attached the capture bar, then Bruce Melnick aboard Endeavour grappled the bar with the manipulator arm and moved Intelsat into position above the new perigee kick motor. The astronauts now secured the motor into place then retreated to the airlock while Kathy Thornton activated the deployment mechanism. In one final act of resistance, it took three attempts before the launch springs sent Intelsat on its way. Two days later, as planned, the motor fired to put the satellite on the way to its assigned slot in Clarke orbit.

 

Third and final EVA for both Thuot and Hieb: their total time is 17 hr 38 min. First EVA for Akers.

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14 MAY

 

1992 Kathy Thornton & Tom Akers (STS-49)

 

Duration 7 hr 44 min

 

Three EVAs had been planned for this Shuttle mission: the first was to have been devoted to the retrieval and refurbishment of Intelsat VI F-3, with the other two seeing the astronauts practicing assembly techniques and other activities in the cargo bay related to future space station construction. But the satellite repair had required three EVAs all on its own, so there was only time for one more. ASEM (for Assembly of Station by EVA Methods) would simulate the construction of the truss backbone of Space Station Freedom, and involved linking struts together with connectors, nicknamed "sticks and balls". The astronauts built a 4.6m-wide pyramid but Thornton found it "an exercise in frustration" as the components were not designed for easy EVA handling. The narrow necks on the ends of the struts, used on the similar experiment on STS-61B, were not included this time because engineers saw it as a weak point. The other EVA task was to evaluate Crew Self Rescue devices, which would enable an astronaut to return to the spacecraft if he became untethered. Six of these devices were carried but time restraints meant that only one could be tested: the Crew Propulsive Device, a hand-held nozzle assembly resembling the one used by Ed White on America's first EVA back in 1964. This was fed by a nitrogen tank in the astronaut's backpack and though it worked well, the test had to be curtailed after ten minutes, half the planned time. The other devices which could not be tried out included inflatable and telescoping poles and a rope 'bola' that the drifting astronaut could use to lasso a strut on the spacecraft. These had already been tested aboard the zero-gee training aircraft.

 

Second EVA for Akers; the first for Thornton.

 

 


2009 John Grunsfeld & Drew Feustel (STS-125)

 

Duration 7 hr 20 min

 

This was the first of five EVAs on the last Hubble Servicing Mission, which had originally been dropped for safety reasons: the different orbits of telescope and space station meant that the crew could not seek refuge aboard the ISS in an emergency. However the flight was allowed to go ahead on condition that a 'rescue' Shuttle was prepared for a contingency launch in relatively short time should it be required. Grunsfeld's first task was to assemble a foot restraint that would allow Feustel to replace the Wide Field Camera 2 with an upgraded model capable of larger and more focused images. As this was going on, Grunsfeld mounted a protective blanket over Hubble's low-gain antenna. The astronauts also replaced the failed Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, and installed the Soft Capture Mechanism, a circular device that would allow future unmanned spacecraft to capture and release the telescope. Finally, they installed new latches on the servicing doors that would speed up the opening and closing on the EVAs to follow.

 

Sixth EVA for Grunsfeld (all five previous ones were devoted to Hubble maintenance); the first for Feustel.

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15 MAY

 

2009 Mike Massimino & Michael Good (STS-125)

 

Duration 7 hr 56 min

 

Second of five EVAs devoted to servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. The primary job was to replace three Rate Sensor Units: Massimino rode Atlantis's manipulator arm and removed the old units, which were stored in the cargo bay, while Good assisted him. The pair then replaced one of Hubble's Battery Module Units, which involved Good unscrewing fourteen bolts to remove the 210kg expired battery and fit the new one.

 

Third EVA for Massimino (like Grunsfeld, both of his previous ones had involved Hubble maintenance); the first for Good.

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16 MAY

 

2009 John Grunsfeld & Drew Feustel (STS-125)

 

Duration 6 hr 36 min

 

Third of the Hubble Servicing EVAs. The astronauts replaced the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) with the new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, which required Feustel to ride the manipulator arm, unhook four connectors, sever a ground strap and unbolt two latches. The old unit was stowed away in the cargo bay and the spectrograph connected in its place. They also repaired the failed Advanced Camera for Surveys by installing a new power supply and replacing four circuit boards.

 

Seventh EVA for Grunsfeld; second for Feustel.

 

 


2018 Drew Feustel & Richard Arnold (ISS Expedition 55)

 

Duration 6 hr 31 min

 

The astronauts moved the Pump Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station’s truss to the Dextre robotic arm. The PFCS drives and controls the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station’s cooling system. They then removed and replaced a camera group and a degraded Space to Ground Transmitter Receiver Controller, and were also able to complete several get-ahead tasks.

 

Eighth EVA for Feustel (nine years to the day after his second!); fourth for Arnold.

 

 

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17 MAY

 

1995 Vladimir Dezhurov & Gennadi Strekalov (Mir Expedition 18)

 

Duration 6 hr 52 min

 

Inside Mir, NASA astronaut Norm Thagard flipped switches to retract one of the Kristall Module's solar arrays. Dezhurov operated the Strela boom with Strekalov positioned on the end to observe the operation. One panel of the array failed to close and Strekalov had to do it manually. No tools were required to detach the array as it was designed to be removed by hand. Dezhurov then transferred Strekalov and the array to the worksite on Kvant, then joined him there. Cables had to be installed along the length of the station, and there was insufficient time to install the array and unfold it as planned, so it was temporarily secured in place with tool tethers. This of course meant that the array would not be generating electrical power, so the deficit was made up in part by retaining the Progress M-27 freighter so that its solar panels could help out.

 

Second EVA for Dezhurov; third for Strekalov.

 

 


2009 Mike Massimino & Michael Good (STS-125)

 

Duration 8 hr 2 min

 

Fourth Hubble Servicing EVA. The astronauts replaced a failed power supply board in the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). To reach the old one required tools specially designed for the mission, to remove a cover plate and a handrail. The cover alone was secured by 111 fasteners, which also needed a separate capture plate to prevent them floating away. Another specially-designed tool was used to extract the old board: the entire operation was compared to brain surgery in its complexity and dexterity. This task took longer than expected and the installation of two thermal insulation panels had to be postponed.

 

Fourth and last EVA for Massimino: his career total is 30 hr 32 min (all devoted to Hubble repair). Second EVA for Good.

 

 


2010 Garrett Reisman & Steven Bowen (STS-132/ISS)

 

Duration 7 hr 25 min

 

The principal objective of the STS-132 mission was to ensure as much as possible that all components of the International Space Station were in good condition and capable of continuing to operate for the foreseeable future. With the Shuttle programme coming to an end, major maintenance would be more difficult if not impossible. On this occasion the astronauts transferred tools and spare parts from the cargo bay to their worksite and installed the spare Ku antenna boom, then mounted the antenna itself. This 1,83m dish would provide two-way video and voice communication between the station and ground control. It was attached by two bolts and six cables, which Bowen dealt with. The astronauts then assembled a new storage platform for the Dextre robot, adjacent to the Destiny Module. As there was time remaining, the pair loosened twelve bolts holding the P6 Truss batteries in preparation for the next EVA.

 

Second EVA for Reisman; fourth for Bowen.

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18 MAY

 

1984 Leonid Kizim & Vladimir Solovyov (Salyut 7 Expedition 3)

 

Duration 3 hr 5 min

 

With repairs to Salyut's propellant leak suspended for the time being, until the required tools could be delivered, attention switched to other matters. It had been planned from the start that the station's solar panels would be enlarged over the course of its operational life, and one had already been augmented the previous November. Progress 21 had delivered additional panels for the port array, made of gallium arsenide rather than the silicon type in place at launch. The new panels were more efficient at generating electricity. As the EVA began, the cosmonauts were carrying the two extensions in separate containers, which were jettisoned overboard once the panels had been removed. Each extension measured 4.5 square metres and when installed would boost the station's electrical supply by 1.2kW. Solovyov had difficulty tying two knots in wire bundles linking the arrays to the power circuit: he later compared it to "trying to thread a needle in boxing gloves".

 

Fifth EVA for both cosmonauts (equalling the record set by Dave Scott--though none of his were full EVAs in microgravity). 

 

 

2009 John Grunsfeld & Drew Feustel (STS-125)

 

Duration 7 hr 2 min

 

Fifth and last Hubble servicing EVA on this mission, and the last one of all: after this, the telescope would have to manage by itself. The work began with the replacement of a Battery Module Unit; then Grunsfeld rode the manipulator arm to retrieve the old Fine Guidance Sensor and delivered it back to the cargo bay, then installed the replacement and linked up its nine power connectors. The astronauts then installed three thermal blankets in the telescope's instrument bays. While they were performing the final clean-up, they inadvertently broke the tip of a low-gain antenna but this was not considered a major problem.

 

Eighth and last EVA for Grunsfeld: his career total amounts to 58 hr 30 min. Third EVA for Feustel.

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19 MAY

 

2010 Stephen Bowen & Michael Good (STS-132/ISS)

 

Duration 7 hr 9 min

 

The primary objective on this EVA was to replace old batteries on the P6 Truss, but as it turned out the astronauts first had to deal with a snagged cable on the Orbiter inspection boom. Once this had been freed, Bowen and Good completed the installation of the Ku antenna dish begun on the previous spacewalk. Even with this delay, they managed to replace four batteries, one more than planned. This operation was nicknamed 'the shepherding technique' due to the need for careful handling in removing the old batteries and guiding them to a temporary stowage area, then manoeuvring the new ones into position.

 

Fifth EVA for Bowen; third for Good.

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20 MAY

 

1996 Yuri Onufrienko & Yuri Usachyov (Mir Expedition 21)

 

Duration 5 hr 20 min

 

The cosmonauts used the Strela boom to reach the Docking Module at the end of Kristall. There, they detached the container holding the Mir Co-operative Solar Array, which had been delivered along with the DM on STS-74 the previous November. The container was transferred to Kvant and the array removed and mounted, where it would supply additional power for US experiments. The cosmonauts then carried out a purely commercial activity, assembling a 1.2m replica of a Pepsi-Cola can from aluminium struts and nylon sheets: these had been delivered by Progress M-31. They took videos of each other posing next to the can, which was then dismantled for return to Earth. The video would be used by Pepsico in an advertising campaign.

 

Second EVA for each cosmonaut.

 

 


2011 Drew Feustel & Greg Chamitoff (STS-134/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 19 min

 

The astronauts retrieved the MISSE-7 (Materials International Space Station Experiment) package and installed it in the Orbiter's cargo bay for return to Earth. It was replaced with MISSE-8. Chamitoff then attached a new light to the CETA cart, then the pair made the necessary preparations for the refilling of a leaking ammonia pump that would be carried out on a later EVA. They then began installation of the External Wireless Communication System on the Destiny lab, but then Chamitoff's suit Caution and Warning System reported a faulty CO₂ sensor and the EVA had to be cut short,

 

Fourth EVA for Feustel; the first for Chamitoff.

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21 MAY

 

2010 Michael Good & Garrett Reisman (STS-132/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 48 min

 

The astronauts completed the battery replacement on the P6 Truss begun on the previous EVA. They also had enough time to install a reserve nitrogen jumper between the P4 and P5 Trusses, to act as a backup in case of a break in the station's coolant system.

 

Fourth and last EVA for Good: his total career time is 29 hr 53 min. All four took place within the space of seven calendar days, though in two different years. Third and last EVA for Reisman: his total amounts to 21 hr 12 min.

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22 MAY

 

1995 Vladimir Dezhurov & Gennadi Strekalov (Mir Expedition 18)

 

Duration 5 hr 15 min

 

The cosmonauts completed the transfer of a solar array from Kristall to Kvant begun five days earlier: lacking time for the installation, they had merely secured it in place at its new location but were now able to mount it properly and hook up the power cables. Ironically, TV coverage was not possible due to a lack of electrical power but once the array was in place Norm Thagard, aboard Mir, commanded it to unfold, boosting the supply. The cosmonauts then returned to Kristall and closed 13 of its 28 segments so that it could continue to produce electricity but also leave sufficient clearance for the module to be repositioned.

 

Third EVA for Dezhurov; fourth for Strekalov.

 

 


2000 Jeffrey Williams & James Voss (STS-101/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 44 min

 

The astronauts transferred various items from the Shuttle's cargo bay to the ISS and inspected the Orbital Replacement Unit Transfer Device and the Russian-built Strela, two cranes to be used for construction and maintenance. They also replaced two antennas on the Unity Module which had been having problems, and installed eight additional handrails for use by future spacewalkers.

 

First EVA for Williams; the second for Voss.

 

 


2011 Drew Feustel & Michael Fincke (STS-134/ISS)

 

Duration 8 hr 7 min

 

There were two main objectives on this EVA: topping off the ammonia pump tank and lubrication of one of the Solar Array Rotation Joints. The astronauts first completed the rerouting of the ammonia loops begun on the previous spacewalk to ensure a constant flow between the P1 and P6 Trusses. Once Mission Control confirmed that the loop worked, the tank was filled. As Feustel vented the residual ammonia, Fincke climbed to the P3 Truss and lubricated the SARJ with a grease gun. He also photographed and took samples of the existing grease from the STS-126 mission in 2007, when the joint was last lubricated. However while working on the joint covers, Fincke lost a bolt and three washers. He then had to wait an hour while the joint was rotated 200 degrees: he filled in this time by mounting two radiator grapple bar stowage beams on the S1 Truss. When that job was complete he returned to the SARJ and greased the other side. During all of this, Feustel was lubricating the arms of the Dextre robot and fitting a cover over its cameras. The work was now complete but the astronauts remained in sunlight for an additional thirty minutes to ensure any remaining ammonia crystals had evaporated from their space-suits before re-entering the airlock.

 

Fifth EVA for Feustel; the seventh for Fincke

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23 MAY

 

2017 Peggy Whitson & Jack Fischer (ISS Expedition 51)

 

Duration 2 hr 46 min

 

The astronauts replaced a computer relay box and installed two antennas to enhance radio communications during future EVAs.

 

Tenth and last EVA for Whitson (no other female has made more than seven), bringing her career total to 60 hr 21 min. Second and last (to date) for Fischer, giving him a total of 6 hr 59 min.

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24 MAY

 

1996 Yuri Onufrienko & Yuri Usachyov (Mir Expedition 21)

 

Duration 5 hr 34 min

 

Three days earlier, the cosmonauts had attached the Mir Co-operative Solar Array (MCSA) to the Kvant Module. They now deployed it using a hand crank: it opened like an accordion, with 84 panels each holding 80 solar cells, and was 18m long at full stretch. Once it was deployed, they hooked up the electrical cables but at this stage in the mission only had enough to transfer power from half of the array; thus for the time being the new panel would deliver only 3kW. The remaining cables would be delivered on the next Progress-M freighter.

 

Third EVA for each cosmonaut.

 

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25 MAY

 

2011 Drew Feustel & Michael Fincke (STS-134/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 54 min

 

This EVA had two objectives: to increase the electrical power being routed to the Russian modules and to lengthen the reach of the station's manipulator arm. First, the astronauts assembled the Power Data and Grapple Fixture, a stand bolted to Zarya which would allow the arm to reach the module. They next installed the video signal converter, then routed jumper cables from the Harmony Module, via Unity, through to Zarya. This would transfer power between the US and Russian segments. With this task complete, the astronauts had time to complete unfinished work from the mission's first EVA by installing two wireless antennas. They still had time to carry out preparatory tasks for the next EVA, mounting a thermal blanket on the O₂ tank grapple fixture, photographing Zarya and its thrusters, and securing some loose thermal insulation.

 

Sixth EVA for Feustel; the eighth for Fincke

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