Новости МКС

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https://ria.ru/20191004/1559457905.html

НАСА назвало дату первого "женского" выхода в открытый космос
21:57 04.10.2019

ВАШИНГТОН, 4 окт – РИА Новости. Первый "женский" выход в открытый космос запланирован на 21 октября, его проведут астронавты Кристина Кук и Джессика Мейр, сообщила представитель НАСА на брифинге в пятницу.

Ранее НАСА сообщило, что до конца года планирует провести 10 выходов в открытый космос. Первая пятерка из них будет посвящена замене батарей на солнечных антеннах станции. Согласно опубликованному в пятницу графику, первый из них состоится 6 октября, затем астронавты будут выходить на внешнюю поверхность станции 11, 16, 21 и 25 октября, дата последнего, пятого, пока не определена.

"Четвертый выход в открытый космос проведут Кристина Кук и Джессика Мейр", - сообщила на брифинге заместитель руководителя группы астронавтов Кэтрин Макартур.

Ранее планировалось, что первый в истории только женский дуэт выйдет в открытый космос в конце марта с участием американок Энн Макклейн и Кристины Кук, однако он не состоялся из-за того, что для Макклейн не нашлось готового скафандра.

Позднее на станцию был доставлен дополнительный скафандр нужного размера.

Первой женщиной, вышедшей в открытый космос в 1984 году стала советский космонавт Светлана Савицкая.

[Старый]

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 https://ria.ru/20191004/1559457905.html
 

НАСА назвало дату первого "женского" выхода в открытый космос

Всё. Пропал калабуховский дом...  

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Radiation Environment Monitor 2 (REM2) Animation

NASA Video

4 окт. 2019 г.

This animation depicts data fr om a Radiation Environment Monitor 2 (REM2) in the Destiny Laboratory of the International Space Station. The map on the left side shows the distribution of dose rates over approximately two months from this unit. Overlayed on top of the dose rate map is the space station location corresponding to the data frame on the right. The animation updates approximately every minute along the space station trajectory showing high latitudes, South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and equatorial areas in the low-Earth orbit radiation environment. The SAA is an area wh ere the Earth's inner Van Allen radiation belt comes closest to the Earth's surface, dipping down to an altitude of 200 kilometers (120 mi).

https://www.youtube.com/embed/M2PIDUKT6qE (0:19

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/10/04/station-focuses-on-busy-spacewalk-period-after-trio-returns-home/

Station Focuses on Busy Spacewalk Period After Trio Returns Home

Mark Garcia
Posted Oct 4, 2019 at 3:14 pm


The official Expedition 61 crew portrait with (from left) NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, astronaut Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch.

The six-member Expedition 61 crew officially began Thursday morning after the departure of two Expedition 60 crewmates and a visiting astronaut. The current residents aboard the International Space Station now turn their attention to a series of spacewalks that begins Sunday.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague is returning to Houston after completing a 203-day mission aboard the orbiting lab with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. The duo parachuted to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-12 crew ship and landed in Kazakhstan early Thursday with visiting astronaut Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates. Ovchinin and Almansoori both returned to Star City, Russia.

Two NASA astronauts will exit the station's Quest airlock in their U.S. spacesuits on Sunday at 7:50 a.m. EDT for a six-and-half hour spacewalk. Veteran spacewalkers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan will begin the work to install new lithium-ion batteries on the Port-6 truss structure. This will be the first of five spacewalks in October to upgrade station power systems. Televised spacewalk coverage begins Sunday at 6:30 a.m.

View the spacewalk preview briefing broadcast Friday on NASA TV (link to video)

Upcoming spacewalk assignments:

[/li]
• Oct. 5: Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan
  
• Oct. 11: Andrew Morgan and Christina Koch
  
• Oct. 16: Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir
  
• Oct. 21: Christina Koch and Jessica Meir
  
• Oct. 25: Jessica Meir and Luca Parmitano
  
• Oct. 31: Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Skvortsov
  

Five more spacewalks are planned in November and December aimed at repairing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

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https://www.nasa.gov/feature/dressing-for-the-job-spacesuits-prepped-for-upcoming-spacewalks

Oct. 4, 2019

Dressing for the Job: Spacesuits Prepped for Upcoming Spacewalks


Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques seen inside the Quest airlock replacing the Hard Upper Torso (HUT) on an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts have been busy getting their spacesuits ready to go in preparation for a suite of 10 spacewalks outside the International Space Station. The first of five spacewalks to replace nickel-hydrogen batteries on the space station's truss with newer, more powerful lithium-ion batteries is set to begin Sunday, Oct. 6, with four more following before the end of the month.

Another five spacewalks to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer—a cosmic ray catcher searching for evidence of "dark matter" in the universe and mounted on the exterior of the station—will follow in coming weeks.

The spacesuit worn during these excursions is the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU. This suit is essentially a personal spaceship that keeps astronauts safe and ensures they are able to perform complex, difficult work in the vacuum of space and the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit. The spacesuit provides life support including breathing air and thermal controls, critical in space where temperatures range between plus or minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit, battery power, communication systems, and protection from radiation and tiny space debris—all of which are necessary for spacewalker safety and productivity.

Once outside the safe haven of the orbital laboratory, astronauts typically spend about 6.5 hours spacewalking, not including the time it takes to prepare to float out of the hatch. Spacewalking is one of the most dangerous tasks performed during an astronaut's mission, and to ensure top performance, safety and range of motion during the intense process that is a spacewalk, a properly fitting spacesuit is key.

Before ever launching to space, astronauts train for spacewalks at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. This underwater laboratory simulates the microgravity environment of space by using foam and weights to make astronauts neutrally buoyant–they neither float to the top nor sink to the bottom of the pool.

Here, crewmembers are sized and fitted for each component of the spacesuit. EMU's are made up of a collection of parts put together to fit a particular astronaut. The parts include the hard upper torso (HUT) that encloses the upper torso of the body, legs, lower arms, waists, boots, sizing rings and gloves. Each of these spacesuit components is interchangeable. There are three HUT sizes (medium, large and extra-large), four leg sizes, seven lower arm sizes, two waist sizes and two boot sizes. Due to the nature of spacewalks being hand intensive, and to ensure best fit for crewmembers, the glove fit is much more complicated and occasionally custom gloves are built for specific astronauts.

During ground training, astronauts evaluate suits of multiple sizes to improve planning flexibility on orbit. Some crewmembers fit only one size HUT, while others are able to fit between two sizes and could perform a spacewalk in multiple sizes, if necessary. While training at the NBL, astronauts can choose a prime and an alternative suit size based upon performance, fit, safety and a number of other factors.

Though suit sizes are determined on the ground, once on orbit, size adjustments can be made to take into account how astronauts' bodies change during spaceflight. These changes require anywhere from 15 minutes of crew time for a minor adjustment, to up to 12 hours for a complete HUT removal and replacement task. If a complete HUT replacement is required in space, water inside the suit must be cleaned and checked for contamination; hardware must be physically changed out; and the various suit systems must be verified with the ground crews to confirm the suit is safe and ready to wear.

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA keeps enough components on hand to make four complete spacewalking suits, of which two HUTs of the same size can be available at any given time. The spacewalking suit sizes that are ready to go are based on the needs and preferences of the astronauts expected to wear them.

Due to a number of factors, ranging from safety to fit and performance, a crewmember may decide in orbit that their size preferences have changed. This is not uncommon, as astronauts' bodies change on orbit and ground-based training can be different than performing spacewalks in the microgravity environment outside the space station. When that occurs, the teams on the ground determine what course of action will best accommodate both the astronauts' preferences and the demands of the space station's schedule.

For the upcoming series of 10 spacewalks, all of the spacewalkers prefer to use a medium HUT, so two medium sizes have been readied for duty. Each crew member will be able to perfect their suit's sizing using the many adjustments available in the various components that make up their suit.

Live NASA Television coverage of the first spacewalk in the series will begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct, 6.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Last Updated: Oct. 4, 2019
Editor: Mark Garcia

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Текущая конфигурация станции (по состоянию на 04.10.2019)

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https://tass.ru/kosmos/6966057

4 ОКТ, 23:29
Астронавты на МКС за три месяца 10 раз выйдут в открытый космос
Во время первых пяти выходов будет осуществлена установка новых литий-ионных батарей вместо водородно-никелевых, еще пять отведены на то, чтобы осуществить ремонт установленного на поверхности станции альфа-магнитного спектрометра

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 4 октября. /ТАСС/. Астронавты NASA в течение ближайших трех месяцев осуществят в общей сложности 10 выходов в космос с Международной космической станции (МКС) для замены питающихся от солнечных панелей батарей и для ремонта научного оборудования. Об этом сообщил в пятницу на брифинге в Центре космических полетов имени Джонсона в Хьюстоне (штат Техас) руководитель программы полета МКС Кирк Ширман. Трансляция брифинга шла по телесети NASA.

"Во время первых пяти выходов будет осуществлена установка новых литий-ионных батарей вместо водородно-никелевых, - отметил он. - Еще пять выходов в космос отведены на то, чтобы осуществить ремонт установленного на поверхности станции альфа-магнитного спектрометра". По его словам, первый выход в открытый космос состоится уже в воскресенье. Кристина Кох и Эндрю Морган на протяжении 6,5 часов осуществят установку двух новых батарей, а дистанционным манипулятором, который будет задействован в операции, будет управлять со станции Джессика Меир.

Каждая из новых батарей имеет массу 194 кг, отметил он, и поэтому от астронавтов потребуется крайняя осторожность при перемещении батарей к месту установки.

Во время выхода в космос, намеченного на 21 октября, сообщил он, за бортом МКС впервые будет работать чисто женский экипаж.

Ремонт альфа-магнитного спектрометра, продолжал он, станет уникальной операцией, поскольку изначально не предполагалось, что этот прибор потребует ремонта. Однако за годы эксплуатации насосы системы охлаждения прибора начали выходить из строя. Для установки новых насосов и замены охладителя - сжиженного углекислого газа - потребовалось, по его словам, разработать совершенно новые процедуры и инструменты.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/10/04/first-all-female-spacewalk-on-tap-later-this-month/

First all-female spacewalk on tap later this month
October 4, 2019 | William Harwood

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION


NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch will step outside the International Space Station on Oct. 21 on the first spacewalk with an all-female crew. Credit: NASA/Christina Koch

After a spacesuit sizing problem prevented an all-female spacewalk earlier this year, astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will get a chance to make history Oct. 21 when they venture outside the International Space Station in the fourth of five excursions to install a new set of solar array batteries, NASA managers announced Friday.

It will be the first spacewalk by two women since Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov carried out history's first spacewalk in 1965 and cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space during an outing in 1984.

"Women (at NASA) are part of the team, I see women at every level of leadership, in technical areas as well as management," said Megan McArthur a veteran astronaut who now serves as deputy chief of NASA's astronaut office. "It's not something that, fortunately, we have to stop and think about very often."

Even so, she told reporters, "I do think in this case it is something to look back and reflect on."

"It is a milestone, and it remarks on the fact that we have so many women engaged in the space program now," she said. "It is something that's wonderful to see. But, again, we are so well integrated as a part of the team that it's not something we struggle with or have to think about on a regular basis."

The assignment comes as NASA works to replace 48 aging batteries in the space station's solar power system with 24 more efficient lithium-ion power packs. The first set of six replacements was installed on the starboard 4, or S4, solar array segment in January 2017. A second set of six was installed last September on the port 4, or P4 arrays.

The third set, launched Sept. 24 aboard a Japanese HTV cargo ship, will be installed this month on the far left end, or port 6, segment of the power truss. A fourth and final set of batteries is expected to be launched to the station next May for installation on the far right S6 truss segment.

Koch and astronaut Drew Morgan, both EVA veterans, will carry out the first two battery-swap spacewalks, the first on Sunday and the second next Friday. Morgan and Meir are on deck for the third excursion Oct. 16. That will set the stage for Koch and Meir to chalk up the first all-female spacewalk on Oct. 21, followed by the fifth EVA, this one with Meir and Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano on Oct. 25.

With the battery replacement spacewalks complete — and a Russian EVA on Halloween — the station crew will turn its attention to at least five more NASA spacewalks in November and December to repair a $2 billion cosmic ray detector that was not designed for servicing in orbit. Those spacewalks, carried out by Morgan and Parmitano, are considered the most complex since work to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

But the battery work is the highest near-term priority and on Oct. 16 Meir will become the 15th woman — the 14th American — to walk in space since Savitskaya's historic outing 35 years ago. NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. female spacewalker later in 1984.

In an interview with CBS News before she took off for the station Sept. 25, Meir, who began dreaming of becoming an astronaut when she was a teenager, said she was "really looking forward to the potential to do a spacewalk, since that's really what I've always envisioned myself doing, really, my whole life."

Koch became the 14th woman to walk in space last March 29 when she and crewmate Nick Hague worked to install the second set of solar array batteries. She originally was expected to venture outside with astronaut Anne McClain for the first all-female spacewalk, but Hague took McClain's place because of a spacesuit sizing issue.

The swap-out prompted a bit of controversy on the ground, but NASA managers insisted the change was at McClain's request.

Only one of the four suits aboard the station at the time was configured with a medium-size upper torso section. Suits can be re-sized in orbit, but changing the fit of an upper torso requires repositioning coolant lines and other components and then retesting the systems, a process that can take 12 hours or more.

McClain wore the medium during her first spacewalk March 22 and initially planned to wear a larger suit for the second spacewalk while Koch used the medium. But McClain decided after the first outing that she preferred the medium. Given the time needed to re-size another suit, she opted to delay her second outing until the medium suit was again available.

Hague took her place and joined Koch for the March 29 spacewalk. McClain then replaced Hague during a third excursion April 8. While the crew reassignments were unusual, all the astronauts ended up with the same number of spacewalks as originally planned.

"That spacewalk that had originally been planned to be conducted by Anne McClain and myself was not canceled, it still happened with a different crew to make sure we matched the spacesuit sizes and conducted that spacewalk as safely as possible to get the mission done," Koch told a reporter in a recent interview fr om orbit.

"We currently do happen to have two medium spacesuits on board now. ... Jessica and I both have trained throughout our six years together in the sizes that are available on board right now."


The five spacewalks planned for October will install six new batteries on the P6 truss, located on the far port side of the space station's truss backbone. Credit: NASA

The station's power truss stretches the length of a football field and features eight huge solar wings, four on each end arranged in pairs. The arrays slowly rotate like paddle wheels as the station flies through its orbit to maximize the amount of sunlight reaching the solar cells.

When the station is in sunlight, power is fed directly to the lab's myriad electrical systems. At the same time, the arrays re-charge four sets of massive batteries mounted at the base of each set of arrays. When the station moves into orbital darkness, the batteries seamlessly kick in to keep the station powered.

The station's eight electrical power channels originally were supported by 48 nickel-hydrogen — NiH2 — batteries, six per channel. Twenty-four batteries, in two sets of 12, were mounted at the bases of the solar array wings on the starboard, or right, side of the station's main truss with two sets of 12 on the port, or left, side.

But the original batteries have lost strength over the years and NASA is in the process of replacing all four sets with 24 smaller, more efficient lithium-ion — Li-Ion — batteries. The replacement units pack twice the punch, so only six are needed per set. The spacewalkers will install "adapter plates" with jumpers in the slots wh ere batteries are removed but not replaced.

The upcoming battery swap outs are considered the most challenging yet because the spacewalkers will be working at the far left end of the station's power truss, beyond the limit of reach for the lab's robot arm.

As a result, five spacewalks will be needed to give the astronauts time to manually move the big batteries from a pallet to the work site, to re-stow older batteries that are removed and to make all the required structural and electrical connections.

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Кристина в шлюзе
 

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William Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews 19 мин. назад

US EVA-56: For identification, Koch, call sign EV1, is wearing a suit with red stripes and is using helmet camera No. 11; Morgan, EV2, is wearing an unmarked suit and using helmetcam 18