Topic: ISS Expedition 50: US (40) spacewalk (3/24/17)
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-24-2017 01:19 AM
Spacewalk to prepare mating adapter for move
Expedition 50 crewmates Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will exit the International Space Station on Friday (March 24) to prepare a docking port to be relocated at the orbiting outpost.
The two spacewalkers are scheduled to begin the spacewalk, the first of three scheduled over the next two weeks, at 7 a.m. CDT (1200 GMT). The EVA (extravehicular activity) is expected to take about six and a half hours to complete.
Kimbrough's and Pesquet's major tasks include disconnecting cables from the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 ahead of its move from the Tranquility Node 3 to the Harmony Node 2 on Sunday (March 26). The spacewalkers will also lubricate the latching end of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, Dextre, and replace computer relay boxes with commercial crew software upgrades.
After it is moved and reconnected, PMA-3 will be outfitted with an international docking adapter (IDA) to be delivered on a future flight of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft.
This will be the 198th spacewalk in support of space station assembly and maintenance. It will be Kimbrough's fifth EVA of his career and Pesquet's second.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-24-2017 06:45 AM
Today's (March 24) spacewalk began at 6:24 a.m. CDT (1124 GMT), approximately a half hour ahead of schedule.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-24-2017 01:10 PM
Today's (March 24) spacewalk officially ended at 12:58 p.m. CDT (1758 GMT), 6 hours and 34 minutes after it began.
All scheduled tasks, plus one "get-ahead" task were completed.