ISS - Expedition 46 Mission patch.
December 21, 2015
Spacewalkers Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra. Image Credit: NASA TV.
NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra ended their spacewalk at 11:01 a.m. EST with the repressurization of the U.S. Quest airlock after accomplishing all objectives. They released brake handles on crew equipment carts on either side of the space station’s mobile transporter rail car so it could be latched in place ahead of Wednesday’s docking of a Russian cargo resupply spacecraft. The ISS Progress 62 resupply mission launched at 3:44 a.m. EST this morning (2:44 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
After quickly completing their primary objective for the spacewalk, Kelly and Kopra tackled several get-ahead tasks. Kelly routed a second pair of cables in preparation for International Docking Adapter installment work to support U.S. commercial crew vehicles, continuing work he began during a November spacewalk. Kopra routed an Ethernet cable that ultimately will connect to a Russian laboratory module. They also retrieved tools that had been in a toolbox on the outside of the station, so they can be used for future work.
Image above: Spacewalkers Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra work to move stalled robotic transporter before moving on to “get-ahead” tasks. Image Credit: NASA TV.
The three-hour and 16-minute spacewalk was the third for Kelly, who is nine months into a yearlong mission and the second for Kopra, who arrived to the station Dec. 15. It was the 191st in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Crew members have now spent a total of 1,195 hours and 20 minutes working outside the orbital laboratory.
Related links:
One-Year Crew: https://www.nasa.gov/content/one-year-crew/
Expedition 46: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/category/expedition-46/
Stay up-to-date on the latest ISS news at: http://www.nasa.gov/station
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
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