Expedition 70 on ISS: Spacewalk Prep, Coolant Concerns, CEVIS Systems, and CIPHER Studies

The seven orbital residents of the International Space StationThe International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in orbit around the Earth that serves as a research laboratory and spaceport for international collaboration in space exploration. It was launched in 1998 and has been continuously occupied by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world since 2000. The ISS is a joint project of five space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). It orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles), and provides a unique platform for scientific research, technological development, and human space exploration.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>International Space Station kept busy on Tuesday, October 24, preparing for a round of upcoming spacewalks. While reviewing procedures and prepping tools were at the forefront of today’s tasks, the Expedition 70 crew members also had some time for station maintenance activities and health exams.

Two cosmonauts are gearing up to exit the station’s Poisk module tomorrow at 1:55 p.m. EDTEDT is an abbreviation for Eastern Daylight Time, the time zone for the eastern coast of the United States and Canada when observing daylight saving time (spring/summer). It is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and the Kennedy Space Center are in the Eastern Time Zone (ET).” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>EDT for a planned seven-hour spacewalk. Flight Engineers Nikolai Chub and Oleg Kononenko of RoscosmosRoscosmos, also known as the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, is the Russian government agency responsible for space activities, including the development and operation of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and space stations. It was formed in 2015 through the merger of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and the United Rocket and Space Corporation. Roscosmos is responsible for Russia's space program and works closely with other international space agencies on joint projects, such as the International Space Station. The agency is also involved in a wide range of space-related activities, including scientific research, earth observation, telecommunications, and manned spaceflight.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Roscosmos had a light duty morning before preparing the Orlan suits they will wear outside of the station to install communications hardware, deploy a nanosatellite, and inspect the external backup radiator that experienced a coolant leak.

Coolant Leak Contamination Risk Measures

As a result of detailed analysis of contamination risk after a coolant loop leak occurred on the backup radiator of the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module, the NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA and Roscosmos teams have agreed to implement post-spacewalk procedures to reduce traces of coolant from entering the International Space Station. The analysis, imagery review, and other testing performed has concluded that the quantities of contaminate entering space station and risk to systems is expected to be very low. However, the mitigations were agreed to in an abundance of caution to keep the risk as low as possible for hardware inside the space station.

At the end of the Roscosmos spacewalk on Wednesday, October 25, before reentering the Poisk airlock, the two spacewalking cosmonauts as usual will inspect the Roscosmos Orlan spacesuits and the tools used during the spacewalk to look for signs of coolant and wipe off any coolant as necessary. The cosmonauts also will wipe down their suits and tools as usual after repressurization to further reduce introduction of trace contaminates into the space station environment. Additional filtration will then be used inside the space station in order to quickly scrub the atmosphere of any remaining traces of contaminant.

(From left) Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency); and Flight Engineers Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, both from NASA; and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), pose for a portrait aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. The quartet is showing off crew active dosimeters that monitor the amount of radiation astronauts are exposed to in the microgravity environment. Credit: NASA

Upgrades and Preparation for Subsequent Spacewalk

Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara of NASA teamed up with Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space AgencyThe European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration and study of space. ESA was established in 1975 and has 22 member states, with its headquarters located in Paris, France. ESA is responsible for the development and coordination of Europe's space activities, including the design, construction, and launch of spacecraft and satellites for scientific research and Earth observation. Some of ESA's flagship missions have included the Rosetta mission to study a comet, the Gaia mission to create a 3D map of the Milky Way, and the ExoMars mission to search for evidence of past or present life on Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>European Space Agency) in the morning to wrap up the installation of the new Teal CEVIS system, an upgrade to the International Space Station’s bicycle. The two then split up duties, O’Hara moving onto prep for next week’s spacewalk with Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA.

Both first-time spacewalkers will exit the station on Monday, October 30 at 8:05 a.m. to remove the Radio Frequency Group and replace hardware on a solar array. The duo spent some time reviewing procedures and collecting and configuring tools they’ll use during their six-and-a-half-hour excursion. In the evening, Moghbeli operated tomography hardware and scanned O’Hara’s eyes for the ongoing CIPHER investigation. CIPHER, or Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research, is an all-encompassing, total-body approach that examines how humans adapt to spaceflight.

Routine Duties and Nauka Module Inspection

After breakfast, Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa of JAXAFormed in 2003, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was born through the merger of three institutions, namely the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). JAXA performs various activities related to aerospace, from basic research in the aerospace field to development and utilization and is responsible for research, technology development, and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) prepped cargo for return on SpaceXCommonly known as SpaceX, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company that was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, the company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX's ultimate goal is to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>SpaceX’s 29^th cargo mission scheduled for launch no earlier than November 5. Afterward, Furukawa was joined by Mogensen to review robotics procedures they will use next week when O’Hara and Moghbeli are outside of the orbital lab.

Following this, Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos was joined by Chub and Kononenko late afternoon for inspections and assessments of the Nauka module.