Realtime coverage of U.S. EVA-23 (spacewalk terminated)
07/16/2013 10:10 AM Filed in: Space News | International Space Station
By WILLIAM HARWOOD
CBS News
09:55 AM, 07/16/13: Spacewalkers safely back in station after suit problem
Astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Luca Parmitano returned to the International Space Station's Quest airlock Tuesday, closed the hatch and repressurized the compartment to bring a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk to an early-but-safe conclusion after an unusual and potentially dangerous buildup of water in Parmitano's helmet.
As soon as the airlock's inner hatch was re-opened at 9:37 a.m. -- about 40 minutes after flight controllers ordered the astronauts to head back in -- Karen Nyberg and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Fyodor Yurchikhin removed Parmitano's helmet and used towels to sop up the excess water.
By that point, Parmitano was having trouble seeing and hearing, but he appeared in good spirits as he dried off and the other crew members began assisting Cassidy.
It is not yet clear what went wrong with Parmitano's suit. He initially speculated a leak in his spacesuit's drink bag, but it could be the result of some other problem.
"Luca says the water tastes really funny, not like our water from the PWD (potable water dispenser)," Cassidy told flight controllers later. "To him, the water clearly did not taste like normal drinking water
Cassidy and Parmitano carried out a spacewalk last Tuesday to begin working through a backlog of station maintenance and assembly tasks. Today's outing was the sixth for Cassidy and the second for Parmitano, the first Italian to walk in space.
The astronauts only accomplished the first two tasks on their spacewalk to-do list. Cassidy completed work at the Z1 truss atop the central Unity module to install a second set of jumper cables that will enable flight controllers to quickly reconfigure electrical loads in the wake of failures that otherwise would require a spacewalk.
Parmitano, meanwhile, began work to complete installation of wiring between the U.S. and Russian segments of the station. Shortly thereafter, the water problem developed and both spacewalkers were told to stand by while flight controllers assessed the problem
Within a few minutes, they were told to head back to the airlock and with Cassidy's assistance, Parmitano had no major problems getting back inside.
None of the remaining items on the crew's spacewalk task list are time critical and flight controllers will assess the crew's timeline to figure out when another attempt can be made to get the work done.
The unfinished tasks include additional cable routing, work to move a wireless camera antenna on the station's power truss and replacement of a camera on the external deck of the Japanese Kibo lab module.
The astronauts also planned to reposition a balky door in a compartment on the power truss that houses electrical gear and to remove insulation blankets from a failed electrical switching unit that will be repaired later using the station's robot arm.
Today's one-hour 32-minute spacewalk began at 7:57 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) and ended at 9:29 a.m. It was the 171st devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the fifth so far this year, the sixth for Cassidy and the second for Parmitano.
Including today's excursion, 112 astronauts and cosmonauts have logged 1,075 hours of EVA time outside the station, or 44.8 days.
09:28 AM, 07/16/13: Helmet water leak forces early termination for spacewalk
An unusual water buildup in Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet forced NASA flight controllers to order an early end to a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Tuesday.
Parmitano mentioned the buildup early on, telling fellow spacewalker Christopher Cassidy the back of his head felt wetter than sweat could explain.
"I don't understand where it's coming from," Parmitano said.
"It has to be (your drink) bag," Cassidy replied. "Can you suck it dry?"
A few minutes later, Cassidy looked into his crewmate's helmet, saying "so that stuff on your forehead is not sweat?"
"No it's not."
"Oh, I see."
A few minutes later, Cassidy told flight controllers that Parmitano's drink bag almost certainly was empty "so there's something left, like a liter, at the back of his head."
"No, it's less than that," Parmitano corrected. "Half a liter."
"A half a liter at the back of his head," Cassidy called. "Half of a drink bag. That's just a guess on our part."
But it appeared the amount of water continued to increase, slowly but steadily.
"I can still hear perfectly. but my head is really wet and I feel it increasing," Parmitano said.
After a bit more discussion, it became clear the problem was getting worse.
"Where's it coming from? It's too much," Parmitano said.
"I don't know, it's a lot," Cassidy agreed.
"Now it's in my eyes," Parmitano said.
A few moments later, astronaut Shane Kimbrough in mission control ordered the spacewalkers to head back to the Quest airlock module.
"Chris and Luca just for you guys, based on what we heard with Luca saying that water's in his eyes now and it seems to be increasing, we think we're going to terminate EVA case for EV-2," he said. "So Luca, we'll have you head back to the airlock. Chris, we'll get a plan for you to clean things up here and then join him in a minute."
"OK. copy all, Shane," Cassidy said.
Within 10 minutes, both astronauts were back in the airlock and mission control told them to carry out a normal repressurization but an "expedited suit doffing" for Parmitano.
08:05 AM, 07/16/13: U.S. spacewalk begins
Beginning their second spacewalk in seven days, astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Luca Parmitano switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:57 a.m EDT (GMT-4) and floated out of the International Space Station's Quest airlock a few moments later to finish working through a backlog of assembly and maintenance tasks.
The primary goals of of U.S. EVA-23 are to continue routing power and data cables needed by a Russian laboratory module scheduled for arrival late this year or early next; to reposition a wireless camera antenna on the station's power truss; and to replace a camera on the external deck of the Japanese Kibo lab module.
The astronauts also plan to reposition a balky door in a compartment on the power truss that houses electrical gear and to remove insulation blankets from a failed electrical switching unit that will be repaired later using the station's robot arm.
For identification, Cassidy, call sign EV-1, is wearing a suit with red stripes using helmet camera No. 20. Parmitano, EV-2, is wearing an unmarked suit and using helmet camera No. 17.
Today's spacewalk is the 171st EVA devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the fifth so far this year, the sixth for Cassidy and the second for Parmitano, a test pilot representing the European and Italian space agencies.
Both men staged a successful six-hour seven-minute spacewalk July 9 to replace a Ku-band communications transceiver; to start laying cable for the upcoming Russian lab module, to retrieve a pair of space exposure materials science experiments; to mount a pair of radiator servicing attachment fittings; and to carry out routine maintenance.
Because it takes roughly 100 hours of crew time to prepare for a U.S. spacewalk, NASA managers typically wait until enough work is needed to require two or more EVAs that can be staged one after the other.
The task list for last week's excursion and today's spacewalk generally feature non-critical work that has accumulated over the past year or so. Much of the work is driven by plans for a new Russian laboratory module named Nauka -- "Science" -- that is scheduled for launch late this year.
Sources say the flight likely will be delayed into 2014, but NASA managers want to complete their part of the wiring tasks, running power and data cables between the U.S. power system and the Russian Zarya module.
Russian cosmonauts will complete the wiring tasks in upcoming spacewalks.
Cassidy's first task is to complete a job he started last week, working at the Z1 truss atop the central Unity module to install a second set of jumper cables that will enable flight controllers to quickly reconfigure electrical loads in the wake of failures that otherwise would require a spacewalk.
Parmitano, meanwhile, will install more wiring for the Russian segment of the station before connecting cables that will route data to and from a powered robot arm base station on the Zarya module.
After completing the jumper cable installation, Cassidy will mount four so-called V-guides on a radiator mounting fixture that was attached to the left side of the station's power truss last week. While that work is going on, Parmitano will secure an unfastened door on an electrical compartment.
Both astronauts then plan to team up to move a seven-foot-long external wireless television antenna on the port-1 truss segment to the Harmony module before splitting up again.
With the antenna installed, Cassidy will make his way to the experiment porch of the Kibo module to replace a failed camera. Parmitano, meanwhile, will remove multi-layer insulation covering a failed main bus switching unit that was pulled from the station's electrical grid during a spacewalk earlier this year.
The plan is to eventually attempt a repair using the station's robot arm and a sophisticated hand-like attachment known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre for short.
Close by the main bus switching unit is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a sophisticated particle physics detector capturing high-energy cosmic rays. The detector is operating normally, but Parmitano plans to take photographs of radiators that appear to be somewhat discolored.
If time is available, flight controllers likely will add a few lower-priority "get-ahead" tasks to the crew's timeline before the spacewalkers call it a day.
CBS News
09:55 AM, 07/16/13: Spacewalkers safely back in station after suit problem
Astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Luca Parmitano returned to the International Space Station's Quest airlock Tuesday, closed the hatch and repressurized the compartment to bring a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk to an early-but-safe conclusion after an unusual and potentially dangerous buildup of water in Parmitano's helmet.
As soon as the airlock's inner hatch was re-opened at 9:37 a.m. -- about 40 minutes after flight controllers ordered the astronauts to head back in -- Karen Nyberg and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Fyodor Yurchikhin removed Parmitano's helmet and used towels to sop up the excess water.
 |
| Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, left, is helped out of his spacesuit by Karen Nyberg and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogrado and Fyodor Yurchikhin. (Credit: NASA TV) |
It is not yet clear what went wrong with Parmitano's suit. He initially speculated a leak in his spacesuit's drink bag, but it could be the result of some other problem.
"Luca says the water tastes really funny, not like our water from the PWD (potable water dispenser)," Cassidy told flight controllers later. "To him, the water clearly did not taste like normal drinking water
Cassidy and Parmitano carried out a spacewalk last Tuesday to begin working through a backlog of station maintenance and assembly tasks. Today's outing was the sixth for Cassidy and the second for Parmitano, the first Italian to walk in space.
The astronauts only accomplished the first two tasks on their spacewalk to-do list. Cassidy completed work at the Z1 truss atop the central Unity module to install a second set of jumper cables that will enable flight controllers to quickly reconfigure electrical loads in the wake of failures that otherwise would require a spacewalk.
Parmitano, meanwhile, began work to complete installation of wiring between the U.S. and Russian segments of the station. Shortly thereafter, the water problem developed and both spacewalkers were told to stand by while flight controllers assessed the problem
Within a few minutes, they were told to head back to the airlock and with Cassidy's assistance, Parmitano had no major problems getting back inside.
None of the remaining items on the crew's spacewalk task list are time critical and flight controllers will assess the crew's timeline to figure out when another attempt can be made to get the work done.
The unfinished tasks include additional cable routing, work to move a wireless camera antenna on the station's power truss and replacement of a camera on the external deck of the Japanese Kibo lab module.
The astronauts also planned to reposition a balky door in a compartment on the power truss that houses electrical gear and to remove insulation blankets from a failed electrical switching unit that will be repaired later using the station's robot arm.
Today's one-hour 32-minute spacewalk began at 7:57 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) and ended at 9:29 a.m. It was the 171st devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the fifth so far this year, the sixth for Cassidy and the second for Parmitano.
Including today's excursion, 112 astronauts and cosmonauts have logged 1,075 hours of EVA time outside the station, or 44.8 days.
09:28 AM, 07/16/13: Helmet water leak forces early termination for spacewalk
An unusual water buildup in Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet forced NASA flight controllers to order an early end to a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Tuesday.
Parmitano mentioned the buildup early on, telling fellow spacewalker Christopher Cassidy the back of his head felt wetter than sweat could explain.
"I don't understand where it's coming from," Parmitano said.
"It has to be (your drink) bag," Cassidy replied. "Can you suck it dry?"
A few minutes later, Cassidy looked into his crewmate's helmet, saying "so that stuff on your forehead is not sweat?"
"No it's not."
"Oh, I see."
A few minutes later, Cassidy told flight controllers that Parmitano's drink bag almost certainly was empty "so there's something left, like a liter, at the back of his head."
"No, it's less than that," Parmitano corrected. "Half a liter."
"A half a liter at the back of his head," Cassidy called. "Half of a drink bag. That's just a guess on our part."
But it appeared the amount of water continued to increase, slowly but steadily.
"I can still hear perfectly. but my head is really wet and I feel it increasing," Parmitano said.
After a bit more discussion, it became clear the problem was getting worse.
"Where's it coming from? It's too much," Parmitano said.
"I don't know, it's a lot," Cassidy agreed.
"Now it's in my eyes," Parmitano said.
A few moments later, astronaut Shane Kimbrough in mission control ordered the spacewalkers to head back to the Quest airlock module.
"Chris and Luca just for you guys, based on what we heard with Luca saying that water's in his eyes now and it seems to be increasing, we think we're going to terminate EVA case for EV-2," he said. "So Luca, we'll have you head back to the airlock. Chris, we'll get a plan for you to clean things up here and then join him in a minute."
"OK. copy all, Shane," Cassidy said.
Within 10 minutes, both astronauts were back in the airlock and mission control told them to carry out a normal repressurization but an "expedited suit doffing" for Parmitano.
08:05 AM, 07/16/13: U.S. spacewalk begins
Beginning their second spacewalk in seven days, astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Luca Parmitano switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:57 a.m EDT (GMT-4) and floated out of the International Space Station's Quest airlock a few moments later to finish working through a backlog of assembly and maintenance tasks.
The primary goals of of U.S. EVA-23 are to continue routing power and data cables needed by a Russian laboratory module scheduled for arrival late this year or early next; to reposition a wireless camera antenna on the station's power truss; and to replace a camera on the external deck of the Japanese Kibo lab module.
 |
| Astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Luca Parmitano float out of the space station's Quest airlock in orbital darkness to kick off a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. (Credit: NASA TV) |
For identification, Cassidy, call sign EV-1, is wearing a suit with red stripes using helmet camera No. 20. Parmitano, EV-2, is wearing an unmarked suit and using helmet camera No. 17.
Today's spacewalk is the 171st EVA devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the fifth so far this year, the sixth for Cassidy and the second for Parmitano, a test pilot representing the European and Italian space agencies.
Both men staged a successful six-hour seven-minute spacewalk July 9 to replace a Ku-band communications transceiver; to start laying cable for the upcoming Russian lab module, to retrieve a pair of space exposure materials science experiments; to mount a pair of radiator servicing attachment fittings; and to carry out routine maintenance.
Because it takes roughly 100 hours of crew time to prepare for a U.S. spacewalk, NASA managers typically wait until enough work is needed to require two or more EVAs that can be staged one after the other.
The task list for last week's excursion and today's spacewalk generally feature non-critical work that has accumulated over the past year or so. Much of the work is driven by plans for a new Russian laboratory module named Nauka -- "Science" -- that is scheduled for launch late this year.
Sources say the flight likely will be delayed into 2014, but NASA managers want to complete their part of the wiring tasks, running power and data cables between the U.S. power system and the Russian Zarya module.
Russian cosmonauts will complete the wiring tasks in upcoming spacewalks.
Cassidy's first task is to complete a job he started last week, working at the Z1 truss atop the central Unity module to install a second set of jumper cables that will enable flight controllers to quickly reconfigure electrical loads in the wake of failures that otherwise would require a spacewalk.
Parmitano, meanwhile, will install more wiring for the Russian segment of the station before connecting cables that will route data to and from a powered robot arm base station on the Zarya module.
After completing the jumper cable installation, Cassidy will mount four so-called V-guides on a radiator mounting fixture that was attached to the left side of the station's power truss last week. While that work is going on, Parmitano will secure an unfastened door on an electrical compartment.
Both astronauts then plan to team up to move a seven-foot-long external wireless television antenna on the port-1 truss segment to the Harmony module before splitting up again.
With the antenna installed, Cassidy will make his way to the experiment porch of the Kibo module to replace a failed camera. Parmitano, meanwhile, will remove multi-layer insulation covering a failed main bus switching unit that was pulled from the station's electrical grid during a spacewalk earlier this year.
The plan is to eventually attempt a repair using the station's robot arm and a sophisticated hand-like attachment known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre for short.
Close by the main bus switching unit is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a sophisticated particle physics detector capturing high-energy cosmic rays. The detector is operating normally, but Parmitano plans to take photographs of radiators that appear to be somewhat discolored.
If time is available, flight controllers likely will add a few lower-priority "get-ahead" tasks to the crew's timeline before the spacewalkers call it a day.