Fwd: ISS EVA Removes Ammonia Pump, Next Spacewalk Tuesday

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: December 22, 2013 10:17:02 AM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: ISS EVA Removes Ammonia Pump, Next Spacewalk Tuesday

 

Dec. 21, 2013

MEDIA ADVISORY M13-196

Space Station Crew Removes Ammonia Pump, Next Spacewalk Set for Tuesday

 

NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins completed a 5 hour and 28 minute spacewalk Saturday to remove a faulty ammonia pump on the International Space Station. A second spacewalk to install a new unit now is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 24.

 

The extra day will allow time for the crew to resize a spare spacesuit on the space station for use by Mastracchio. During repressurization of the station's airlock following the spacewalk, a spacesuit configuration issue put the suit Mastracchio was wearing in question for the next excursion -- specifically whether water entered into the suit's sublimator inside the airlock. The flight control team at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston decided to switch to a backup suit for the next spacewalk.

 

This issue is not related to the spacesuit water leak that was seen during a July spacewalk by European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA's Chris Cassidy. Both Mastracchio and Hopkins reported dry conditions repeatedly throughout Saturday's activities and the two were never in danger.

 

NASA Television coverage of Tuesday's spacewalk will begin at 6:15 a.m. EST. The spacewalk scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m. 

 

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

 

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv 

 

For video b-roll and other media resources for the space station, visit:

 

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

 

For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:

 

http://www.nasa.gov/station

 

-end-

 

Rachel Kraft

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1100

rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov

 

Josh Byerly

Johnson Space Center, Houston

281-483-5111

josh.byerly@nasa.gov

 

 

 

Spacewalkers finish tasks ahead of schedule

 

HOUSTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Two U.S. astronauts completed an emergency spacewalk to repair part of the International Space Station ahead of schedule and without incident, NASA said.

 

In fact, the walk went so well the pair were able to get a head start on work scheduled for a second spacewalk Monday -- and if that trip goes according to plan they will all be able to scrap a third scheduled walk and take a day off on Christmas, NBC reported.

 

The astronauts, Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, are two of a six-man crew manning the space station. They were forced to repair an ammonia-fueled cooling module that had failed as part of what NASA said was expected eventual maintenance to the station.

 

The module's failure forced all non-critical systems to be shut down on the space station, which has been continuously manned since 2000.

 

While no spacewalk is routine, officials had expressed added concern after an Italian astronaut nearly drowned during the last spacewalk when water began building up in his helmet. NASA said it was likely some previously undetected contamination in the liquid removal unit on the suit that caused the buildup. As a precaution, both Mastracchio and Hopkins wore fluid-soaking pads around their necks to enable them to detect any water buildup. Additionally, they were outfitted with snorkels inside their suits.

 

Neither astronaut reported any kind of fluid buildup, NBC said.

 

© 2013 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

 

 

NASA astronauts tackle urgent spacewalking repairs

By MARCIA DUNN 

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronauts removed an old space station pump Saturday, sailing through the first of a series of urgent repair spacewalks to revive a crippled cooling line.

 

The two Americans on the crew, Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins, successfully pulled out the ammonia pump with a bad valve __ well ahead of schedule. That task had been planned for the next spacewalk on Monday.

 

"An early Christmas," observed Mission Control as Mastracchio tugged the refrigerator-size pump away from its nesting spot.

 

If Mastracchio and Hopkins keep up the quick work, two spacewalks may be enough to complete the installation of a spare pump and a third spacewalk will not be needed on Christmas Day as originally anticipated.

 

The breakdown 10 days earlier left one of two identical cooling loops too cold and forced the astronauts to turn off all nonessential equipment inside the orbiting lab, bringing scientific research to a near-halt and leaving the station in a vulnerable state.

 

Mission Control wanted to keep the spacewalkers out even longer Saturday to get even further ahead, but a cold and uncomfortable Mastracchio requested to go back. The spacewalk ended after 5½ hours, an hour short on time but satisfyingly long on content.

 

Earlier, Mastracchio managed to unhook all the ammonia fluid and electrical lines on the pump with relative ease, occasionally releasing a flurry of frozen ammonia flakes that brushed against his suit. A small O-ring floated away, but he managed to retrieve it.

 

"I got it, I got it, I got it. Barely," Mastracchio said as he stretched out his hand.

 

"Don't let that go, that's a stocking stuffer," Mission Control replied.

 

"Don't tell my wife," Mastracchio said, chuckling, as he put it in a small pouch for trash.

 

Mastracchio, a seven-time spacewalker, and Hopkins, making his first, wore extra safety gear as they worked outside. NASA wanted to prevent a recurrence of the helmet flooding that nearly drowned an astronaut last summer, so Saturday's spacewalkers had snorkels in their suits and water-absorbent pads in their helmets.

 

To everyone's relief, the spacewalkers remained dry. But midway through the excursion, Mastracchio's toes were so cold that he had to crank up the heat in his boots. Mission Control worried aloud whether it was wise to extend the spacewalk to get ahead, given Mastracchio's discomfort.

 

Not quite two hours later, Mastracchio had enough as he clutched the old pump. When Mission Control suggested even more get-ahead chores, he replied, "I'd like to stow this old module and kind of clean up and call it a day." He said a couple of things were bothering him, not just temperature, and declined to elaborate when asked by Mission Control what was wrong.

 

Flight controllers obliged him. Once the old pump was secured to a temporary location, the spacewalkers started gathering up their tools to go in.

 

Adding to the excitement 260 miles up, a smoke alarm went off in the space station as the astronauts toiled outside. It was quickly found to be a false alarm.

 

The pump replacement is a huge undertaking attempted only once before, back in 2010 on this very unit. The two astronauts who tackled the job three years ago were in Mission Control, offering guidance. Mastracchio promised to bring back a wire tie installed on the pump by the previous spacewalkers. "Oh, awesome, thanks Rick," replied the astronaut in Mission Control who put it on.

 

The 780-pound pump is about the size of a double-door refrigerator and extremely cumbersome to handle, with plumbing full of toxic ammonia. Any traces of ammonia on the spacesuits were dissipated before the astronauts went back inside, to avoid further contamination.

 

NASA's plan initially called for the pump to be disconnected Saturday, pulled out Monday and a fresh spare put in, and then all the hookups of the new pump completed Wednesday in what would be the first Christmas spacewalk ever. But if the work is finished Monday, a third spacewalk will be unnecessary and most everybody on the team will have the holiday off.

 

In the days following the Dec. 11 breakdown, flight controllers attempted in vain to fix the bad valve through remote commanding. Then they tried using a different valve to regulate the temperature of the overly cold loop, with some success. But last Tuesday, NASA decided the situation was severe enough to press ahead with the spacewalks. Although the astronauts were safe and comfortable, NASA did not want to risk another failure and a potential loss of the entire cooling system, needed to radiate the heat generated by on-board equipment.

 

NASA delayed a delivery mission from Wallops Island, Va., to accommodate the spacewalks. That flight by Orbital Sciences Corp., which should have occurred this past week, is now targeted for Jan. 7.

 

Until Saturday, U.S. spacewalks had been on hold since July, when an Italian astronaut's helmet was flooded with water from the cooling system of his suit. Luca Parmitano barely got back inside alive.

 

Engineers traced the problem to a device in the suit that turned out to be contaminated — how and why, no one yet knows.

 

For Saturday's spacewalk, Hopkins wore Parmitano's suit, albeit with newly installed and thoroughly tested components.

 

Just in case, NASA had Mastracchio and Hopkins build snorkels out of plastic tubing from their suits, before going out. The snorkels will be used in case water starts building up in their helmets. They also put absorbent pads in their helmets; the pads were launched from Earth following the July scare.

 

Besides the two Americans, three Russian and one Japanese astronaut are living on the space station, all men.

 

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

 

 

Astronauts nail first spacewalk to fix station's cooling system

By Irene Klotz 

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two NASA astronauts, their spacesuits rigged with snorkels in case of a water leak, floated outside the International Space Station for 5-1/2 hours on Saturday, successfully completing the first steps to fix the outpost's cooling system.

 

The spacewalk, which was broadcast live on NASA Television, was the first for NASA since July when the spacesuit helmet worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano began filling with water, a situation that could have caused him to drown.

 

No such leaks were detected in Saturday's spacewalk, the first of two or possibly three that will be needed to complete the cooling system repair.

 

The operation was prompted by the December 11 shutdown of one of the station's two U.S. ammonia cooling systems, which forced the crew to turn off non-essential equipment and shut down dozens of science experiments.

 

While the six-member crew is not in danger, the remaining cooling system cannot support the three laboratories and other modules on the U.S. side of the $100 billion station, a project of 15 nations. The Russian side of the station has a separate cooling system.

 

Engineers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston tried devising ways to bypass a suspected faulty pump valve, but with time running short, managers decided to have astronauts replace the pump, located outside the station, with a spare.

 

The work, which began shortly after 7 a.m. EST, went smoothly, with station flight engineers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins finishing up an hour earlier than expected.

 

They were able to not only disconnect the old pump, but also remove it from its pallet on the station's exterior truss, a task slated for a second spacewalk originally planned for Monday and later delayed until Tuesday, NASA said late on Saturday.

 

A third spacewalk, if needed, presumably also would slip one day, from Wednesday to Thursday.

 

NASA said an extra day was needed to prepare a backup spacesuit for Mastracchio to use.

 

"During repressurization of the station's airlock following the spacewalk, a spacesuit configuration issue put the suit Mastracchio was wearing in question for the next excursion," NASA said in a statement.

 

The issue is not related to the water leak that was seen during the July spacewalk, NASA said.

 

"Both Mastracchio and Hopkins reported dry conditions repeatedly throughout (Saturday's) activities," the statement said.

 

Mastracchio, a veteran of six previous spacewalks, and Hopkins, a rookie, wore spacesuits that were modified to protect them from another possible water leak. The problem in July was traced to contamination in piece of equipment called a fan pump separator that circulates water and air in the spacesuit and removes moisture from air.

 

How the water-separator portion of the device became clogged remains under investigation.

 

Hopkins wore Parmitano's spacesuit, but it had been outfitted with a new fan pump separator. In addition, both Hopkins and Mastracchio rigged their helmets with homemade snorkels, fabricated out of pieces of plastic tubing and Velcro, which they could have used for breathing in case of another water leak. The helmets also included water-absorbent pads.

 

FAILED PUMP

 

During Saturday's spacewalk, Mastracchio and Hopkins disconnected electrical and fluid lines and removed the 780-pound (354-kg), 5-foot (1.5-metre) wide cooling system pump.

 

The failed pump, which was then anchored in a temporary storage site, will remain on the station for possible future repair and reuse.

 

It was installed in 2010 during an unexpectedly difficult series of spacewalks by astronauts Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

 

"What makes this pump very difficult (to work on) are (the) fluid disconnects because they are so large and they are pressurized and they contain liquid ammonia, so that's a hazard for us if it were to come in contact with us or our suits," Caldwell Dyson said in an interview with a NASA TV mission commentator.

 

Maintaining focus also can be a challenge, she added.

 

"When you're on one of those pallets, you really have that sensation that you are sticking out on the edge of a skyscraper. Especially when you look down, you see your feet and then you see the Earth going 17,500 mph beneath you, it really does get your attention," she said.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins encountered no major problems during Saturday's outing.

 

"These guys really went out there and were so efficient," Caldwell Dyson said. "It may be more difficult to remove the pump because you don't know exactly what to expect," she added.

 

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Vicki Allen and Sandra Maler)

 

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. 

 

 

Realtime coverage of U.S. EVA-24

12/21/2013 07:29 PM 

By WILLIAM HARWOOD

CBS News

 

07:15 PM, 12/21/13 Update: Second coolant repair spacewalk delayed to Tuesday; revising 6:30 p.m. update to include earlier air-to-ground exchange, updated NASA statement

 

A NASA statement released late Saturday said the decision to delay a second space station repair spacewalk from Monday to Tuesday would give the crew time to assemble a backup spacesuit for astronaut Rick Mastracchio after a "configuration issue" raised questions about whether the original suit could be used.

 

"The extra day will allow time for the crew to resize a spare spacesuit on the space station for use by Mastracchio," the agency said. "During repressurization of the station's airlock following the spacewalk, a spacesuit configuration issue put the suit Mastracchio was wearing in question for the next excursion -- specifically whether water entered into the suit's sublimator inside the airlock."

 

The sublimator is a device in the spacesuit's backpack that helps dissipate excess heat.

 

In any case, NASA said, "the flight control team at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston decided to switch to a backup suit for the next spacewalk."

 

"This issue is not related to the water leak that was seen during a July spacewalk by European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA's Chris Cassidy," the agency said. "Both Mastracchio and Hopkins reported dry conditions repeatedly throughout today's activities."

 

During an earlier post-spacewalk exchange between Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and mission control, it appeared an inadvertent switch throw might have played a role.

 

"And Houston, (this is the) airlock, on one," Wakata called down. "EV-1, he inadvertently moved the water switch to on and it was quickly returned to off, o-f-f."

 

"Copy, standby," astronaut Akihiko Hoshide replied from Houston. "And Koichi, just to confirm, that was a very brief moment?"

 

"Yeah, it was one or two seconds, Aki."

 

"And Koichi copy your last, you can press with the rest of the procedure. We may have to take a look at the sub water later, but you can continue with the procedure."

 

In a later exchange, the crew was given a procedure to dry out excess moisture in the suit.

 

As it now stands, a second spacewalk by Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins will begin around 7:10 a.m. EST (GMT-5) Tuesday. A third spacewalk, if required, presumably would be carried out the day after Christmas. But given how much the crew accomplished Saturday, a third spacewalk may be unnecessary.

 

 

 

05:45 PM, 12/21/13 Update: Second coolant repair spacewalk delayed to Tuesday

 

Spacesalkers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins completed phase one of a complex coolant system repair job aboard the International Space Station Saturday, but an unexplained problem with Mastracchio's suit prompted flight controllers to delay a second spacewalk for 24 hours, from Monday to Christmas Eve.

 

"We are going to slip EVA-25 one day and so that's going to move to Tuesday, Dec. 24. Merry Christmas Eve," radioed astronaut Kate Rubins from mission control. "We are going to cancel the morning DPC (daily planning conference) tomorrow so you guys can sleep in a few extra hours."

 

The problem apparently involved excess water in the sublimator of Mastracchio's spacesuit, a device used to dissipate heat. The issue is not believed to be related to water leakage in July that flooded another spacewalker's helmet and forced a frightening abort. But NASA did not provide any immediate details regarding the cause of the excess water in Mastracchio's suit.

 

"Due to come concern about the water in the sublimator of the 3010 suit, we want to dry that suit out overnight and so if you guys don't mind, if one person could take about 15 minutes I'm going to give you some steps to get the suit in a good config," Rubins called. "We're going to power the suit up and turn the radio on as a heat source and take a few pictures of the config, and that should help with the drying out."

 

"OK, I'll be happy to do that," Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata replied.

 

Assuming no other problems crop up, the second spacewalk will begin at 7:10 a.m. EST (GMT-5) Tuesday.

 

Despite the delay, Mastracchio and Hopkins were able to complete the primary objectives of Saturday's spacewalk, along with a major item on the list of tasks planned for their second excursion. Barring major problems, it appears likely the astronauts will be able to complete the coolant system repair work in two spacewalks without the need for a third excursion.

 

In any case, the delay from Monday to Tuesday takes a Christmas spacewalk off the table. If a third EVA is required for some reason, it is unlikely to take place before Thursday.

 

In the meantime, Rubins said, "we're working the plan to let you guys sleep in tomorrow."

 

"Sounds good. Thank you very much," Wakata replied.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:01 a.m. to officially kick off the first of at least two spacewalks to remove a suspect ammonia pump module and install a replacement. Trouble with a valve inside the pump assembly partially disabled one of the station's two cooling loops, which are needed to dissipate the heat generated by the lab's electrical systems.

 

While the failure did not put the crew in any danger, the partial loss of cooling forced flight controllers to power down non-essential equipment in the forward modules of the outpost, including equipment used for scientific research. Repairing coolant loop A is a high-priority for the crew, both to resume normal operations and to restore lost redundancy in a critical system.

 

The pump module in question was installed during a series of spacewalks in August 2010. Major problems getting large ammonia lines disconnected and re-attached delayed the repair work and forced the crew to carry out a third, unplanned EVA to finish the work.

 

This time around, flight planners built a third spacewalk into the timeline right off the bat in case similar problems developed. But Mastracchio and Hopkins had no problems disconnecting the pump module today and, running well ahead of schedule, they were able to remove it from the station's solar power truss and mount it on a storage fixture.

 

The original plan called for the spacewalkers to simply disconnect the pump module and to remove it during a second spacewalk Monday. But Mastracchio and Hopkins got the pump out well ahead of schedule, prompting flight planners to ask the astronauts to extend the spacewalk in order to complete a few other get-ahead tasks on Monday's timeline.

 

Astronauts seldom object to such extensions, but Mastracchio told Douglas Wheelock in mission control that he preferred ending the spacewalk at that point.

 

"My vote would be to call it (off) for today, but it's up to you guys if you really want to go out there," Mastracchio radioed shortly after mounting the old pump on a storage fixture.

 

"And Rick, could you give us some ideas if it's temperature, your (suit) temperature?" Wheelock asked. He was referring to an earlier conversation when Mastracchio reported his feet were unusually cold.

 

"It's just, more a couple of things," Mastracchio replied, declining to provide details on the open space-to-ground audio loop.

 

 

12:45 PM EST, 12/21/13 Update: Astronauts complete pump removal ahead of schedule, wrap up spacewalk

 

Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins returned to the International Space Station's airlock Saturday to wrap up a successful five-hour 28-minute spacewalk, the first of at least two excursions needed to repair a critical coolant loop.

 

Running well ahead of schedule, the astronauts decided to call it a day instead of pressing ahead with additional work planned for a second spacewalk Monday and began repressurizing the station's Quest airlock at 12:29 p.m. EST (GMT-5) to officially end a virtually problem-free spacewalk.

 

 

Astronaut Rick Mastracchio, anchored to the end of the International Space Station's robot arm, holds a 780-pound ammonia pump module while arm-operator Koichi Wakata maneuvers them to a storage fixture. (Credit: NASA TV)

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins successfully disconnected a faulty ammonia pump module, removed it from its rack in the station's solar power truss and maneuvered it to a mounting fixture to clear the way for installation of a replacement pump module Monday. There were no indications of any water leaks in either astronaut's spacesuit like one that triggered a frightening abort during a spacewalk in July.

 

The original flight plan called for Mastracchio and Hopkins to simply disconnect the old pump during the initial spacewalk and to remove it during the second outing. But the spacewalkers had no problems disconnecting ammonia lines and power cables and flight controllers told them to go ahead and remove the refrigerator-sized pump module.

 

All of that went off without a hitch. Anchored to the end of the International Space Station's robot arm, Mastracchio had no trouble pulling the 780-pound ammonia pump module from the power truss, holding it in place over his head while arm-operator Koichi Wakata, working inside the station, moved him to the mounting fixture.

 

A few minutes later, the pump assembly was safely locked in place, completing the first phase of work to repair coolant loop A, one of two used to dissipate the heat generated by the station's electrical systems.

 

Other than an early comment about cold toes, Mastracchio and Hopkins had no complaints and nearly five hours into the excursion, mission control asked how the spacewalkers felt about moving outboard along the station's solar power truss to prepare a new pump module for installation Monday. The astronauts earlier agreed to extend the spacewalk an hour or so.

 

Without giving any reasons, Mastracchio said he would prefer to end today's spacewalk after securing tools and tethers.

 

"We wanted to get your take before you start moving, we're four hours and 46 minutes into the EVA, and we would like to get some work done on the spare out on ESP-3, we'd like to get your thoughts on that," astronaut Douglas Wheelock radioed from mission control

 

"OK, so basically all we could do is open MLI (insulation blankets) and break torque (on attachment bolts), is that it?" Mastracchio asked.

 

"Possibly cap removal and removing the tape from the electrical connectors as well, and we're breaking torque on the bolts as well, yes, and it'll help us with some get aheads and put us in a good config for the second EVA," Wheelock said.

 

 

Before and after: Four thick ammonia coolant lines can be seen attached to the loop A coolant pump module in the top photo, along with five electrical connectors. All of the lines were removed, bottom photo, so the pump could be pulled from its housing on the right side of the space station's main power truss. (Credit: NASA TV)

 

"Yeah, my vote would be to call it (off) for today, but it's up to you guys if you really want to go out there," Mastracchio replied.

 

"And Rick, could you give us some ideas if it's temperature, your (suit) temperature?" Wheelock asked.

 

"It's just, more a couple of things," Mastracchio replied, without providing any details.

 

"Copy all, Rick. And standby, we'll have further words for you in just a minute."

 

"I assume we could add those tasks and still get them all done on EVA-2, correct?" Mastracchio asked.

 

"Copy that, Rick."

 

A few moments later, Wheelock told the astronauts, "OK, guys, we're going to wrap it up and just do some cleanup here now."

 

Given how far ahead of the timeline the crew got, flight controllers are still hopeful the astronauts can complete the pump swap out Monday, avoiding a third spacewalk on Christmas day.

 

This was the 175th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the ninth so far this year, the seventh for Mastracchio and the first for Hopkins.

 

As it now stands, 114 astronauts and cosmonauts representing nine nations have logged 1,100 hours and seven minutes of spacewalk time outside the International Space Station, or 45.8 full days. Mastracchio's time outside during his seven spacewalks totals 43 hours and 58 minutes, moving him up to 15th on the list of most experienced spacewalkers.

 

 

10:25 AM EST, 12/21/13 Update: Astronauts ahead of schedule, plan to extend spacewalk

 

Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins are running about an hour and a half ahead of schedule with work to replace a faulty ammonia pump module on the International Space Station. As a result, flight controllers plan to extend the spacewalk by an hour or so to remove the pump assembly from its rack and mount it on a nearby stowage fixture, a task originally planned for a Monday spacewalk.

 

The original flight plan called for the spacewalkers to disconnect the coolant loop A ammonia pump assembly during a 6.5-hour outing and to make initial preparations for installing a spare unit. Under that plan, the astronauts would remove the faulty pump during a second spacewalk Monday and begin the installation of the replacement.

 

Astronaut Rick Mastracchio, anchored to the end of the International Space Station's robot arm, works at an ammonia pump assembly on the forward face of the lab's solar power truss to disconnect electrical cables. (Credit: NASA TV)

 

During a third spacewalk on Christmas day, the crew would complete connections to the new pump and finish stowing the old unit.

 

NASA is still holding open the option of a third spacewalk to finish the work, but if Mastracchio and Hopkins can keep up this pace, and if no major problems develop, it may be possible to complete the pump swap out in two EVAs.

 

But that will depend on a variety of factors, including how the installation of the replacement pump goes during the second spacewalk Monday. For their part, the crew had no objections to a spacewalk extension, although Mastracchio said his feet were quite cold and that he hoped sunlight might warm him up a bit.

 

"Houston, the only issue that I personally am having is it's very, very cold. Because I'm just floating here on the arm, I've got very, very good airflow in my boots but my toes are quite cold. They're fine right now, I just would, uh, let's see, what, it's 7:15? Is that, what, three or four more hours?"

 

"About four more hours, Rick" astronaut Doug Wheelock replied from mission control.

 

"Right. That's my only concern, are my toes. I've got my glove heaters on because my fingers were cold, but they're starting to warm up nicely now. So that's my biggest concern right now. Other than that, everything else is OK. Now that the sun's out, maybe it'll warm up a little bit."

 

A few minutes later, Wheelock said "with these adjustments on your suit, we're waiting for your go, if you feel you can go to the seven (hours), 7:15 EVA."

 

"Yeah, I think I can do it, Houston, I think my feet will warm up now that the sun's up," Mastracchio replied. "I've got the suit warmer now."

 

"OK, that sounds great, guys," Wheelock said.

 

 

09:20 AM EST, 12/21/13 Update: Spacewalkers work to disconnect ammonia lines

 

Two hours and 20 minutes into a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk, astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins are in the process of disconnecting ammonia coolant lines from a suspect pump module they plan to replace.

 

The coolant loop A pump module is located on the right side of the station's solar power truss. Mastracchio is anchored to the end of the station's robot arm while Hopkins is free floating.

 

A helmet cam view of the ammonia lines and electrical connectors feeding into a large pump module that must be replaced to restore coolant loop A to normal operation. In this view, the four ammonia lines can be seen -- from left to right, M1, M2, M3 and M4 --in the center of the frame, lanked on the left and right by electrical cables. (Credit: NASA TV)

 

The refrigerator-size pump module is plumbed into the coolant loop with three 1.5-inch-wide ammonia lines, referred to as M1, M2 and M3, and a one-half-inch line, known as M4. All four had to be disconnected, along with five electrical cables.

 

The ammonia quick-disconnect fittings are locked in place with complex mechanisms that feature so-called "spool positioning devices," or SPDs, that ensure proper alignment or both sides, levered handles that can pull the connector components together or force them apart, locking collars and safety buttons that must be depressed before the components can be disengaged.

 

During a pump module replacement in August 2010, another team of astronauts ran into major problems getting one of the ammonia lines disconnected, presumably because of pressure in the system. This time around, flight controllers reduced the pressure in the loop before the spacewalk began to prevent any similar problems.

 

Ammonia lines M3 and M4 were the first to get disconnected. Both needed to be plugged into a so-called "jumper" box to allow the ammonia in coolant loop A to expand and contract as the station moves into and out of sunlight during the course of the pump replacement work.

 

Mastracchio had no problems disconnecting M3 and M4, reporting a small amount of ammonia ice crystals, or flakes, floating out of the connectors.

 

"I do see some snow, very little," he said, "very small flakes. Coming from the forward side of the QD. Very small flakes, if you will, and now I don't see them any more. Very, very small particles."

 

"Copy that, Rick, and can you tell if any of that hit your suit?" astronaut Doug Wheelock asked from mission control.

 

"I think yes," Mastracchio replied. A few moments later, after disconnecting the M3 line, he reported "a few more flakes coming out, not too bad though. ... Looks like the male QD is kind of iced up a little bit."

 

A view of the space station's right side power truss, where Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins are working to remove a suspect ammonia pump module. (Credit: NASA TV)

 

The flakes apparently came from ammonia trapped in the connectors and were not the result of a leak. But contact with ammonia ice can trigger a lengthy decontamination procedure at the end of a spacewalk to make sure any traces on the spacesuits have evaporated before the crew re-enters the station.

 

Whether or not those procedures will be required today is not yet known.

 

In any case, Mastracchio had no problems connecting M3 and M4 to the jumper box and the crew is pressing ahead with the other lines and cables. As of 9:20 a.m., the crew was running about an hour ahead of schedule.

 

 

07:15 AM EST, 12/21/13: Station astronauts begin high-stakes spacewalk

 

Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins switched their spacesuits to battery power early Saturday, kicking off the first in a series of spacewalks to replace a refrigerator-size ammonia pump assembly aboard the International Space Station in a high-stakes attempt to restore a critical coolant loop to normal operation.

 

Floating in the station's Quest airlock module, the astronauts began the planned six-and-a-half-hour excursion at 7:01 a.m. EST (GMT-5) as the space station sailed 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean approaching Africa.

 

"Quite a view," Hopkins marveled as he floated outside the airlock to begin his first spacewalk.

 

"Yeah, watch that first step," joked Mastracchio, making his seventh EVA.

 

Engineers are trying to figure out how to fix a balky flow control valve used to regulate the temperature of ammonia coolant in an external thermal control system loop aboard the International Space Station.The valve in question is located inside a pump module, noted above, that is part of coolant loop A, one of two critical systems used to keep station components from over heating. (Credit: NASA)

 

For identification, Mastracchio, call sign EV-1, is wearing a suit with red stripes and using helmet camera No. 20. Hopkins, EV-2, is wearing an unmarked suit with helmet camera No. 18. This is the 175th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998 and the ninth so far this year.

 

Hopkins' spacesuit -- serial No. 3011 -- is the same one that suffered a water leak during a July spacewalk, flooding the helmet of European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano in a frightening emergency that forced the crew to stop work and beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the station's airlock.

 

An exhaustive investigation blamed the leakage on contamination that clogged one or more filters in the suit's cooling water recirculation system. While the root cause of the contamination has not yet been determined, the suspect hardware in suit No. 3011 was replaced and engineers are confident the problem has been resolved.

 

Just in case, the astronauts positioned water-absorbing pads behind their heads, where the water entered Parmitano's helmet in July, and used velcro to secure snorkel-like plastic tubes within easy reach of their mouths. The tubes extend down into the body of the suit, giving the spacewalkers an unobstructed source of air if water somehow makes it into either helmet.

 

The water-absorbing pads and snorkels should provide more than enough time to reach the safety of the station's airlock if another leak does, in fact, develop.

 

The spacewalks were ordered after a critical valve in one of the space station's two coolant loops malfunctioned last week, resulting in lower-than-allowable temperatures.

 

While coolant loop A remained partially operational, flight controllers were forced to shut down a variety of systems in the station's forward modules, including experiment hardware, to keep those systems from over heating. Coolant loop B remained fully functional.

 

Engineers attempted to resolve the problem using a software patch to precisely control the position of another valve in the coolant system, and thus the temperature of the ammonia in loop A. But NASA managers ultimately opted for a series of spacewalks to replace the ammonia pump module where the suspect flow control valve is located.

 

The pump module in question was installed during three 2010 spacewalks after the pump in the original assembly broke down, taking out coolant loop A in its entirety. This time around, the loop A pump is working normally, cooling components mounted outside the station's habitable modules. But the faulty flow control valve is preventing the loop from cooling components mounted inside the habitable compartments.

 

The loop A pump module is mounted on the right side of the station's main solar power beam in truss segment S1.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins plan to replace the 780-pound assembly with one of three spares mounted on external storage platforms. During Saturday's spacewalk, they plan to set up the tools they'll need, open insulation blankets and disconnect four ammonia lines from the balky pump unit.

 

The first two ammonia lines to be disconnected - M3 and M4 - will be connected to a "jumper box" that will prevent the loop A coolant system from over pressurizing during temperature swings in orbit. With the jumper box hooked up, the astronauts will disconnect the other two ammonia lines, along with five electrical connectors.

 

During a second spacewalk Monday, the astronauts plan to remove the faulty pump assembly and temporarily stow it on a nearby mounting fixture. The replacement pump module then will be installed in its place and the astronauts will re-connect the electrical lines.

 

During a third spacewalk Christmas day, Mastracchio and Hopkins will re-connect the fluid lines and close out the replacement module. They also will move the old pump assembly to the same storage pallet where the replacement pump was mounted.

 

If the work goes smoothly, it may be possible to complete the pump module swap out in two spacewalks. But during the 2010 replacement work, Douglas Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell-Dyson ran into problems getting the ammonia lines disconnected and a third spacewalk was required.

 

Given their past experience, NASA planners say there's a good chance the Christmas day spacewalk will be needed and time has been set aside just in case.

 

Here is a timeline of major spacewalk tasks planned for Saturday (in EST and event elapsed time; best viewed with fixed-width font):

 

EST........HH...MM...EVENT

 

07:01 AM...00...00...Suits to battery power (spacewalk begins)

07:06 AM...00...05...Egress/setup

07:46 AM...00...45...EV1: Robot arm (SSRMS) setup

.....................Install WIF adapter

.....................Install portable foot restraint

.....................Safety tether swap to SSRMS

07:46 AM...00...45...EV2: Failed pump module preps

.....................Open large ORU bag; stage crewlock bag 1

.....................Stage fish stringer

.....................Open and restrain pump module insulation shroud

.....................Release TA clamps from pump module fluid lines

.....................Assist EV1 with spool positioning device (SPD) removal

08:26 AM...01...25...EV1: Failed pump module preps

.....................Remove SPDs

08:56 AM...01...55...EV1: SSRMS ingress

08:56 AM...01...55...EV2: Ammonia line quick disconnect demate (assist EV1)

09:06 AM...02...05...EV1: QD demates (M4, M3,M1,M2)

.....................Close/demate M4,M3

.....................Install pump module jumper

.....................Attach insulation to jumper

.....................Close/demate M1,M2

.....................Install insulation cover over M1,M2

11:41 AM...04...40...EV2: Prep failed pump module for removal

.....................Demate electrical connectors (5)

12:11 PM...05...10...EV2: Spare pump module prep

.....................Open pump module insulation

.....................Remove tape/velcro from pump module handrails

12:21 PM...05...20...EV1: Egress SSRMS

12:41 PM...05...40...Clean up/ingress

.....................EV1 close and stow large ORU bag on CETA cart

01:26 PM...06...25...Pre-repress

01:31 PM...06...30...Spacewalk ends

 

Going into Saturday's EVA, 113 astronauts and cosmonauts representing nine nations had logged 1,094 hours and 39 minutes of spacewalk time outside the space station, or 45.6 full days. Mastracchio's time outside during his previous six spacewalks totals 38 hours and 30 minutes, putting him 23rd on the list of most experienced spacewalkers.

 

© 2011 William Harwood/CBS News

 

 

Spacewalkers move quickly through first stage of work

 

ISS repair could wrap up with second excursion on Tuesday

Written by

James Dean 

FLORIDA TODAY

 

A NASA spacewalker overcame a literal case of cold feet on Saturday to breeze through the start of repairs to a critical International Space Station cooling system.

 

Rick Mastracchio removed a faulty coolant pump far ahead of schedule, potentially enabling him and partner Mike Hopkins to install a spare on a second spacewalk – now planned Tuesday – and not have to go outside a third time.

 

But given the opportunity to get further ahead Saturday, Mastracchio said he'd prefer to "call it a day" on his seventh career spacewalk.

 

He had earlier reported feeling "very, very cold," first in his fingers and then his toes, which he could barely move with his feet fastened to the end of the station's 58-foot robotic arm.

 

"Because I'm just floating here on the arm, I've got very, very good air flow in my boots, but my toes are quite cold," he said.

 

Mastracchio turned on spacesuit heaters, but apparently needed to return inside the station to warm up.

 

He plans to switch to a different spacesuit for the next excursion, which had been planned Monday but will take an extra day to get ready.

 

Despite ending an hour earlier than planned, Saturday's five-hour, 28-minute spacewalk accomplished more than expected.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins, who was on his first spacewalk, successfully slid a refrigerator-sized pump module from a station girder and stowed it away.

 

Timelines had called for preparing the 780-pound box for removal but completing that work on a second spacewwalk.

 

"Early Christmas," astronaut Doug Wheelock radioed from Houston after Mastracchio released the last bolt.

 

A valve inside the pump module failed on Dec. 11, limiting its ability to regulate temperatures in one of the two external coolant loops that dissipate heat generated by station systems.

 

Non-essential systems were shut down in the U.S. portion of the complex, putting science research on hold and leaving the station more vulnerable to a failure of the second loop.

 

NASA delayed the launch of a resupply mission and scheduled up to three spacewalks to replace the pump module containing the bad valve.

 

Mastracchio got things off to a fast start, accomplishing with surprising ease what was expected to be the day's toughest task.

 

He benefited from lessons learned in 2010 when Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson struggled to disconnect the pump module's four coolant hoses and dealt with leaks of ammonia.

 

This time, only a few ammonia snowflakes squirted out, causing no concern that contaminated spacesuits could track the highly toxic substance back inside the station and endanger the six-person crew, which also includes three Russian cosmonauts and a Japanese astronaut.

 

Other than Mastracchio's frosty feet, Saturday's spacewalk fared much better than the previous one in U.S. spacesuits, from a safety standpoint.

 

Neither astronaut reported any water leaking into their helmets, a problem that threatened to drown Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano in July.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins set out with new absorbent pads in their helmets and "snorkels" they could breathe through as a last resort, and they periodically paused to check for signs of "squishiness."

 

The day included moments of holiday-inspired humor, like when Mastracchio caught a small O-ring before it floated away.

 

"Don't let that go," Wheelock said. "It's a stocking stuffer."

 

"Don't tell my wife," replied Mastracchio, who stuffed the part into a trash bag.

 

It remains to be seen if the spacewalkers need a third spacewalk to complete their repairs. They might not, if the new pump goes in as easily on Tuesday as the old one came out on Saturday.

 

That would be ideal, because two cosmonauts are already preparing to conduct another, unrelated spacewalk late this week.

 

Saturday's spacewalk was the 175th supporting assembly and maintenance of the 15-year-old station, which has been inhabited continuously since 2000.

 

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

 

Copyright © 2013 www.floridatoday.com. All rights reserved.

 

 

Spacewalk success! NASA astronauts ahead of schedule on ISS repairs

 

By Deborah Netburn

 

1:11 PM PST, December 21, 2013

 

The first in a series of emergency spacewalks to fix a cooling system failure on the International Space Station went off without a hitch Saturday morning.

 

In fact, it went so well that the two spacewalkers, NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins, were able to get a headstart on some of the tasks planned for their next spacewalk scheduled for Monday.

 

The emergency spacewalks were arranged last week to fix a problem with a pump in one of the space station's two external ammonia cooling loops that help keep instruments both inside and outside the station from overheating.

 

PHOTOS: International Space Station crews and images from space

 

The space station uses ammonia in its external cooling loops, but it's far too toxic to use in the loops inside the station; the internal ones use water instead. But if the ammonia gets too cold, it could freeze the water from the internal system in its pipes. As the water turns into ice, it expands and could crack the pipes, allowing ammonia to enter and poison the system.

 

After manipulating a problematic valve for several days to see if they could find a solution, NASA officials made the decision to send Mastracchio and Hopkins out into space to replace the refrigerator-sized pump with one of three spares located outside the space station.

 

Saturday's spacewalk was the first of three planned to remove and replace the pump. The other two are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday. However, Mastracchio and Hopkins were so efficient that the agency said the final spacewalk on Christmas Day may not be necessary.

 

2013: The Year in Science

 

Saturday's spacewalk began at 4:01 a.m. PST and lasted five hours and 28 minutes -- about one hour less than NASA had originally anticipated. With Mastracchio attached to the end of the ISS's 57-foot robotic arm, the two astronauts disconnected four ammonia fluid lines from the pump module and attached them to a pump module jumper box that will help keep the ammonia in a liquid state.

 

Since they were so far ahead of schedule, Mission Control in Houston told the two astronauts to go ahead and tackle the first of Monday's tasks -- removing the old pump module and storing it temporarily out of the way.

 

In the photo gallery above you can see Mastracchio holding the 780-pound pump as flight engineer Koichi Wakata inside the space station guides the robotic arm into place.

 

Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times

 

 

Spacewalking Astronauts Remove Faulty Space Station Pump Ahead of Schedule

by Robert Z. Pearlman, SPACE.com Contributor   |   December 21, 2013 12:35pm ET

 

HOUSTON — Two astronauts working speedily outside the International Space Station removed a faulty pump module ahead of schedule, potentially negating the need for a planned Christmas Day spacewalk as they work to repair the outpost's critical cooling system.

 

NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins ventured outside the space station at 7:01 a.m. EST (1101 GMT) today (Dec. 21), just 10 days after a flow control valve malfunctioned inside the pump module that they were set to remove and replace during another 6.5-hour spacewalk on Monday. Saturday's spacewalk ended at 12:29 p.m. EST (1729 GMT), five hours and 28 minutes after it began.

 

Originally, the astronauts were just going to prepare the faulty pump for removal today, but the spacewalkers completed the majority of the planned tasks for Saturday's spacewalk in just three hours. The astronauts were then given a go by Mission Control in Houston to press ahead with removing the faulty refrigerator-size pump module and stow it on a nearby platform. [See photos from the speedy spacewalk]

 

"We're about an hour and a half ahead of the timeline, so, choosing your own adventure, we're going to go ahead and look forward to doing the pump module exit," Mission Control advised the astronauts.

 

Ahead of the spacewalk schedule

 

The early removal could mean that a third spacewalk planned for Dec. 25, Christmas Day, may not be needed. 

 

The faulty valve, which regulates the temperature of ammonia flowing through the pump, ceased working properly on Dec. 11. Non-critical systems and science experiments in two of the station's laboratories have been powered down since.

 

Saturday's spacewalk was originally focused on only disconnecting the fluid lines from the failed pump module and installing a "jumper" box to keep the ammonia from over pressurizing during the pump's replacement.

 

Working along the starboard, or right, side of the station's backbone truss, Mastracchio (riding on the end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm) and Hopkins first set about demating "quick disconnect" fluid lines from the faulty pump.

 

As their name implies, the quick disconnects were designed to be plugged in and out, but past spacewalks, including an August 2010 outing to replace the same pump module, ran into problems getting the pressurized lines loose. Learning from previous experiences, the pressure in the lines was reduced in preparation for Saturday's spacewalk.

 

As such, Mastracchio and Hopkins were able to disconnect the first two fluid lines with little trouble. The first of the lines was unplugged an hour and 45 minutes into the spacewalk. 

 

Space station snow

 

As the lines were loosened though, the spacewalkers did report seeing "snow" — flakes of frozen ammonia — floating from the connectors. 

 

"I do see some snow, very little," Masstrachio said. "Very small flakes coming from the forward side of the [quick disconnect]. Very small flakes."

 

Mastracchio, responding to an inquiry from Mission Control, confirmed that the flakes may have landed on his and Hopkins' spacesuit. One of the dangers of working with the toxic ammonia is contamination, though the small solid flakes were not of great concern. [How the Space Station's Cooling System Works (Infographic)]

 

With the first two lines released from the pump module, Mastracchio and Hopkins next worked to connect them to a "jumper" box, which routes the ammonia back into the coolant loop to keep it in a liquid phase. That task was followed by the astronauts disconnecting the remaining fluid lines and five electrical lines from the pump module to be replaced.

 

"Very nice, came out beautifully," Masstracchio radioed, commenting on the release of one of the lines. "Almost no loads on that thing at all, came off very cleanly."

 

'Very, very cold'

 

It was the ease in which the lines were removed that allowed the time for the pump module to be removed. Mastracchio had only one note of concern for the additional work: his cold toes.

 

"The only issue that I personally am having is it's very, very cold," Mastracchio said. "Because I'm just floating here on the [robotic] arm, I've got very, very good airflow in my boots but my toes are quite cold."

 

To remove the 780-pound (355 kilogram) pump module, four bolts holding the module in place needed to be released. Mastracchio, still riding on the arm, then pulled the bulky pump out of the space station's truss part of the way so Hopkins could install a robotic arm grapple fixture on its side.

 

Working from inside the station, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata then controlled the arm to "fly" Mastracchio, holding the pump module, to the pump's temporary storage location, called the POA (Payload/Orbital Replacement Unit Accommodations).

 

At the start of the spacewalk, Hopkins had also been scheduled to ready the replacement pump module to be installed on Monday, but after consulting with Mastracchio, Mission Control agreed to end the outing after the faulty pump module was stowed.

 

Snorkels in spacesuits

 

Saturday's extra-vehicular activity (EVA or spacewalk) was the first to use U.S. spacesuits since July, when water unexpectedly flooded into Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet. Hopkins wore Parmitano's suit for this spacewalk but with a new filter assembly, replacing the faulty component.

 

As a precaution, NASA engineers had both astronauts outfit their suits with absorption pads and makeshift snorkels, but they were not needed. Mastracchio's and Hopkins' helmets remained water-free throughout the spacewalk, as confirmed during periodic checks.

 

This was Mastracchio's seventh career spacewalk and Hopkins' first. Overall, it was the 175th spacewalk in support of the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.

 

Monday's spacewalk will pick up where Saturday's excursion ended, with Mastracchio and Hopkins working to install the spare pump module where the faulty unit had been removed. Depending on how far they get with the new pump module's connections on Monday, a Christmas day outing planned to reconnect the quick disconnect fluid lines and stow the old pump module for possible future servicing may not be necessary.

 

TechMedia Network Copyright © 2013 All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

Spacesuit Issue Delays Next Spacewalk Until Christmas Eve

Mike Wall, Senior Writer   |   December 22, 2013 01:17am ET

 

NASA has delayed the second of three planned holiday spacewalks by 24 hours, setting up a Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) excursion from the International Space Station for two astronauts.

 

The agency made the decision after noticing an issue with the spacesuit of Rick Mastracchio, who ventured outside the orbiting lab with fellow NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins Saturday (Dec. 21) to address a problem with the station's cooling system.

 

Water may have entered part of Mastracchio's spacesuit in the orbiting outpost's airlock after Saturday's extravehicular activity (EVA), NASA officials said. So the flight control team at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston have directed Mastracchio to use a spare suit for the next spacewalk, which was originally planned for Monday (Dec. 23); the extra day will allow the station's crew to resize the suit for him.

 

The spacesuit issue is apparently a minor one, and it's unrelated to the frightening leak that caused water to flood into European astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet during a July spacewalk, officials said. (Hopkins wore Parmitano's suit on Saturday and encountered no problems.)

 

"Both Mastracchio and Hopkins reported dry conditions repeatedly throughout Saturday's activities and the two were never in danger," NASA officials wrote in a press release after the spacewalk.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins are tasked with replacing a faulty pump module that's part of the International Space Station's cooling system. A valve in the module malfunctioned on Dec. 11, requiring some systems aboard the orbiting lab to be shut down. The issue does not threaten the safety of the six crewmembers currently living and working on the station, officials say.

 

Mastracchio and Hopkins made good progress during Saturday's spacewalk, meaning the third EVA may not be necessary. That last excursion was originally slated for Christmas Day (Dec. 25), but it will almost certainly be pushed back now, if it happens at all.

 

The Christmas Eve EVA is scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m. EST (1220 GMT). You can watch it live here on SPACE.com beginning at 6:15 a.m. EST, courtesy of NASA TV.

 

The spacewalks have delayed the first contracted cargo mission of aerospace firm Orbital Sciences' unmanned Cygnus spacecraft, which was scheduled to launch toward the orbiting lab on Thursday (Dec. 19). That liftoff will now likely occur no earlier than mid-January, NASA officials have said.

 

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