Новости МКС

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Fit for space – spacewalk training

 European Space Agency, ESA

11 нояб. 2019 г.

How do you prepare for one of the most demanding and risky tasks for an astronaut? A spacewalk, or Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA), requires working outside a spacecraft in a world where nothing is like on Earth. Preparing astronauts for these complex sorties requires simulating the weightless world of space, but there is only so much you can do while gravity still has its hold.

ESA astronauts Tim Peake, Luca Parmitano, Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer explain how they train for spacewalks with footage from the European Astronaut Centre and NASA's Johnson Space Center on the techniques of simulating work in microgravity using the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), Partial Gravity Simulator (POGO) Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) as well as checking the spacewalk gloves fit in vacuum.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ng8U3qvfdhg (6:00)

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Beyond timelapse: spacewalk preparation

 European Space Agency, ESA

13 нояб. 2019 г.

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano describes tape as a "humble but versatile tool". In this timelapse, he and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan can be seen in the International Space Station building loops out of Kapton tape.

Luca and Andrew will use these loops to mark the tubes they need to bend into shape when they install a new cooling pump for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) particle physics instrument. Building loops and reinforcing these allows astronauts to hold them in their spacesuit gloves and ensures they don't curl up when pulled like strips of tape would.

The series of at least four spacewalks planned to maintain AMS-02 will be the most complex since work to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. The first spacewalk will take place 15 November 2019 and Luca will hold the lead role of EV1. It is the first time a European astronaut has held the leading role in a spacewalk.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/l_aVltv2xf8 (0:46)

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/11/14/final-spacewalk-preps-during-biology-physics-studies/

Final Spacewalk Preps During Biology, Physics Studies

Mark Garcia
Posted Nov 14, 2019 at 12:08 pm


The six-member Expedition 61 crew, wearing t-shirts printed with their crew insignia, gathers for a playful portrait inside the International Space Station's Zvezda service module. From left are, Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan, Oleg Skripochka, Jessica Meir, Christina Koch and Alexander Skvortsov and Commander Luca Parmitano.

The Expedition 61 crew is about to kick off a series of complex spacewalks on Friday to repair the International Space Station's cosmic particle detector. They will have one more spacewalk review today while continuing advanced biology research.

Spacewalkers Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan readied the Quest airlock, their U.S. spacesuits and tools for Friday's excursion set to begin at 7:05 a.m. EST. The duo then joined Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Christina Koch for a final procedures review. All four astronauts called down to Mission Control to discuss their readiness with spacewalk experts on the ground. Live NASA TV coverage begins at 5:30 a.m.

Meir and Koch spent the rest of Thursday on space research and lab upkeep. Meir conducted a test run of a 3-D bioprinter before the device will manufacture complex human organ tissue shapes. Koch measured airflow in the station then serviced microbe samples to extract and sequence their DNA.

Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka focused on their complement of science and maintenance in the station's Russian segment. Skvortsov updated cargo inventory and explored plasma physics for insights into advanced spacecraft designs. Skripochka collected radiation readings and studied how a crew adapts to piloting in space.

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Challenging spacewalks for Luca

 European Space Agency, ESA

14 нояб. 2019 г.

On 20 July 2019, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano was launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Beyond mission he will participate in several spacewalks (EVA) to repair the dark matter hunter Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS-02. Attached to the station during the STS-134 shuttle mission in May 2011, the AMS was never designed to be maintained in orbit. Luca has trained extensively for this challenging task, which will involve complicated techniques and the use of specially-designed tools.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/QPDW2ozvbf0 (3:55)

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Suiting Up for a Spacewalk

 NASA Johnson

14 нояб. 2019 г.

On Friday International Space Station commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA's Andrew Morgan start a series of spacewalks to upgrade the cooling system on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.  Each of those spacewalk days will start with the lengthy process of getting into the spacesuits that support them as they float in the vacuum of space.  Want to see what that looks like?  Here's an accelerated view of the process, taken from an October 2019 spacewalk in which Parmitano helped Morgan and astronaut Christina Koch get ready for their spacewalk.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/O-JSEVMEYGE (1:09)

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Animation of the First Expedition 61 AMS Spacewalk

 NASA Video

12 нояб. 2019 г.

Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station for a series of complex spacewalks this month and next to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a cosmic ray detector. Over the course of the spacewalks, Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and NASA Flight Engineer Drew Morgan will replace a cooling system and fix a coolant leak on AMS, which was delivered to the station in May 2011. The upgraded cooling system will support AMS through the lifetime of the space station. This is animation of the first spacewalk in the series.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nmSB9cf88Rg (3:55)

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/11/14/complex-spacewalk-repair-work-begins-friday/

Complex spacewalk repair work begins Friday
November 14, 2019 | William Harwood

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION


NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano are gearing up for a spacewalk Friday to begin repairing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument outside the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

After four years of brainstorming, custom tool development and training, two astronauts plan to venture outside the International Space Station Friday for the first of four spacewalks to repair a $2 billion cosmic ray detector. The excursions are considered the most challenging since work to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

"We're going to perform what could be considered open heart surgery on this amazing experiment," said Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, the current space station commander.

Floating in the station's Quest airlock, Parmitano and NASA astronaut Drew Morgan plan to begin the first repair spacewalk Friday, switching their suits to battery power around 7:05 a.m. EST. For identification, Parmitano, call sign EV-1, will be wearing a spacesuit with red stripes, while Morgan, EV-2, will be wearing an unmarked suit.

It will be the 222nd station spacewalk since the lab's assembly began in 1998, the ninth so far this year, the third for Parmitano and the fourth for Morgan. By all accounts, the four spacewalks needed to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer's cooling system are among the most complex ever attempted.

"It's definitely towards the top of the list, if not on the top," said Tara Jochim, the AMS repair manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

During the first spacewalk Friday, Parmitano and Morgan plan to set up tools and equipment before removing a protective debris shield from the AMS, giving them access to the guts of the instrument so a new coolant system pump module can be installed later.

After carefully tossing the debris shield overboard, the spacewalkers plan to attach two handrails to help them move about the device. Parmitano also will snip a half dozen zip ties and cut a cord to fold back insulation blankets.

Actual repair work will begin during the second planned spacewalk next Friday. The third and fourth spacewalks will be officially scheduled after managers assess the results of the first two outings.


The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument has been collecting data on the International Space Station since 2011. Credit: NASA

Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, designed from scratch to be serviced by spacewalking astronauts, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer was never intended to be worked on in space. As such, it was not equipped with the sorts of fasteners, cables, handrails and internal clearances needed by astronauts working in bulky, pressurized suits.

In the end, it took engineers and astronauts four years to come up with a workable plan, developing some two-dozen custom tools and testing procedures during multiple underwater training runs. Parmitano and Morgan completed seven full-duration training exercises before launching to the station in July.

"We had to go off and figure out how to create a work site, we had to build new handrails to install on existing hardware, we had to deal with existing sharp edges and in a lot of cases, we're creating new sharp edges using tools that have sharp edges on them," said Jochim.

"We did as much as we could to minimize that risk to the crew member and then, of course, to the (repair) of the payload itself," she said. "But they are certainly very challenging and technically difficult EVAs."

Launched in 2011 on the next-to-last space shuttle mission, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, is the most expensive science instrument aboard the space station and one of the most expensive ever launched into space.

The 7.5-ton device uses a powerful electromagnet to bend the trajectories of electrically charged cosmic ray particles created in supernova explosions and other extreme-energy events so researchers can characterize their velocities and energies.

The goal is to learn what happened to the antimatter thought to have been created in the big bang birth of the cosmos, to learn more about the unseen dark matter that permeates space and, possibly, gain insights into the nature of dark energy, the mysterious repulsive force that is speeding up the expansion of the universe.

Designed to operate for just three years, the AMS proved longer lived than expected, detecting more than 145 billion cosmic rays during eight-and-a-half years of operation. But the instrument has been hobbled in recent months by the staggered failures of four small pumps needed to circulate carbon dioxide coolant through its sensitive detectors.

To repair the AMS, Parmitano and Morgan will have to cut through eight small coolant lines and splice in, or "swage," new lines leading to a custom-built replacement pump module launched to the station earlier this month. The pump module will be installed during the third spacewalk.

"We're going to cut tubes, and then fuse them with other tubes (launched) from Earth and install a completely new pump to help the refrigeration work, keeping the magnet cold so the the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer can work," Parmitano said. "This is really the first time any of these actions have been attempted."

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https://ria.ru/20191115/1560959232.html

Экипаж МКС в открытом космосе начнет ремонт магнитного альфа-спектрометра
00:27 15.11.2019

ВАШИНГТОН, 15 ноя - РИА Новости. Астронавт НАСА Эндрю Морган и его европейский коллега Лука Пармитано выйдут в пятницу в открытый космос для начала ремонта системы охлаждения магнитного альфа-спектрометра (AMS), НАСА будет вести прямую трансляцию работ на внешней поверхности орбитальной станции.

Выход астронавтов в открытый космос ориентировочно начнется в 7.05 по времени Восточного побережья США (15.05 мск). Он станет первым из четырех, запланированных для ремонта спектрометра.

AMS, предназначенный для анализа космических лучей, был доставлен на МКС в 2011 году. Изначально спектрометр был рассчитан на трехлетнюю работу и не предполагал ремонта в открытом космосе. Как ранее сообщили в НАСА, на инструменте вышли из строя три из четырех насосов системы охлаждения, работа последнего вероятнее всего, если не будет произведен ремонт, продлится не многим больше нескольких месяцев. В случае, если операция по ремонту инструмента будет успешна, НАСА рассчитывает, что он будет работать по меньшей мере до 2030 года.

Специально для замены вышедшей из строя системы охлаждения инструмента, на орбиту было доставлено более двух десятков специальных инструментов.

В ходе предстоящего выхода в открытый космос Морган и Пармитано по большей части предстоит подготовить площадку для ремонтных работ, прежде всего - снять защитный щит спектрометра. В НАСА сообщили, что из-за его размера астронавты не будут пытаться вернуть его на МКС, а оттолкнут на безопасное расстояние от орбитальной станции, оставив в космосе. "Если нам удастся осуществить ликвидацию щита для защиты от космического мусора, это уже будет хорошим, успешным выходом в открытый космос", - заявил ранее на брифинге оператор предстоящих на внешней поверхности станции работ Джон Муларски.

Планируется, что второй выход в открытый космос для ремонта AMS состоится 22 ноября, третий предварительно запланирован на начало декабря.

В НАСА подчеркивают, что предстоящие работы по ремонту спектрометра станут самыми сложными после завершения миссий по ремонту космического телескопа "Хаббл", которые состоялись в период с 1993 по 2009 годов.

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https://ria.ru/20191115/1560959635.html

Завершение строительства российского сегмента МКС вновь отложили
01:02 15.11.2019

МОСКВА, 15 ноя - РИА Новости. Запуск научно-энергетического модуля - последнего необходимого для завершения строительства российского сегмента МКС - отложен на год, следует из фотографии выступления генерального директора Ракетно-космической корпорации "Энергия" Николая Севастьянова, опубликованной на сайте корпорации.
Корпорация является головным предприятием в России по производству космических кораблей, оператором российского сегмента МКС.

Согласно фотографии выступления Севастьянова на научной конференции в Центре подготовки космонавтов, запуск многофункционального лабораторного модуля "Наука" запланирован на 2020 год, следующего за ним узлового модуля "Причал" - на 2021 год, а научно-энергетического модуля - на 2023 год, хотя ранее запуск планировался на 2022 год.

Изначально российский сегмент МКС планировалось собрать к 2015 году. При этом фигурировало, что будет создано два научно-энергетических модуля с запусками в 2014 и 2015 годах. Затем от создания второго отказались. С тех пор запуск единственного научно-энергетического модуля постоянно переносится.

В модуле будут размещаться универсальные стойки медицинского оборудования, тренажеры и средства профилактики неблагоприятных факторов космического полета, а также другие приборы и агрегаты.

Солнечные батареи модуля должны генерировать электроэнергию среднегодовой мощностью не менее 18 киловатт в начале эксплуатации.

В настоящее время в состав российского сегмента МКС входят пять модулей - служебный модуль "Звезда", функционально-грузовой блок "Заря" (формально является американским, поскольку создавался на средства США), стыковочный отсек "Пирс", малый исследовательский модуль "Поиск", малый исследовательский модуль "Рассвет". В состав американского - 10.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/11/14/nasa-tv-broadcasts-particle-detector-spacewalk-repairs-on-friday/

NASA TV Broadcasts Particle Detector Spacewalk Repairs on Friday

Mark Garcia
Posted Nov 14, 2019 at 6:56 pm


ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan.

Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan will begin a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at about 7 a.m. EST Friday, Nov. 15. NASA Television coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 5:30 a.m.

Watch the spacewalk on NASA TV and on the agency's website.

The two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station for the first in a series of complex spacewalks to replace a cooling system on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a cosmic ray detector. The upgraded cooling system will support AMS through the lifetime of the space station.

Parmitano and Morgan have spent dozens of hours training specifically for the AMS repair spacewalks. NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will help Parmitano and Morgan suit up for the spacewalks and will maneuver the Canadarm2 robotic arm to help position the spacewalkers around the AMS repair worksite.

These spacewalks are considered the most complex of their kind since the Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. The AMS originally was designed for a three-year mission and, unlike Hubble, was not designed to be serviced once in space. More than 20 unique tools were designed for the intricate repair work, which will include the cutting and splicing of eight cooling tubes to be connected to the new system, and reconnection of a myriad of power and data cables. In addition to the overall complexity, astronauts have never before cut and reconnected fluid lines, like those that are part of the cooling system, during a spacewalk.

Watch the briefings from this Tuesday for more detail:

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ЛУка в шлюзе

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Очередь Дрю

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Переходный люк в шлюз закрыт