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EVAs in November


GordonD

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1 NOVEMBER

 

1983 Vladimir Lyakhov & Aleksandr Alexandrov (Salyut 7 Expedition 2)

 

Duration 2 hr 50 min

 

During the long lifetime of the Salyut 6 station, the efficiency of its solar arrays had degraded noticeably, reducing the level of electrical power they produced, so the arrays on Salyut 7 had been designed so that they could be augmented as time went on. During preparations for the EVA, Aleksandrov discovered a tear in his suit's primary pressure bladder, so this had to be repaired first: this was clearly effective as no problems were experienced during the spacewalk. Aleksandrov set up a TV camera so that Mission Control could monitor their activities; then the cosmonauts removed the add-on array section from its delivery container. Forty minutes into the EVA, Salyut passed out of range of ground stations and tracking ships and then into orbital night, so the cosmonauts rested until sunrise. They then used a special winch to unfurl the new array alongside the existing panel. The add-on was 5m long and 1.5m wide and would augment Salyut's electrical power by 25%. During the EVA Lyakhov was reprimanded for releasing small pieces of junk so he could watch them glittering in the sunlight as they floated away, as this could have interfered with Salyut's star sensors.

 

Second EVA for Lyakhov (the first Soviet cosmonaut to achieve this); first for Aleksandrov.

 

 

 

2012 Sunita Williams & Akihiko Hoshide (ISS Expedition 33)

 

Duration 6 hr 38 min

 

The astronauts dealt with a leak in the station's cooling system, rerouting the ammonia flow to the P6 Truss radiator through a secondary loop, thus bypassing the location of the leak but allowing the radiator to continue operation while Mission Control monitored the situation.

 

Seventh and last EVA for Williams (the first woman to carry out so many); her career total amounts to 50 hr 40 min. Third and last for Hoshide: his total is 21 hr 23 min.

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3 NOVEMBER

 

1983 Vladimir Lyakhov & Aleksandr Aleksandrov (Salyut 7 Expedition 2)

 

Duration 2 hr 55 min

 

This was the first time the Soviets carried out two EVAs in the same mission. The cosmonauts installed the second add-on to the solar array: combined, the two new panels increased Salyut's electrical capacity by 800W. While the EVA was in progress, the cosmonauts' actions were being simulated in the neutral buoyancy facility at Star City, by Kizim and Solovyov, so that they could give advice in the event of any problems.

 

Third and last EVA for Lyakhov: his career total is 7 hr 7 min. Second and last for Aleksandrov: his total amounts to 5 hr 44 min.

 

 


1997 Anatoli Solovyov & Pavel Vinogradov (Mir Expedition 24)

 

Duration 6 hr 4 min

 

The cosmonauts detached the solar array from the Kvant module, folded it up and stowed it on the outside Mir base block. They also retrieved data from Kvant 2’s science experiments for further study. Finally, to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, they manually deployed a mock-up into orbit. At the end of the EVA they discovered that the outer hatch could not be sealed and they had to use Kvant 2's inner compartment as an airlock.

 

Thirteenth EVA for Solovyov; third for Vinogradov.

 

 


2007 Scott Parazynski & Douglas Wheelock (STS-120/ISS)

 

Duration 7 hr 19 min

 

The astronauts repaired a tear in the newly-installed P6 solar array, riding the manipulator arm to the work site so they could inspect the damage. Parazynski cut away frayed hinges and wires then installed stabilisers, resembling cufflinks, to strengthen the joint. With the repair complete, Mission Control successfully deployed the array to its full extent. The astronauts also retrieved two foot restraints, whose sharp edges were suspected of causing the minor puncture to Wheelock's glove on the previous spacewalk.

 

Seventh and last EVA for Parazynski, giving him a career total of 47 hr 5 min. Wheelock's third EVA.

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6 NOVEMBER

 

1997 Anatoli Solovyov & Pavel Vinogradov (Mir Expedition 24)

 

Duration 6 hr 17 min

 

The cosmonauts installed a new solar array on Kvant, replacing the one they had removed three days earlier, using two Strela cranes to pass it into position. At the conclusion of the EVA they inspected the Kvant 2 hatch, which they had been unable to close on the previous occasion, and fitted new bolts to ensure it would latch properly.

 

Solovyov's fourteenth EVA; Vinogradov's fourth.

 

 


2015 Scott Kelly & Kjell Lindgren (ISS Expedition 45)

 

Duration 7 hr 48 min

 

The astronauts restored the ammonia cooling system on the P6 Truss to its original configuration. This followed on from previous work to isolate a leak: the ammonia flow had been rerouted through a backup radiator but had not solved the problem: eventually the leak was traced to a different component which was replaced in May 2013. With the backup radiator now no longer required, Lindgren retracted it but the astronauts ran out of time to secure it in place and attach a thermal cover; it was therefore redeployed and locked in a dormant state.

 

Second EVA for both astronauts, though Lindgren's last: his career total amounts to 15 hr 4 min.

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7 NOVEMBER

 

2005 William McArthur & Valeri Tokarev (ISS Expedition 12)

 

Duration 5 hr 22 min

 

The astronauts wore US spacesuits and exited the station via the Quest airlock, for the first time in two and a half years, thus making Tokarev the first Russian spacewalker to use the American facilities. The start of the EVA was delayed by about an hour because of a misaligned valve in the airlock: the chamber had to be repressurised to correct this, then depressurised again so the outer hatch could be opened. The crew's first task was to install a camera on the P1 Truss, which would later assist in the installation of the P3 Truss. This had been planned for the STS-114 mission in August but was postponed when removal of heat-shield gap fillers took priority. They then had to jettison a failed Floating Potential Probe but as this was located on the P6 Truss (temporarily attached to the top of the Unity module) they had to wait until the station emerged from orbital night before moving up to access it, so in the meantime they retrieved a faulty rotary joint motor controller. Back in sunlight, the FPP was discarded, to eventually burn up in the atmosphere. The EVA was closed out with the unscheduled replacement of a failed circuit breaker on the Mobile Transporter.

 

Third EVA for McArthur; the first for Tokarev.

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9 NOVEMBER

 

2007 Peggy Whitson & Yuri Malenchenko (ISS Expedition 16)

 

Duration 6 hr 55 min

 

The purpose of this EVA was to prepare the way for the relocation of the Harmony module from its temporary berth to its permanent location. The job began with the disconnection of the Shuttle Power Transfer System cables between Destiny and the Pressurised Mating Adapter, followed by eight other cables. Whitson also removed an external lamp and took it back to the airlock, while Malenchenko installed caps on the sockets left open by the cable removal. The pair then transferred to Harmony and removed the cover from the Common Berthing Mechanism, which was folded up and secured with wire ties, ready for disposal in a departing Progress ferry. The EVA was brought to a close with various minor tasks including the retrieval of a base-band signal processor box which was to be brought back to Earth for refurbishment.

 

Second EVA for Whitson; Malenchenko's fourth.

 

 


2013 Oleg Kotov & Sergei Ryazansky (ISS Expedition 37)

 

Duration 5 hr 50 min

 

The EVA began with a most unusual procedure as the cosmonauts displayed the (unlit) Olympic torch, which was en route to Sochi in Russia for the 2014 Winter Games. It had arrived aboard Soyuz TMA-11M a few days earlier and would return to Earth on TMA-09M two days later. Once the photo session was over, the torch was stowed back in the airlock and the cosmonauts proceeded with their real work. They continued the assembly of a workstation on the exterior of Zvezda, which had started during the EVA in August. Handrails were fitted and bolts removed to free up a camera pointing platform, but the installation of a foot restraint was postponed after the cosmonauts noticed a problem with its alignment. Finally, they deactivated the Radiometria experiment package, which was designed to collect information for use in earthquake prediction. Folding down its antenna would be done at a later time.

 

Fourth EVA for Kotov; Ryazansky's first.

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10 NOVEMBER

 

1998 Gennadi Padalka & Sergei Avdeyev (Mir Expedition-26)

 

Duration 5 hr 54 min

 

The cosmonauts installed French scientific equipment including an experimental solar array on the Docking Module and a materials exposure cartridge on the Igla antenna. They then retrieved samples of contamination by thruster exhaust and various other exposure experiments. They also deployed a Sputnik 1 replica to mark the anniversary, a few days earlier, of the launch of the first artificial satellite.

 

Padalka's second EVA; Avdeyev's eighth.

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12 NOVEMBER

 

1966 Buzz Aldrin [SEVA] (Gemini XII)

 

Duration 2 hr 39 min

 

The Gemini Programme had three main objectives: the perfection of the rendezvous and docking process, the assessment of crew performance in a mission long enough to go to the Moon and back, and the development of EVA techniques. The first two had been accomplished, but the third remained elusive: apart from Ed White’s pioneer spacewalk on Gemini IV, when no real work was attempted, all astronauts had run into difficulties when trying to carry out an EVA—Cernan almost critically so on Gemini IX-A. And time was running out: this was the last Gemini flight before Apollo took over. Fortunately, one thing that had been learned was the need for an astronaut to be firmly braced when working outside his spacecraft so Aldrin was supplied with plenty of hand and footholds. These were not required on this occasion, which was a Stand-up EVA to allow him to become accustomed to his spacesuit and equipment prior to the more demanding schedule planned for later in the mission. After setting up an ultraviolet astronomical camera, Aldrin performed various exercises and dynamics until the spacecraft entered orbital night, when the photography programme began. Back in daylight, he installed a handrail on the exterior of the capsule and retrieved a micrometeoroid experiment from behind the cabin. A second period of astronomical photography followed as Gemini passed into darkness once more. The SEVA ended at orbital dawn.

 

Aldrin's first EVA.

 

 


1984 Joe Allen & Dale Gardner (STS-51A)

 

Duration 6 hr 13 min

 

The task on this EVA was to retrieve the Palapa B-2 communications satellite, which had failed to place itself into the planned geostationary transfer orbit after deployment from STS-41B. The biggest problem was that the satellite had not been designed for on-orbit servicing and thus could not be captured by the Shuttle's manipulator arm. NASA had developed a different technique, which involved Allen, wearing the Manned Manoeuvring Unit with a 'stinger' probe attached to its arms. He approached the satellite and inserted the probe into the nozzle of its Apogee Kick Motor, then activated the MMU's automatic attitude hold feature to stop the comsat's slow rotation. The astronauts then cut off the satellite's antenna but then ran into a problem when it could not be fitted into the A-frame by which it would be manipulated into the Shuttle's cargo bay. A backup plan was used in which Gardner stood in the arm's foot restraints and grasped the satellite so that Anna Fisher, aboard the Orbiter, could bring it down into position to be locked in place. It was later discovered that the satellite had a waveguide extension that did not appear on the blueprints, which had prevented it fitting the A-frame.

 

First EVA for both astronauts.

 

 


2001 Frank Culbertson & Vladimir Dezhurov (ISS Expedition 3)

 

Duration 5 hr 4 min

 

The astronauts hooked up seven communication cables between the Zvezda and Pirs modules, enabling the Kurs automatic rendezvous system to guide arriving Russian craft to the Pirs docking port. They also inspected the solar array panel on Zvezda which had failed to deploy properly after launch. Finally, they tested the Strela crane.

 

Culbertson's only EVA; the eighth for Dezhurov.

 

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13 NOVEMBER

 

1966 Buzz Aldrin (Gemini XII)

 

Duration 2 hr 9 min

 

This was where things finally came right for NASA on the EVA front. Before the mission, Aldrin had conducted five training sessions in the neutral buoyancy water tank (not a large number by modern standards) as well as the usual zero-gee flights in the 'Vomit Comet' aircraft, and had become accustomed to the relative immobility of his spacesuit in a vacuum chamber at Houston. To start the EVA, Aldrin transferred across to the docked Agena 12 and fastened himself in place with waist tethers. With both hands free, he then found it surprisingly easy to attach a line connecting the Agena to Gemini. Aldrin then moved back to the spacecraft's Adapter Section where a work station was located: he performed various tasks representing assembly techniques: fastening rings and hooks, tightening bolts and connecting and disconnecting electrical and fluid connectors. He then crossed back to the Agena, which had a similar panel, and tested a torque wrench both with and without tethers. Aldrin then wiped Jim Lovell's window before returning to the spacecraft and closing the hatch to end the first successful complex EVA.

 

Aldrin's second EVA.

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14 NOVEMBER

 

1966 Buzz Aldrin [SEVA] (Gemini XII)

 

Duration 55 min

 

After the success of the previous day, this Stand-up EVA was something of an anti-climax. Aldrin jettisoned disused equipment just before orbital sunset then carried out a period of ultraviolet photography. He also took pictures of the sunrise before stowing his gear and closing the hatch.

 

Third EVA for Aldrin - the first man to make so many.

 

 

 

1984 Joe Allen & Dale Gardner (STS-51A)

 

Duration 5 hr 42 min

 

The task this time round was to retrieve the Westar VI satellite, which like Palapa had failed to boost into its operational orbit after being deployed from STS-41B. Drawing on their experience from the previous EVA, the A-frame was dispensed with and after Gardner successfully snared Westar with the MMU and stinger, Anna Fisher used the manipulator arm to bring the satellite down into the cargo bay where it was secured into position. Once it was in place, Gardner held up a 'FOR SALE' sign, and at Lloyds of London, insurers of the satellites, who had commissioned the retrieval, the Lutine Bell was sounded twice, the traditional observation of a successful salvage attempt. This marked the final use of the MMU.

 

Second and final EVA for both astronauts: the career total for each man amounts to 11 hr 55 min.

 

 

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15 NOVEMBER

 

1982 Joe Allen & Bill Lenoir (STS-5)

 

CANCELLED

 

What would have been America's first EVA in nearly eight years had to be cancelled due to problems with both of the newly-developed spacesuits. It was discovered that the oxygen regulator in Lenoir's suit was functioning poorly and the recirculation fan in Allen's was not working at all, so the EVA was called off. It was the first time in the history of the US space programme that an EVA had been cancelled due to spacesuit issues.

 

 


2010 Fyodor Yurchikhin & Oleg Skripochka (ISS Expedition 25)

 

Duration 6 hr 27 min

 

The cosmonauts carried out a variety of relatively minor tasks during this EVA, beginning with the assembly of a multipurpose work station on the starboard side of Zvezda. They also fitted a handrail on the Pirs docking module, installed struts between Zvezda and Poisk, and mounted a space exposure cartridge to Poisk. They retrieved a plasma pulse experiment and other scientific apparatus and carried out a check for microorganisms under the insulation on the Russian modules. They were unable to complete the relocation of a camera from one end of the Rassvet module because of insulation blankets in the way.

 

Fifth EVA for Yurchikhin; Skripochka's first.

 

 


2019 Luca Parmitano & Andrew Morgan (ISS Expedition 61)

 

Duration 6 hr 39 min

 

This was the first of four EVAs to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which had suffered a power failure in one of its cooling pumps. The astronauts removed and jettisoned a cover plate, making way for a new pump which would be assembled on board the station and installed at a future date. Parmitano had trouble removing some of the bolts but eventually managed the task. The pair also removed some carbon fibre strips around fluid lines and installed handrails and grapple bars.

 

Parmitano's third EVA; Morgan's fourth.

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18 NOVEMBER

 

2008 Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper & Stephen Bowen (STS-126/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 52 min

 

The EVA began with the astronauts retrieving an empty nitrogen tank and transferring it to Endeavour's cargo bay. Stefanyshyn-Piper mounted a foot restraint on the station's manipulator arm and stood in it holding the tank while she was moved to the Shuttle. The pair then carried out several minor tasks, including the retrieval of a camera and closing a window flap on the Harmony module, as well as taking a spare Flex Hose Rotary Coupler from the Shuttle and attaching it to the ISS for later installation. They then moved on to the main task of the EVA: servicing and cleaning the Solar Array Rotary Joints. They first wiped away metal debris then coated the outer surface with a layer of grease, as well as replacing two Trundle Bearings Assemblies.

 

Third EVA for Stefanyshyn-Piper; the first for Bowen.

 

 


2020 Sergei Ryzhikov & Sergei Kud-Sverchkov (ISS Expedition 64)

 

Duration 6 hr 48 min

 

The cosmonauts inspected the Poisk airlock for leaks, relocated an antenna from Pirs to Poisk, retrieved hardware that records space debris impacts, and repositioned an instrument used to measure the residue from attitude thruster firings. They also changed out an impact tray on Zvezda and photographed the plume deflectors. The planned replacement of the Zarya fluid regulator was postponed to a future spacewalk. 

 

First EVA for both cosmonauts.

 

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19 NOVEMBER

 

1969 Pete Conrad & Al Bean [LSEVA] (Apollo 12)

 

Duration 3 hr 56 min

 

Historic as it was, the Apollo 11 Moonwalk had been primarily an engineering test flight, but with John F. Kennedy's deadline met Apollo 12 could concentrate on science. As Conrad--at 1.69 metres tall, one of the shortest of the astronauts--dropped to the footpad from the bottom rung of the ladder, he called out, "Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me!" Bean soon joined him on the lunar surface, but then as he was setting up the TV camera he inadvertently pointed it directly at the Sun and burned out its vidicon tube. The astronauts tried various adjustments but nothing helped, meaning there would be no live coverage of their activities. Giving up on the repair attempts, the pair erected the S-band antenna and planted the US flag, then began setting up the surface experiments, a more advanced package than had been carried on Apollo 11. These were powered by a SNAP-27 nuclear reactor with a plutonium fuel cartridge stored in a lead cask on the side of the descent stage. However, Bean had great difficulty in using the handling tool to remove the cartridge, until Conrad struck the side of the cask with a hammer. With the ALSEP up and running, the astronauts began collecting rock samples before they were instructed to bring their activities to an end.

 

First EVA for both astronauts.

 

 

 

2009 Michael Foreman & Robert Satcher (STS-129/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 37 min

 

The purpose of this and the following EVAs on the mission was to prepare the ISS for the arrival of the Tranquility module, which would be delivered early the following year. Satcher climbed into a foot restraint on the station's manipulator arm and was manoeuvred up to the Z1 Truss while holding an S-band antenna. Foreman was waiting at the mounting point and the two completed the installation. Foreman also fitted an ingress aid in the airlock and stowed another in the CETA cart. He then secured cables for space-to-ground comms antenna to be installed later, replaced a handrail with a bracket that would eventually hold Tranquility's ammonia line and repositioned Unity's cable connectors. Meanwhile Satcher used a grease gun to lubricate the robotic arms on the Japanese Kibo module and the tethers on the mobile transporter. Towards the end of the EVA, the astronauts teamed up again to deploy the Payload Attach System on the S3 Truss, but had difficulty loosening a bolt and removing a brace. A hammer was used and eventually the task was completed.

 

Fourth EVA for Foreman; the first for Satcher.

 

 

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20 NOVEMBER

 

1969 Pete Conrad & Al Bean [LSEVA] (Apollo 12)

 

Duration 3 hr 49 min

 

Apollo 12 had been targeted to land within walking distance of Surveyor 3, the unmanned probe which had reached the Moon two years earlier, and though they had achieved this they had not gone near it on the previous EVA. Now, however, it was the main focus of their activities. First, however, Bean cut the cable of the broken TV camera so it could be brought back to Earth for examination. They then collected various core and trench samples before heading for Surveyor, where they cut off its TV camera, sample scoop and various other parts so that scientists could analyse the long-term effect of the lunar environment on its different materials. At the end of the EVA the astronauts' suits were heavily coated with lunar dust, which they brought into the LM cabin and which would become weightless in orbit, making it difficult to breathe. Future expeditions would take along a simple brush so that the astronauts could clean themselves off before climbing back in. Another change came when the astronauts found it hard to tell themselves apart in the photographs which they had taken: this would lead to the mission commander's helmet and limbs bearing red stripes for identification.

 

Second EVA for both astronauts.

 

 


2007 Peggy Whitson & Daniel Tani (ISS Expedition 16)

 

Duration 7 hr 16 min

 

The astronauts continued the installation of the Harmony module, which had been moved to its permanent position on 14 November. Whitson removed an ammonia jumper from the exterior of Destiny while Tani detached fluid caps, using tools from a bag stowed by Malenchenko on the previous EVA. The removal of these parts allowed for the installation of a permanent ammonia-cooling loop on a fluid tray on the lab’s exterior. Tani then reconfigured a circuit on a squib-firing unit that was used to deploy a radiator on the P1 Truss on 15 November. The duo then began the move of the loop A fluid tray from the S0 Truss to Harmony. The tray was 136 kg and 5.6 metres long, and the two astronauts used a relay technique in moving it. One would move ahead, attaching tethers to make the tray ready for receiving, and the other would move farther ahead to be ready for the next handoff. After delivering the tray to Harmony, they bolted it down and connected its fluid lines, with two connecting to S0, two to the tray itself, and two in between them. Tani then hooked up avionics lines while Whitson configured the heater cables and connected electrical harnesses to enable Harmony to draw power from the station. Back in the airlock, the astronauts underwent the usual decontamination procedures because they had been working with ammonia lines.

 

Third EVA for both astronauts.

 

 


2008 Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper & Robert Kimbrough (STS-126/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 45 min

 

The first task was to relocate two CETA carts from the starboard to port sides of the station, ready for the delivery of the S6 Truss on the next Shuttle flight. Stefanyshyn-Piper unlocked and prepared the carts for transfer while Kimbrough rode the ISS manipulator arm and guided them into position. When this was complete, the lubricated the arm's end effector and the pair polished the Solar Array Rotation Joint and replaced two trundle bearings. Everything went so smoothly that they were able to end the EVA ahead of schedule.

 

Fourth EVA for Stefanyshyn-Piper; the first for Kimbrough.

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21 NOVEMBER

 

2009 Michael Foreman & Randy Bresnik (STS-129/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 8 min

 

The astronauts began by installing a German-designed device known as GATOR (for Grappling Adaptor to On-orbit Railing System) to mount a ham radio antenna and ship-tracking antenna to the exterior of the Columbus module. The latter would be used by the US Coast Guard for data communications between ships. They then relocated the Floating Potential Measurement Unit from the S1 to the P1 Truss and deployed two Payload Attachment Systems to hold spare parts delivered by future missions. These were installed on the S3 Truss, as were two video cameras and a second wireless transceiver.

 

Fifth and last EVA for Foreman, bringing his career total to 32 hr 9 min. First EVA for Bresnik.

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22 NOVEMBER

 

1973 Ed Gibson & Bill Pogue (Skylab 4)

 

Duration 6 hr 33 min

 

Initial plans were for this EVA, intended to retrieve a meteoroid collector and replace film cassettes in the Apollo Telescope Mount, to be conducted on Day 4 of the mission. In the event it was delayed until Day 7 and additional tasks added, resulting in it lasting more than three times as long as anticipated. Gibson and Pogue completed the original work then mounted a Coronograph Contamination Experiment on the ATM and attempted to photograph Earth's atmosphere with a camera originally intended to be installed in the scientific airlock, which was now blocked by the parasol solar shield. However the camera failed after only five of the planned forty exposures had been taken. They also set up a cosmic ray detector, pinned open a malfunctioning aperture door and repaired the microwave antenna, which was located on the Earth-facing side of the workshop where there were no EVA handrails or foot restraints.

 

First EVA for both astronauts.

 


2008 Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper & Steve Bowen (STS-126/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 57 min

 

The astronauts completed the lubrication of the Solar Array Rotary joint and replacement of all but one of the trundle bearings, which had to be left until the next EVA as time was running out. As the spacewalk came to an end, Shuttle commander Chris Ferguson joked about Stefanyshyn-Piper having to be pushed back into the airlock after what was presumed to be her last EVA!

 

Fifth and final EVA for Stefanyshyn-Piper; her career total amounts to 33 hr 42 min. Bowen's second.

 

 


2019 Luca Parmitano & Andrew Morgan (ISS Expedition 61)

 

Duration 6 hr 33 min

 

The astronauts continued repairs to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, cutting eight stainless steel fluid lines and installing a vent to prepare the old cooling pump for removal on the next EVA. They also rerouted cables and installed a new power supply for the new pumps.

 

Fourth EVA for Parmitano; fifth for Morgan.

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23 NOVEMBER

 

2006 Michael Lopez-Alegria & Mikhail Tyurin (ISS Expedition 14)

 

Duration 5 hr 38 min

 

The EVA began with a commercial stunt sponsored by a Canadian manufacturer of golf equipment. Lopez-Alegria positioned a tee then held Tyrin's feet as the latter drove a special ball into orbit with a one-handed shot. They then checked the rendezvous antenna on the Progress M-58 freighter, which had failed to retract properly as planned, fifteen minutes before docking, raising concerns that it might come into contact with the ISS itself. Though the docking had been completed successfully, though more cautiously than usual, the astronauts were able to confirm that the antenna had partially retracted and there was no damage. They then relocated a different antenna on Zvezda because it was blocking one of the attitude thrusters, and installed a solar flare detector. The final task, an inspection of bolts on a Strela crane, was postponed to a later date.

 

Sixth EVA for Lopez-Alegria; fourth for Tyurin.

 

 


2009 Robert Satcher & Randy Bresnik (STS-129/ISS)

 

Duration 5 hr 42 min

 

The start of the EVA was delayed by more than an hour after the drinking water valve in Satcher's suit became dislodged but once this was repaired the astronauts proceeded with the transfer of a new high pressure oxygen tank from the Shuttle's cargo bay to its location outside Quest, where it would later be used to pressurise and depressurise the airlock. Bresnik then installed the MISSE 7 space exposure package to a pallet called ExPRESS (for Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station, furthering the belief by some that NASA comes up with an acronym first then thinks up a name to fit it!) Finally, the astronauts deployed another attachment system on the S3 Truss. The EVA ended almost on schedule: despite the delayed start they had made up most of the lost time.

 

Second EVA for both astronauts, though Satcher's last: his career total is 12 hr 19 min.

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24 NOVEMBER

 

2007 Peggy Whitson & Daniel Tani (ISS Expedition 16)

 

Duration 7 hr 4 min

 

Work began with the removal of a temporary ammonia jumper, to allow for the transfer of a fluid tray to the top of the Destiny module. This was bolted in position and its six fluid lines and two heater cables connected up. Whitson then crossed to Harmony to prepare it for the arrival of the ESA's Columbus module, due for delivery the following month (though problems with the Orbiter's engine cutoff sensors delayed that until the following February): she removed a thermal cover on a camera and eight launch restraints covering latches on the berthing mechanism. She then completed the cable connections begun on the previous EVA. Meanwhile, Tani was removing one of the covers on the rotation joint for the starboard solar array, enabling him to take photographs and collect metallic shavings. When Whitson joined him they determined that some surfaces under the cover were showing signs of abrasion and that the joint itself was vibrating when it moved, increasing power consumption. The shavings were returned to Earth for analysis and the cover was stowed in the airlock rather than being replaced, so that the joint could be observed in action by the video camera on the manipulator arm.

 

Fourth EVA for both astronauts.

 

 


2008 Stephen Bowen & Robert Kimbrough (STS-126/ISS)

 

Duration 6 hr 7 min

 

The astronauts began by lubricating the entire surface of the array rotary joint, opening six of the covers and injecting grease through the openings. Mission Control then rotated the joints through 180 degrees to spread the grease over the entire surface. While Kimbrough added the finishing touches to any areas which had been missed, Bowen worked on experiments on the exterior of the Japanese Kibo module. He also mounted three handrails and a GPS antenna. Bowen also secured a cable to the manipulator arm to prevent it blocking the camera.

 

Third EVA for Bowen; Kimbrough's second.

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25 NOVEMBER

 

1997 Winston Scott & Takao Doi (STS-87)

 

Duration 7 hr 43 min

 

This EVA was unplanned but became necessary due to problems with the deployment of the SPARTAN-201 solar physics observatory pallet. When the probe was released, it was found that its attitude control system was not operating properly, which would prevent it being aimed precisely. Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla attempted to recover the pallet with the Shuttle's manipulator arm but it was left with a slow spin of around two degrees a second. Scott and Doi were therefore sent out to capture the probe manually and return it to the cargo bay. Once it was locked back down, the astronauts began tasks scheduled for their planned EVA later in the flight, testing tools and equipment that would be used in the construction of the ISS.

 

Second EVA for Scott; Doi's first (first Japanese astronaut to perform a spacewalk).

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