July 23 ISS Spacewalk 6:00AM EDT NASA-TV

For those with an interest there will be an ISS Spacewalk with coverage on NASA-TV and on the web at www.nasa.gov/ntv on both the Public and Media channels beginning at 6:00AM EDT. Increment 15 Commander Yurchikin EV2 and Clayton Andersen EV1 are due to "step outside" at 6:30AM - Astronaut Andersen will manually "jettison" the Early Ammonia Servicer which has a mass of 1400lbs... Flight Engineer Kotov will be "flying" Canadarm 2 and the walk will be in US EVA suits.

Picture a man throwing a refrigerator sized bit of hardware at the Earth. Previously this would not have been done but owing to changes in mission rules regarding what can and can't be discarded manually this is now acceptable. Takin' out the trash. They will also install some video hardware (a camera stanchion) and clean the Nadir side docking ring sealing surface for the Unity Airlock Module. One might ask how it got dirty in space? I don't know, but interested to find out.

The EVA is skedded for about 6 and half hours... a link to the NASA webpage for this particular spacewalk.

Cheers,

Vic

I just started watching and I think I missed the trash. Looks like they may be working on the camera now, I think.....its 7:30am edt

edit :just wondering, are these guys always tethered?

[edit on 23-7-2007 by earth2]

At about 9:30AM EDT some of the "trash has been chucked" by Clay Anderson (some stanchion hardware) and it didn't go exactly as planned with a bit of roll induced and a period of about 1 1/3 roll per per minute and a retrograde velocity of a few feet per second and some very slight nadir delta V induced. The cone of departure is AOK though and that's all that really counts.

For those on the darkside it may be visible with the naked eye trailing ISS in the night sky... they are passing near Aus and will be over the SE Asian islands North East of Austrailia.

Normally, the astro/cosmos like to use 3 tethers at a time when tied-off to ISS... this doesn't always happen; 2 being worse and singlely being most risky. They are having trouble "getting a hold" of a connector hose from the EAS owing to a bracket fastener. No big deal... Oleg Kotov is "flying" Andedrsen on the end of the Canadarm 2 translating to the P6 truss. The flashes seen "below" in the night are lightning.

They are working with the EAS now and should be jettisoning it soon as it is now "free" and unbolted. Superman time for Anderson coming up at 10:00AM Eastern.

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 23-7-2007 by V Kaminski]

10:21AM EAS jettison in moments... www.nasa.gov/ntv . Here's hoping the "pride of Nebraska" gets the delta V and cone departure parameters within desired limits... no real danger to ISS as Clay is out on the limb well away from ISS on the Canadarm 2. Fingers-crossed.

Cheers,

Vic

EDIT: To add photo... they are "Go" for jettison after a short LOS at 10:36AM EDT. One minute to AOS and EAS jettison.





[edit on 23-7-2007 by V Kaminski]

The 1400 pound EAS (Early Ammonia Servicer) jettison complete! Nominal departure profile... this will be visible with the naked eye for the next several orbits for those who "look up at night". Visit NASA for the ISS fly-over times near you. When Clay released the EAS the recoil of the arm was rather dramatic... and changed at least 10 or 15 degrees.

A pic!


Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 23-7-2007 by V Kaminski]

Great coverage and following of the timeline, Vic.

For those who may have missed it, I captured the video stream and have uploaded it to Google.

Here's the video:

Google Video Link

Enjoy!

Thanx 12m8keall2c! I can't upload video from where I am right now.

At 12:00PM EDT Commander Yurchikin is "cleaning" the Unity node's CBM (Common Birthing Mechanism) sealing ring and has mentioned both "hair" and "paper" as contaminants being scraped off near or in the bolt holes. He has sworn in Russian twice (translation provided as inaudible...LOL) and is not as "happy" as he might be if the ring was otherwise cleaner I suspect.

A pic is worth...


Clay Anderson is getting ready to take down a GPS antennae on the S - Zero truss... and there may be time for a "get ahead task or two" as consumables are "green" for 8 hours with the US EVA suits. Clay has blown out one of two headlamps... which seems to happen almost every EVA.

If they get to the Node 2 Fluid Tray release they will be batting a thousand-plus.

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 23-7-2007 by V Kaminski]

To use a term from the "Academy of Fine Arts and Precision Cutting", rookie EVA-Lead Anderson and thrice EVA-vet Yurchikin, "ran the table" and broke the "Bits "N' Bites" bronco "wack-a-mole" nature of EVA. No tasks were left undone, including "get aheads".

Anderson's first EVA... I always like to hear astros/cosmos reactions to this unique experience at their first media-op after "EVA numero-uno" as I sorta-gotta feeling that it may fundamentally affect the way one perceives our "human condition"; a real perpective changer - "Big Picture". EVA is special and beyond "riding indoors" at 17,500MPH. I'm envious. NASA update tomorrow at 8:00AM Houston time... moved up two hours. Hmmm.

Air lock ingress continues and "inventory" is a neccessary thing. Someone's going to eventually figure-out an automatic inventory system for EVA items... some sort of RFID tag DB with a proximity reader? "EVA to Houston, Uh, yeah Houston were in the airlock and the inventory light is "green". "Houston for EVA on the big loop, Roger. EVA-2 is EVA-1's inventory light also "green"?" "EVA for Houston, that's an Affirmative", "Sealing the airlock".

Such a system could add perhaps as much as an "extra" half-hour to an hour to EVA working time.

Glove checks are a neccessary hassle too... a "smart" glove ingegrity monitoring system would seem to have some merit at some point.

Great spacewalk... 7:41, one blown helmet lamp bulb. EVA was extended an hour things went so well. Humans are neccessary in space but developments like DEXTRE are gonna give us "a run for pinks"... they have a baby version of DEXTRE for neuro-surgery out Calgary U way... here.

We might just be so bright as a species that we may obsolete our organic butts. LOL. I kid? When "they" start assembling "us"...

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 23-7-2007 by V Kaminski]