Soyuz-TMA19 (ISS 23S) (Soyuz-FG launched on on June 15)

[EarthlingX]

spacefellowship.com : Station Crew Conducts Maintenance and International Science

Published by Klaus Schmidt

on Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:01 am

via: NASA

Flight Engineer Doug Wheelock replaced and reconfigured equipment inside the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) which is part of the Fluids and Combustion Facility inside the Destiny laboratory. The CIR provides a facility to study droplet, solid and gaseous fuel combustion in microgravity.

Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Tracy Caldwell Dyson were in the cupola remotely operating the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2. They performed a walk-off from an Earth-facing grapple fixture on the Destiny laboratory to the Mobile Base System attached to the station’s truss structure.

Flight Engineer Doug Wheelock positions the Combustion Integrated Rack back inside the Destiny laboratory’s Fluids and Combustion facility. Credit: NASA TV

The Waste and Hygiene Compartment returned to operational capacity Thursday afternoon. NASA astronauts Wheelock and Walker swapped out a faulty pump separator inside the bathroom located in the Tranquility module.

The Russian and American crew members continue conducting a variety of science experiments. Investigations range from the study of unique materials and gases, observing Earth’s urban and natural features to simple experiments which interest children in science and exploration.

The Plasma Crystal experiment, an ongoing Russian investigation, studies how plasma dust structures affect the station’s environment when exposed to ultraviolet space radiation. Cosmonauts Skvortsov and Kornienko set up and monitored the experiment in conjunction with specialists on the ground.

Cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin set up and used video and photography equipment in support of the URAGAN experiment. URAGAN is a long-term Russian experiment that documents the changes that occur on Earth after catastrophes such as hurricanes and man-made disasters.

Astronauts Dyson and Walker conducted the Kids in Micro-G experiment and the Low Gravity Artist experiment. These experiments study how simple phenomena observed on Earth differ in microgravity. For example, one part of the experiment observes how blowing across a bottle filled with different volumes of water sounds different in microgravity. Students and teachers on Earth are able to participate with the station flight engineers via a video link with the orbiting laboratory.

The new ISS Progress 38 resupply craft that delivered food, fuel and other cargo continues to be unloaded. Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko swapped out the new cargo with trash and other gear targeted for disposal.

The six-member Expedition 24 crew also participated in a periodic routine emergency fire drill aboard the International Space Station on Friday. In the unlikely event of an emergency the crew could evacuate the station, shelter inside the two docked Soyuz spacecraft and undock for a safe return to Earth.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0P6ZAgsls[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

spacefellowship.com : Crew Busy with Spacewalk Preps, Maintenance and Science

Published by Matt on Tue Jul 13, 2010 12:02 pm via: NASA

After enjoying some time off during a light-duty weekend, the Expedition 24 crew of the International Space Station got back to work Monday, preparing for a series of upcoming spacewalks, conducting routine maintenance and working with science experiments.


Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock, Tracy Caldwell Dyson (center) and Shannon Walker pose for a photo with an American flag while aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Flight Engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Fyodor Yurchikhin reviewed procedures and the timeline for a spacewalk scheduled for July 26 that will outfit the recently installed Rassvet module with automated Kurs rendezvous and docking capability for approaching Russian vehicles.

The Oxygen Generation System (OGS) in the U.S. section of the station is currently down. The leading cause of the system’s failure is believed to be contamination of the membranes in the hydrogen (H2) dome. The pH of the water in the loop is around 4.0, which is causing a breakdown of some of the materials used in the construction of the dome leading to the contamination of the membranes. Teams in Houston are working on a plan to scrub the recirculation water loop before replacing the H2 dome with a spare kept aboard the station. The water scrub procedure also will be used to bring the pH up to a more neutral level. The oxygen level on the station will be maintained via Elektron and Progress tanks. Procedures to restore the OGS are expected to begin by the end of the week.

 

[EarthlingX]

spacefellowship.com : Spacewalk Preparations, Science for Station Crew

Published by Klaus Schmidt

on Fri Jul 16, 2010 8:05 am via: NASA

Aboard their orbiting home, the members of the International Space Station’s Expedition 24 crew made preparations for an upcoming spacewalk and conducted a variety of science experiments Thursday.

Flight Engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Fyodor Yurchikhin replaced batteries and environmental systems components in their Russian Orlan spacesuits and inspected the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock in preparation for a six-hour spacewalk. The excursion – Yurchikhin’s third and the first for Kornienko – is scheduled to begin the evening of July 26 and will focus on preparation of the Rassvet module’s Kurs automated rendezvous capability.

Expedition 24 Flight Engineer Doug Wheelock exercises on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill in the International Space Station’s Tranquility node. Credit: NASA

The thrusters on the ISS Progress 38 cargo ship will be fired early Friday morning to increase the station’s altitude. The reboost is in preparation for the launch of the ISS Progress 39 resupply vehicle and the landing of the Expedition 24 crew in September, as well as the October launch of the Expedition 25 crew.

http://www.onorbit.com : Photo: Deep Cold Biological Samples In Space

Submitted by keithcowing

on Thu, 07/15/2010 - 19:26.

NASA astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson (right) and Shannon Walker, both Expedition 24 flight engineers, prepare to insert biological samples in a dewar tray in the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI-1) in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station. high res (1.7 M) low res (93 K)

 

[EarthlingX]

Spacewalk briefing :
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCZEp7jgCzc[/youtube]


About life in space :
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=030_pKgXUI8[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.federalspace.ru : Russian Cosmonauts Begin Space Walk

:: 27.07.2010

This morning, at 08:11 MSK Russian cosmonauts Fiodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko opened the outer hatch of the Pirs module to begin the 6-hour space walk.
The main objective of the EVA is defined as integration of the new Russian module Rassvet with the International Space Station Russian segment.

Roscosmos PAO

SDC : Russian Cosmonauts Begin Station Spacewalk

By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 26 July 2010
07:17 am ET

This story was updated at 12:25 a.m. EDT.

Two Russian cosmonauts have floated outside the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk aimed at changing out a broken camera and wiring up a new room so spaceships can park there on autopilot.

http://www.nasa.gov : International Space Station

Image above: A Russian spacewalker exits the Pirs docking compartment beginning the first Expedition 24 spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV

Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko have exited the Pirs docking compartment, beginning the first Expedition 24 spacewalk at 12:11 a.m. EDT. The cosmonauts are in their Russian Orlan spacesuits to outfit the new Rassvet module for a Kurs automated rendezvous system capability for the automated docking of Russian vehicles arriving at the station to link up to Rassvet in the future.

The six-hour spacewalk will also include routing and mating Command and Data Handling cables on the Zvezda and Zarya modules. A video camera will be removed and replaced from the aft end of Zvezda which will be used to provide television views of the final approach and docking of future European Automated Transfer Vehicles carrying cargo to the complex. This is the 25th Russian spacewalk and the 147th spacewalk overall in support of station assembly and maintenance.

This is Kornienko’s first spacewalk and Yurchikhin’s fourth. Yurchikhin’s first three spacewalks occurred when he was commander of Expedition 15 in 2007.

SDC : Russian Cosmonauts Lose Tool During Spacewalk

By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 27 July 2010
02:17 am ET

This story was updated at 3:03 a.m. EDT.



Two Russian cosmonauts have accidentally a tool and a small item in space while spacewalking outside the International Space Station early Tuesday.

The first object was let go around 1:45 a.m. EDT (0645 GMT). The spacewalkers – Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko – said they weren't sure what the object was, but they certainly saw it slowly spinning as it floated farther and farther away from their perch on the side of the space station.

NASA TV Public Channel

Getting ready to jettison camera :

Camera jettisoned 2010-07-27-10h40m GMT :

Hatch closed 2010-07-27-10h53m GMT :

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.space.com/ISS/

Spacewalkers Come Back Inside
27 July 2010 7:02 a.m. EDT

The two cosmonauts have re-entered the airlock in the Pirs docking compartment and have closed the hatches, officially ending the spacewalk six hours and forty-two minutes after it began.

-- Clara Moskowitz

 

[EarthlingX]

Expedition 24 Spacewalk

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv8QMLGkdVU[/youtube]

Kowch737 | July 27, 2010

Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko concluded a six-hour, 42-minute spacewalk Tuesday at 3:53 a.m. PDT. The cosmonauts began their spacewalk when they opened the hatches of the Pirs docking compartment at 9:11 p.m. This was the 147th spacewalk overall in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance. During the spacewalk, two objects were detected floating away from the station. One was tentatively identified as a cable clamp, left outside the station from a previous Russian spacewalk. That object and another, not conclusively identified, both departed well below the vicinity of the complex and pose no threat to the orbiting laboratory.

Something flying by at 4:38-39 ? :?

 

[EarthlingX]

www.nasa.gov : Crew Cleans Up After First Spacewalk, Prepares for Second

Image above: Cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin works inside the Zvezda service module. Credit: NASA

As Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko cleaned up after Tuesday morning’s spacewalk, Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson prepared for an August 5 spacewalk.

After a successful six-hour, 42-minute spacewalk Tuesday morning Yurchikhin and Kornienko reconfigured tools, the Pirs docking compartment and the Zvezda service module’s transfer compartment. They outfitted the Rassvet module’s Kurs automated rendezvous system, installed cables and replaced a video camera during their expedition’s first spacewalk.

The August 5 spacewalk will take place outside of the U.S. Quest airlock. Caldwell Dyson and Wheelock reviewed procedures Friday and set up tools they will use to install a power and data grapple fixture on the Zarya module. The grapple fixture will extend the station robotic arm’s reach and increase a spacewalker’s capabilities during assembly. They also will install a power cable to prepare for the upcoming installation in November of the Permanent Multipurpose Module during STS-133.

Flight Engineer Shannon Walker detached measurement units from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility inside the Kibo module’s Saibo rack. The Saibo rack provides facilities to experiment with and store biological samples. Walker also assisted Caldwell Dyson and Wheelock with their procedure review and participated in a spacewalk conference with ground specialists.

Commander Alexander Skvortsov, along with his crew mates, continued with his daily exercise regimen. The orbital laboratory’s exercise equipment includes two treadmills, an exercise bike and a resistive device that helps counter the long-term effects of microgravity.

www.federalspace.ru : Operations and Experiments in the International Space Station (August 2-8, 2010)

 

[EarthlingX]

www.nasa.gov : NASA - International Space Station

One of two ammonia-fed cooling loops on the International Space Station shut down at 8 p.m. EST Saturday night after a power spike was detected on the loop’s Pump Module. The Pump Module, that enables ammonia to flow through the loops, remains down, and with the loss of the cooling loop, several systems were forced to shut down, including two of the station’s four Control Moment Gyroscopes, one of two redundant strings of S-band communication, one of two redundant strings of the station’s Global Positioning System, several DC to DC current converters in Tranquility and a set of components that route commands to station equipment.

When the cooling loop went down, the crew was awakened by several caution and warning alarms and began powering down equipment to balance the cooling loads that were transferred to Cooling Loop B, which is active and in good condition.

Tracy Caldwell Dyson remained awake into the early hours Sunday to work troubleshooting procedures while the rest of the crew went back to bed. The crew is in no danger, but will need to work additional troubleshooting on Sunday to keep the station in a stable configuration, including the installation of a jumper cable to maintain proper cooling to the Zarya module in the Russian segment.

The station is equipped with two spare Pump Modules that are housed on spare part platforms on the truss of the station should a replacement of the Loop A Pump Module be required.

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Space Station Suffers Cooling System Malfunction

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 01 August 2010
06:01 am ET

The International Space Station suffered a cooling system malfunction late Saturday that forced its astronaut crew to power down some vital systems while engineers on Earth study the problem.

A power spike led to the shutdown of a pump module in one of two liquid ammonia cooling loops on the space station, setting off alarms that awoke the six astronauts living aboard the orbiting lab, NASA officials said in a statement. The malfunction occurred Saturday at about 8 p.m. EDT (0000 Sunday GMT) while the crew was sleeping.

http://www.cbsnews.com : Space Station Malfunction Forces Shutdowns

August 1, 2010 6:11 AM

Posted by William Harwood

Update: 7:52 ET Trouble with one of the International Space Station's external coolant loops, used to dissipate the heat generated by the lab's electronics systems, has triggered extensive equipment powerdowns and troubleshooting, NASA officials said late Saturday. The malfunction occurred around 8 p.m. EDT Saturday, showing up as a short circuit that set off multiple on-board alarms.

It is not yet clear what went wrong, but it appears to involve a pump module in ammonia coolant loop A. The electrical powerdowns affect two of the station's four U.S. control moment gyroscopes, used to help maintain the lab's orientation in space, one communications channel and a variety of computer control boxes known as multiplexer-demultiplexers.

"It seems like we're in a sim right now," flight engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson joked with ground controllers shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday.

..

"Losing one of those loops is very significant," space station flight director Brian Smith said before a shuttle flight last November. "We'd lose cooling capability to half of the electronics on the U.S., European and Japanese part of the space station."

The ammonia tank on the left side of the station's power truss, part of coolant loop B, was replaced in August 2009. During a flight by the shuttle Discovery last April, astronauts replaced the tank on the right side in coolant loop A. Other than alignment problems and trouble getting a few bolts to engage, the tank swap went well and there were no indications of any major issues. But flight controllers were unable to re-open the main nitrogen valve needed to re-pressurize coolant loop A.

After Discovery undocked, engineers resolved the problem, cooling the valve and using back pressure to get it open. There have been no other obvious signs of trouble with either coolant loop since then.

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : NASA Plans Emergency Spacewalks to Fix Space Station

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor

posted: 02 August 2010, 07:32 am ET

NASA is planning a pair of emergency spacewalks to repair the International Space Station after half of its cooling system shut down unexpectedly Saturday, forcing astronauts to power down several systems.

The two repair spacewalks will be performed by American astronauts Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson and could begin Thursday to replace a pump module in one of the space station's two cooling system loops. Engineers are assessing the spacewalk plans before making a final decision.

"The crew is being informed that replanning for alternate spacewalk activity is underway," NASA officials said in a statement. A spacewalk had already been planned for Thursday for the Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson to upgrade some station systems.

 

[MeteorWayne]

NASA Moves Space Station Repair Spacewalk To Friday, Sets Briefings HOUSTON -- The first of two spacewalks by NASA astronauts to replace a failed ammonia pump on the International Space Station has been delayed by 24 hours to Friday, Aug. 6. A second spacewalk is planned for Monday, Aug. 9, to complete the repairs.

Flight controllers and station managers made the decision Monday night after reviewing proposed timelines, final procedures for the repair work, and the results from a spacewalk dress rehearsal conducted in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson are scheduled to perform the spacewalks. The two NASA astronauts will replace an ammonia coolant pump that failed July 31.

NASA Television coverage of both spacewalks will begin at 5 a.m. CDT. Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson are expected to begin the spacewalks from the Quest airlock at 5:55 a.m. Friday's spacewalk will be the fourth for Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson's first.

Approximately two hours after the conclusion of each spacewalk, NASA TV will broadcast a briefing from Johnson. The briefing participants will be Mike Suffredini, International Space Station program manager; Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director; and David Beaver, Expedition 24 spacewalk officer.

Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations, and should contact their preferred NASA center to confirm participation. Johnson will operate a telephone bridge for reporters with valid media credentials issued by a NASA center. Journalists planning to use the service must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of a briefing. Phone bridge capacity is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Engineers and flight controllers continue to review data on the failure, which resulted in the loss of one of two cooling loops aboard the station. This caused a significant power down and required adjustments to provide the maximum redundancy possible for station systems. The systems are stable, and the six crew members aboard are not in any danger.

Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson originally were scheduled to perform a spacewalk to outfit the Russian Zarya module for future robotics work and prepare the station for the installation of a new U.S. permanent multipurpose module. However, because of the importance of restoring redundancy to the station's cooling and power systems, the two new spacewalks will be dedicated to the pump module replacement.

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

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the station and the Expedition 24 crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

 

[EarthlingX]

Getting ready to start the spacewalk :

 

[MeteorWayne]

Spacewalk is underway, live on NASA TV.

 

[Yuri_Armstrong]

It must be pretty nerve-racking for an astronaut who'd never done a spacewalk before. Those two are pretty brave.

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.nasa.gov : Crew Conducts Second Spacewalk to Replace Coolant Pump

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson switched their spacesuits to battery power at 8:27 a.m. EDT, signaling the start of the second of three spacewalks focused on removing the ammonia pump module that failed July 31 and putting its replacement in place. Today’s spacewalk is expected to last about six hours.

This is the fifth spacewalk for Wheelock, who is wearing the suit bearing the red stripes, and the second for Caldwell Dyson, who is wearing the unmarked suit.

Wheelock successfully closed the quick disconnect valve for the final fluid connector for the failed ammonia pump module. There are no visible leaks. Then he successfully unattached the final fluid line from the failed ammonia pump module.

Caldwell Dyson is disconnecting five electrical and data cables while Wheelock is breaking torque on four bolts from the old pump. Wheelock then will use a tool to remove the bolts. The pump module then will be extracted from the truss through the use of a grapple bar. Once that work is complete, the spacewalkers will park the failed pump on a payload bracket on the Mobile Base System on the station’s truss.

If all goes as planned, the spare pump will be installed during the third spacewalk targeted for no earlier than Sunday.

SDC : Space Station Astronauts Take 2nd Spacewalk to Make Repairs

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 11 August 2010
08:30 am ET

This story was updated at 11:51 a.m. ET.

Two spacewalking astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Wednesday to take another shot at removing a faulty – but crucial – coolant pump, this time taking special steps to free a stuck hose and avoid the type of toxic ammonia leak that thwarted their initial attempt.

http://www.space.com/ISS/

Spacewalkers Progressing Ahead of Schedule

11 August 2010 11:21 a.m. EDT

Spacewalker Doug Wheelock has removed four bolts attached to the broken ammonia pump. Wheelock will now work to attach a high-tech adjustable handle to the pump module that will allow the spacewalkers to transfer it from the station's truss to a temporary stowage bracket.

Tracy Caldwell Dyson successfully removed five electrical and data connections from the broken ammonia pump.

"My dad would be proud," Caldwell Dyson said.

The crew is working efficiently and the spacewalkers are progressing ahead of schedule.

-- Denise Chow

NASA TV Media Channel ( live TV )


They are currently 3h 37 min into the spacewalk.

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Space Station Astronauts Remove Faulty Pump in Urgent Repairs

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 11 August 2010
01:55 pm ET

This story was updated at 6:31 p.m. ET.



Two spacewalking astronauts finally removed a faulty pump outside the International Space Station Wednesday after overcoming a stubborn ammonia hose during their second attempt in less than a week to repair the outpost's cooling system.

SDC : NASA: 4 Spacewalks Needed to Complete Space Station Repairs

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 11 August 2010
06:25 pm ET

This story was updated at 11:02 p.m. ET.

NASA officials said Wednesday that astronauts will now have to perform four spacewalks in all – twice the number originally planned – to repair the International Space Station's ailing cooling system.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85YQx89ICQQ[/youtube]

 

[MeteorWayne]

HOUSTON -- The third spacewalk to restore full cooling capability to the International Space Station is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 16.

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson will venture outside to install a replacement pump and connect its electrical and fluid lines. The two NASA astronauts conducted the first two spacewalks to remove the failed ammonia pump from the station's truss, or backbone.

The pump removed during Wednesday's spacewalk failed on July 31, causing a loss of half of the station's cooling system. Since then, the station has been operating normally while a second ammonia pump provides cooling for electronics.

NASA Television coverage will begin Monday at 5 a.m. CDT. Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson are scheduled to begin the spacewalk just before 6 a.m. Monday's spacewalk will be the sixth for Wheelock and the third for Caldwell Dyson.

Approximately two hours after the conclusion of the spacewalk, NASA TV will broadcast a briefing from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The briefing participants will be Kirk Shireman, International Space Station deputy program manager; Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director; and David Beaver, Expedition 24 spacewalk officer.

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.cbsnews.com : Astronauts cleared for third coolant system repair EVA

08/15/2010 06:13 PM

Astronauts Douglas Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson are gearing up for a third spacewalk Monday to install a replacement ammonia pump that should allow flight controllers to reactivate a critical space station coolant loop that broke down two weeks ago.

Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson planned to spend the night in the Quest airlock at a reduced pressure of 10.2 pounds per square inch to help purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams. They plan to switch their spacesuits to battery power around 6:55 a.m. EDT to officially kick off a planned six-hour spacewalk.

For identification, Wheelock, call sign EV-1, will be wearing a suit with red stripes around the legs and use helmet cam No. 19. Caldwell Dyson, EV-2, will wear an unmarked suit and use helmet cam No. 20.

During their third spacewalk Monday, Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson plan to remove a spare pump module from external stowage platform No. 2, install it in the starboard one, or S1, truss segment and reconnect the ammonia lines and five electrical cables. The spare pump, launched to the station in 2006, is the oldest of four stored aboard the space station as a hedge against coolant system failures.

If time is available, the astronauts will install an electrical cable between the Quest airlock and the Unity module that is required before attachment of a cargo module during a shuttle flight in November.

Here is an updated spacewalk timeline (in EDT and elapsed time; best viewed with fixed-width font):

 

[MeteorWayne]

Thanx, EX.
MW

 

[EarthlingX]

Spacewalk is ahead of the schedule, outer hatch already opened.

Getting ready to change suits to internal power.

Spacewalk started at 10:20 UTC.

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Success In Orbit: Astronauts Replace Vital Space Station Cooling Pump

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 16 August 2010
11:11 am ET

This story was updated at 11:35 a.m. ET.



Two space station astronauts hit pay dirt in orbit Monday after successfully replacing a vital pump to restore their spacecraft's cooling system, which has been limping along at half-power for more than two weeks.

Astronauts Douglas Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson wired up a bulky ammonia pump the size of a kitchen oven into the right side of the space station during the hours-long spacewalk. It was the third spacewalk for the astronauts to make the tricky repair 220 miles (354 km) above Earth. A fourth spacewalk is planned for later to clean up some final work.

They are back in the airlock, hatch closed, working on repressurization.

Spacewalk ended at 17:40 UTC.

 

[EarthlingX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiU3zPibBSI[/youtube]

NASAtelevision | August 16, 2010

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson installed a spare ammonia pump in the International Space Station's starboard truss to replace a similar unit that had failed two weeks ago. The seven-hour, 20-minute EVA conducted on Aug. 16 was the final of three excursions needed to bring the station's cooling system back to full capability. The cooling loop, one of two aboard the ISS, is expected to be reactivated this Thursday, Aug. 19.

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Astronauts Say Tricky Space Station Repair a Success

By Denise Chow
SPACE.com Staff Writer
posted: 19 August 2010
03:16 pm ET



Astronauts living on the International Space Station said Thursday that their orbiting lab is finally back in action after a series of tricky spacewalks to replace a broken coolant pump.

American astronauts Douglas Wheelock, Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Shannon Walker lauded the efforts of engineers on Earth to help them restore the station's cooling system to full strength after a vital pump module failed July 31. The astronauts performed three challenging spacewalks this month to make the repairs.

"As far as we can tell, things are coming back up nominally," Caldwell Dyson said, adding that the station's U.S, Japanese and European labs are up and running. "We've got most of our lab back ... so, to us here on orbit, things are looking better than normal."

 

[EarthlingX]

en.rian.ru : ISS astronauts call Peru's ancient Machu Picchu

10:03 27/08/2010

A radio contact with the International Space Station (ISS) was made from the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu in Peru, local media reported.

The Russian and Peruvian delegations talked with the ISS crew for ten minutes on Thursday.

The conversation was made in three languages, Russian, Spanish and the Indian language of Quechua. ISS Commander Alexander Skvortsov said it was the first time Quechua had ever been heard on the ISS.

Quechua is spoken by some 10 million native South American Indians.

Russia is helping Peru to build its first ever satellite, local media said. It has also agreed to grow Peruvian potatoes on the ISS.