OrbitalHub

ESA dixit:

“This unedited video without sound lasts over five hours and shows almost all of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Thomas left the International Space Station airlock 24 March 2017 on their second spacewalk together. Thomas and Shane worked separately throughout their sortie.

Thomas was tasked to inspected the Station’s cooling system for leaks. He took photos and videos as he patted and prodded the cooling pipes to see if any coolant leaked out. This video starts when he turns on the camera used to record cooling system inspection for analysis by ground control.

Thomas’ second task was to maintain the multipurpose robotic hand Dextre – he had the laborious job of applying lubricant. After setting up a foot restraint to allow him to work with both hands, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson moved Dextre into position using the controls inside the Station.

The video ends with Thomas returning to the Quest airlock – the spacewalk lasted six hours and 34 minutes in total with time spent in the airlock included.

Thomas is spending six months on the International Space Station as part of his Proxima mission. During Proxima, Thomas will perform around 50 scientific experiments for ESA and France’s space agency CNES as well as take part in many research activities for the other Station partners.

The mission is part of ESA’s vision to use Earth-orbiting spacecraft as a place to live and work for the benefit of European society while using the experience to prepare for future voyages of exploration further into the Solar System.”

Video credit: ESA

NASA dixit:

“The U.S. commercial SpaceX Dragon cargo craft was released from the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm in the early hours of March 19, after spending more than three weeks at the orbital outpost. During that time, the crew onboard transferred onto the station several tons of supplies and scientific investigations delivered by Dragon. Expedition 50 crew members Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA bid farewell to Dragon as the resupply craft moved to a safe distance away from the complex for its deorbit engine firing and a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific. Dragon is returning critical science experiments for investigators back on the Earth.”

Video credit: NASA

Wikipedia dixit:

“Carrying several tons of supplies and scientific experiments, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station on February 23 following its launch atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the refurbished Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Following the arrival […], the station crew used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the Dragon. Ground controllers then sent commands for the robot arm to maneuver the vehicle to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module where it was installed and bolted into place. The Dragon will spend about a month at the space station while the crew unloads the almost 5,500 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments delivered by the Dragon.”

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“The unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 66 cargo craft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on February 22 atop a Soyuz booster on a two-day journey to deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the residents of the International Space Station. The vehicle is scheduled to automatically dock to the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Russian segment of the complex on February 24. It was the first launch of a Progress resupply craft to the station since a launch failure last December 1 resulted in the loss of the ISS Progress 65 ship.”

Video credit: Roscosmos/NASA

Wikipedia dixit:

“SpaceX CRS-10, also known as SpX-10 or simply CRS-10, is a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The mission was contracted by NASA and was launched by SpaceX aboard a Dragon spacecraft on 19 February 2017. The mission is currently active, with the Dragon spacecraft in orbit adjusting and preparing for docking to the ISS, which is expected between 21 February and 22 February 2017. CRS-10 is part of the original order of twelve missions awarded to SpaceX under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. As of June 2016, a NASA Inspector General report had this mission manifested for November 2016. The launch was put on hold pending investigation of the pad explosion in September 2016, with a tentative date no earlier than January 2017, subsequently set for 18 February.

CRS-10 was launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 Pad A, the first launch from the complex since STS-135 on 8 July 2011, the last flight of the Space Shuttle program; this complex is also where the Apollo missions were launched. On 12 February 2017, SpaceX successfully completed a static fire test of the Falcon 9 engines on Pad 39A. An initial launch attempt on 18 February 2017 was scrubbed 13 seconds before its 15:01 UTC launch due to a thrust vector control system issue, resulting in a 24-hour hold for launch no earlier than 19 February at 14:38:59 UTC.

Following the successful Launch on 19 February, the first stage returned and landed safely in landing Zone 1.

NASA has contracted for the CRS-10 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-10 is expected to carry 1,530 kg (3,373.1 lb) of pressurized mass and 960 kg (2,116.4 lb) unpressurized. External payloads on the CRS-10 spacecraft are the SAGE III Earth observation experiment and its Nadir Viewing Platform (NVP), and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Test Program H5 (STP-H5) package, including the Raven navigation investigation and the Lightning Imaging Sensor. Some science payloads include ACME, LMM Biophysics, ZBOT, and CIR/Cool Flames.”

Video credit: SpaceX

NASA dixit:

“Outside the International Space Station, Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency conducted a spacewalk in U.S. spacesuits to upgrade the system for the 1A power channel of the orbital laboratory’s starboard 4 (S4) truss solar arrays. Moving adapter plates and batteries, Kimbrough completed the work to hook up electrical connections for the last three of six new lithium-ion batteries recently delivered to the station, and to move the last of the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that will be stored on the station. It was the second spacewalk in a week for Kimbrough and the fourth of his career, and the first for Pesquet in the refurbishment of two of the station’s eight power channels. On Jan. 6, Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA conducted similar work for the 3A power channel of the station’s S4 solar arrays.”

Video credit: NASA