|
August 16, 2002. Korolev, Moscow region
On the International Space Station (ISS) the fifth main
mission crew (ISS-5) has implemented its first extravehicular
activity. This is a regular - the seventh - egress into
the outer space from the Russian Segment of the Station.
The objective of the egress is to perform work under the
EVA 7 extravehicular activity program according to which
it was planned to mount on the external surface of the Zvezda
Russian Service Module six additional anti-debris panels,
as well as to dismount the exposed board of the Kromka (Edge)
experiment and to mount a new one instead.
During preparation for EVA 7 the crew and ground services
in advance checked and prepared equipment and tools, communication
systems and medical monitors, spacesuits and their detachable
elements, studied the activities timeline, conducted training
in spacesuits and talks with specialists.
The egress hatch of the Pirs (Piers) Russian Docking Compartment
was opened at 13:25 Moscow time.
Operations in the outer space were performed by Valery Korzun,
(Russian cosmonaut, ISS-5 commander)and Peggy Whitson (American
astronaut, ISS-5 onboard engineer). Russian cosmonaut Sergei
Treschev (ISS-5 onboard engineer) stayed inside the station
and tracked the work progress under the onboard documentation.
During spacesuits preparation for the extravehicular activity
an off-nominal situation occurred which was connected with
the non-availability of oxygen to be supplied from the main
bottles. It was promptly removed by joint efforts of the
Main Operational Management Group (GOGU) from the Mission
Control Center near Moscow (MCC-M) and ISS-5 crew. However,
its analysis and the performance of unscheduled actions
lead to the loss of time and a partial reduction of activities
program outside the station. Only anti-debris panels were
mounted. During this operation one used a mast boom of the
Pirs module which allowed the panels to be transferred from
the storage site on the Unity module to the mounting area
on the Zvezda module. The scheduled activity on the Kromka
experiment is delayed to the next egress.
The hatch was closed at 17:48 Moscow time. The activities
in the outer space lasted 4 hours 23 minutes.
According to the reports of the crew and GOGU that provided
station flight control and monitoring from MCC-M (flight
director - pilot-cosmonaut V.A. Soloviev), the crew feels
well, ISS onboard systems state is compliant with a nominal
one.
|
|