Take a spacewalk above the ISS: Cameras give you astronauts' view of second mission to prepare station for 'space taxis'
comments
Astronauts are currently floating outside the International Space Station in the second of three spacewalks to prepare parking spots for future 'space taxis'.
Station commander Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, 52, and flight engineer Terry Virts, 47, left the station's Quest airlock just after 7 am EST (1200 GMT) and headed to the space shuttle's old docking port.
A camera fixed to the astronaut's spacesuits has provided stunning shots of the ISS and Earth, as the astronaut's grapple with lubrication of the latches and brackets.
Watch a live stream of the spacewalk below
Wilmore took a moment to savor the view. 'I don't think I've seen blue that blue,' he observed above the Caribbean.
The spacewalkers struggled to remove a cover protecting the berthing slip, one of two sites being reconfigured for new spaceships under development by Boeing and SpaceX.
Share this article
'This thing has rigidified out here,' Wilmore radioed to flight controllers in Houston.
'That's as expected, so good luck with that,' replied astronaut Joe Acaba at Mission Control.
Scroll down for video
Astronauts are currently floating outside the International Space Station in the second of three spacewalks to prepare parking spots for future 'space taxis'
A camera fixed to the astronaut's spacesuits has provided stunning shots of the ISS and Earth, as the astronaut's grapple with lubrication of the latches and brackets
In this image, Butch Wilmore is dwarfed by Tranquility node as he prepares the ISS for the Bigelow module
'Orbital sunrise on @Space_Station during the #spacewalk,' Nasa tweeted alongside this stunning image
Station commander Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, 52, and flight engineer Terry Virts, 47, left the station's Quest airlock just after 7 am EST (1200 GMT) and headed to the space shuttle's old docking port.
Station commander Wilmore, call sign EV-1, is wearing a suit with red stripes and is using helmet camera No. 18.
Virts, EV-2, is wearing an unmarked suit is using helmetcam 20.
The cover's removal was another step to prepare the station for new international docking port adapters that are due to arrive later this year.
The adapters will be installed during four more spacewalks Nasa plans in 2015.
On Saturday, Wilmore and Virts installed about 340ft (104 metres) of power and data cables to support the new docking systems.
During today's spacewalk, scheduled to last about 6.5 hours, they plan to attach two more cables and lubricate the grapple fixture at the end of the station's robot arm.
The spacewalkers will also prepare the 'Tranquility' connecting node for the September arrival of an experimental inflatable habitat built by privately-owned Bigelow Aerospace.
Las Vegas-based Bigelow is developing free-flying expandable habitats for lease by agencies, researchers and businesses.
Nasa is looking at the technology for future human expeditions beyond the station's 260-mile (418-km) high orbit.
The station, a partnership of 15 nations, is a collection of laboratories and platforms for materials and life science experiments, Earth studies, physics and other investigations that take advantage of the microgravity environment and unique vantage point of space.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos said yesterday it would remain part of the international outpost until 2024, a four-year extension proposed by the US.
'#AstroButch captured a #spacewalk selfie with his reflection in @Space_Station radiator panel,' Nasa tweeted
During today's spacewalk, scheduled to last about 6.5 hours, they plan to attach two more cables and lubricate the grapple fixture at the end of the station's robot arm
Astronauts Wilmore (left) and Virts (right) began the second of three jobs in preparation of private space taxis
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment