posted 03-09-2021 05:22 PM               

ISS Expedition 64: U.S. Spacewalk 73

NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins will partner up for their third spacewalk together on Saturday (March 13) to work on the station's cooling system and communications gear. The duo will begin their excursion when they set their spacesuits to battery power around 7:30 a.m. EST (1230 GMT).

They will spend the first part of their six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk venting and relocating ammonia lines on the far-left side of the station at the Port-6 truss structure. Next, Glover will replace a wireless communications antenna on the Unity module. Hopkins will complete cable connections on the Bartolomeo external payload facility located on Europe’s Columbus laboratory module.

Following that, the two spacewalkers will meet back up to install a "stiffener" on the Quest airlock cover. Finally, they will route high-definition video camera cables.

Glover will wear red stripes on his suit as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV 1) during what will be the fourth spacewalk of his career. Hopkins will be EV 2 and wear a suit with no stripes during what will be his fifth spacewalk.

Hopkins will wear a high-definition camera on his helmet to provide clear views of the Columbus connectors. The mating of these connectors is one of several tasks deferred from previous spacewalks to allow astronauts to finish installing modification kits for new solar arrays set to launch later this year.

posted 03-13-2021 02:47 PM               

Astronauts complete catch-up tasks on spacewalk

Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins concluded their fourth spacewalk together on Saturday (March 13) at 3:01 p.m. EST (2001 GMT), after 6 hours and 47 minutes. The two astronauts successfully completed tasks to service the International Space Station's cooling system and communications gear.

The duo began their work on the station's port truss, finishing tasks that were deferred from previous spacewalks. Glover and Hopkins vented the early ammonia system, relocated one of its jumper lines, and serviced the Columbus Bartolomeo payload platform, including routing three of four cables on the Payload Position (PAPOS) interface and configuring a cable for an amateur radio system.

The spacewalkers deferred the task of installing clamps on Bartolomeo in order to route cables for high-definition cameras. The pair also replaced a wireless antenna assembly on the Unity module and installed hardware to provide additional structural integrity on the airlock.

Glover has now spent a total of 26 hours and 7 minutes on four spacewalks. Hopkins now has spent a total of 32 hours and 1 minute on five spacewalks.

This was the 237th spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 62 days, 3 hours and 54 minutes working outside the orbiting laboratory.