posted 09-08-2021 11:53 PM               

ISS Expedition 65: Russian Spacewalk 50

Two cosmonauts will venture outside of the International Space Station on Thursday (Sept. 9) to continue the outfitting of Russia's new multipurpose laboratory module (MLM) "Nauka" ("Science").

Expedition 65 flight engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, both of Roscosmos, will exit the Poisk airlock on the space-facing side of the station's Russian segment to begin about 6.5 hours of work outside the new Nauka module. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT).

Novitskiy and Dubrov will pick up with tasks left uncompleted during a spacewalk on Sept. 3. They will continue power and ethernet cable connections, install handrails to ease future spacewalks and deploy biological science experiments.

Novitskiy, who is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear the Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Dubrov will wear the spacesuit with the blue stripes as EV2.

This will be the third career spacewalk for both cosmonauts; the 243rd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades; and the 11th spacewalk at the station in 2021.

posted 09-09-2021 05:27 PM               

Cosmonauts continue outfitting Nauka module

For the second time in seven days, Expedition 65 flight engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov donned Orlan spacesuits and exited the Poisk airlock at 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT) on Thursday (Sept. 9) to begin routing cables for the new multipurpose laboratory module (MLM) "Nauka."

Picking up where they left off at the end of their spacewalk on Sept. 3, Novitskiy and Dubrov photographed the antennas on a Progress cargo craft docked to the space station, installed three handrails to ease maneuvers on future spacewalks and routed an ethernet cable to enable data to run from the U.S. operating segment to experiments on the outside of the new module.

Although the ethernet cable was successfully mated, Novitskiy and Dubrov ran into some difficulty with the cable reel's flat circular lid. Once the cover was freed from the cable, there was a brief debate about whether to jettison it as originally planned or tie it down to the exterior of the module.

"This shape is sort of tricky," one of the spacewalkers said. "Such an amazing item."

"And that's where the flying saucer legends come from," the cosmonaut joked.

A decision was made to temporarily stow the disc and then jettison it with other reuse at the end of the spacewalk.

Novitskiy and Dubrov then moved on to running additional cable bundles, this time to connect the TV systems and data lines between the Nauka the Zvezda service modules, as well as one linking up the automated docking systems for future visiting Russian spacecraft, including the Progress and crewed Soyuz vehicles.

The two cosmonauts then deployed two bio-risk containers that will obtain data on any physical or genetic changes to bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms after being exposed to the vacuum of space. The experiment is focused on better understanding contaminants that could be a factor on interplanetary spacecraft.

Novitskiy and Dubrov wrapped up their spacewalk by jettisoning the ethernet cable reel cover and a piece of multi-layer insulation also removed during the spacewalk. The 7-hour, 25-minute spacewalk ended at 6:16 p.m. EDT (2216 GMT), as the airlock hatch on the Poisk module was closed.

Thursday's spacewalk was the third for both Novitskiy and Dubrov.

This was Russia's 50th planned spacewalk and 58th overall conducted using Orlan spacesuits outside of the International Space Station. In total, astronauts and cosmonauts have performed 243 extravehicular activities in support of the assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory.