Cosmonauts perform longest Russian spacewalk to upgrade high-gain antenna

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Cosmonauts perform longest Russian spacewalk to upgrade high-gain antenna

In the second planned spacewalk of 2018, two Russian cosmonauts went outside the International Space Station to upgrade an electronics box on the Lira high-gain antenna at the aft end of the outpost.

The goal for Russian EVA-44 was to install an upgraded electronics box—a high-frequency receiver unit—on the Lira antenna located at the aft-end of the 17-year-old Zvezda service module. It was never designed for on-orbit servicing.

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Software patch fixes Canadarm2 anomaly, US EVA-48 postponed

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Software patch fixes Canadarm2 anomaly, US EVA-48 postponed

NASA has postponed its planned Jan. 29, 2018, spacewalk to swap a latching end effector on the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2 after robotics specialists devised a software patch to fix a communications anomaly with the recently-installed mechanism.

While an exact date has not been set, the agency said it is targeting mid-February for the rescheduled outing.

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NASA reports problem with newly installed Robotic arm 'hand'

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NASA reports problem with newly installed Robotic arm 'hand'

Just days after installing a new grapple fixture on the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2, NASA is working on a plan to re-install the old latching end effector on an upcoming spacewalk after a problem was found with the new mechanism.

U.S. EVA-28 was already planned for Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, less than a week after the previous spacewalk installed the new LEE.

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Astronauts replace Canadarm2 ‘hand’ on ISS in first spacewalk of 2018

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Astronauts replace Canadarm2 ‘hand’ on ISS in first spacewalk of 2018

The first spacewalk of 2018, U.S. EVA-47, is now in the history books after two NASA astronauts completed a nearly 7.5 hour extravehicular activity to replace an aging latching end effector on the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2.

Canadarm2 has a latching end effector, also called a LEE, on either side of the 17-meter robotic arm to either grab onto the exterior of the station, move objects around the outpost, or grab visiting spacecraft.

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Astronauts complete 3rd spacewalk in 2 weeks

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Astronauts complete 3rd spacewalk in 2 weeks

International Space Station Expedition 53 astronauts Randy Bresnik and Joe Acaba stepped outside for the third spacewalk this month dedicated toward outpost maintenance activities.

U.S. Extravehicular activity 46 lasted 6 hours, 49 minutes. It started at 7:47 a.m. EDT (11:47 GMT) on Oct. 20, 2017, once the NASA duo switched their spacesuits to battery power.

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Astronauts breeze through US EVA-45

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Astronauts breeze through US EVA-45

Less than a week after completing one spacewalk, International Space Station Expedition 53 astronauts Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei set out on another extravehicular activity. This excursion, U.S. EVA-45, lasted about 6.5 hours.

At 7:56 a.m. EDT (11:56 GMT) Oct. 10, 2017, the two NASA astronauts switched their spacesuits over to battery power, officially starting U.S. EVA-45. The primary task of the spacewalk was to replace a faulty camera and begin the process of lubricating the new Latching End Effector on the robotic Canadarm2.

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Spacewalkers replace ‘hand’ on space station robotic arm

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Spacewalkers replace ‘hand’ on space station robotic arm

Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei wrapped up the first of three spacewalks planned for the next two weeks. The October 5, 2017, spacewalk was nearly seven hours long and saw the replacement of one of the two Latching End Effectors on the International Space Station’s robotic arm.

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Russian spacewalk goes into overtime

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Russian spacewalk goes into overtime

The two cosmonauts on board the International Space Station donned spacesuits and stepped outside the outpost for the 43rd Russian segment-based extravehicular activity. The Aug. 17, 2017, spacewalk lasted more than an hour longer than planned for a total duration of 7 hours, 34 minutes.

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Station boosts orbit ahead of spacewalk, visiting vehicle swaps

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Station boosts orbit ahead of spacewalk, visiting vehicle swaps

The International Space Station got its orbit reboosted on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The slight raising of its orbit set up the next crew swap planned for the beginning of September.

Recently arrived Progress MS-06 used its onboard engines to increase the speed of the outpost, thus raising its orbit. The spacecraft is currently docked to the Zvezda service module located at the aft end of the station.

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