Cosmonauts repeat spacewalk to add new Earth-viewing cameras to space station It was 'take two' for the installation of commercial video cameras on the outside the International Space Station Monday (Jan. 27), as Russian cosmonauts ventured out on a second spacewalk to add the two Earth-viewing cameras to the orbiting outpost's exterior.
But despite getting both of the cameras properly installed again, the two cosmonauts had to return inside the space station without one of the cameras returning a good signal.
Expedition 38 commander Oleg Kotov and flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy opened the hatch to the station's Pirs docking compartment at 8 a.m. CST (1400 GMT), starting their second spacewalk in a month aimed at installing the cameras for Vancouver, Canada-based UrtheCast Corp.
...Monday's spacewalk saw the cosmonauts reinstall the two cameras on a biaxial pointing platform previously added to the station's Zvezda service module. The 6 hour, 8 minute extravehicular activity (EVA, or spacewalk) also included Kotov and Ryazanskiy retrieving a cassette for a Russian materials exposure experiment and a NASA foot restraint mounting fixture from the Canadarm2 robotic arm that had a loose connector pin.
Russian flight controllers were able to confirm that one of the two cameras, the high definition unit, was transmitting a good signal before Kotov and Ryazanskiy returned into the space station at 2:08 p.m. CST (2008 GMT).
The status of the medium resolution camera however, was unknown. The two cosmonauts tried reseating the external cabling leading to the camera but needed to wait until they were back inside the station to gain access a panel in the Zvezda service module to determine if there was a steady stream of telemetry from the camera.
Regardless the outcome, ground controllers advised Kotov and Ryazanskiy that there would not be a third spacewalk to work on the cameras.