ISS - Expedition 61 Mission patch / EVA - Extra Vehicular Activities patch.
November 22, 2019
Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan concluded their spacewalk at 1:35 p.m. EST. During the six-hour and 33-minute spacewalk, the two astronauts successfully cut a total of eight stainless steel tubes, including one that vented the remaining carbon dioxide from the old cooling pump. The crew members also prepared a power cable and installed a mechanical attachment device in advance of installing the new cooling system.
Image above: Spacewalker Luca Parmitano is guided on the Canadarm2 robotic arm toward the work site on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, the space station’s cosmic particle detector. Image Credit: NASA TV.
In addition to revitalizing an important piece of scientific equipment, the process of creating the tools and procedures for these spacewalks is preparing teams for the types of spacewalks that may be required on Moon and Mars missions. The tools include plumbing instruments to cut into the cooling lines, new screwdriver bits and devices to capture the fasteners the astronauts remove from AMS. Learn more about the unique tools developed for the spacewalks to repair AMS.
Image above: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano is pictured attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm during the first spacewalk to repair the International Space Station’s cosmic particle detector. Image Credit: NASA TV.
Today’s work clears the way for Parmitano and Morgan’s next spacewalk in the repair series Monday Dec. 2. The plan is to bypass the old thermal control system by attaching a new one off the side of AMS during the third spacewalk, and then conduct leak checks on a fourth spacewalk.
For more on the AMS science and spacewalks, listen to the recent podcasts:
- Houston We Have a Podcast Ep 117: Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer: The Science
https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/alpha-magnetic-spectrometer-the-science
- Houston We Have a Podcast Ep 118: Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer: The Spacewalks
https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/alpha-magnetic-spectrometer-the-spacewalks
- Houston We Have a Podcast Ep 119: Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer: The Tools
https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/alpha-magnetic-spectrometer-the-tools
Space station crew members have conducted 223 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 58 days 9 hours and 41 minutes working outside the station. Parmitano has now conducted three spacewalks in his career and Morgan has now logged four spacewalks since his arrival on the station in July.
Related links:
Expedition 61: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition61/index.html
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s (AMS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=729
Unique tools: https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/189210016829/from-discovering-the-secrets-of-the-universe-to
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
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