NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 16 June, 2021 – Seventh Spacewalk of the Year Completed

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet concluded their spacewalk at 3:26 p.m. EDT, after 7 hours and 15 minutes.
In the seventh spacewalk of the year outside the International Space Station, the two astronauts installed a new ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) into its mounting bracket on the far end of the left (port) side of the station’s backbone truss structure (P6).

Kimbrough and Pesquet successfully removed the array from its position in the flight support equipment and maneuvered it into position on the mast canister at the 2B power channel.

Before the new array can be deployed and begin providing power to the orbiting laboratory, spacewalkers will need to install the electrical cables and drive the final two bolts to enable the solar array to unfurl its fully deployed position. Pesquet and Kimbrough are scheduled for another spacewalk coming up on Sunday, June 20 to continue the installation of new solar arrays.

NASA is augmenting six of the eight existing power channels of the space station with new solar arrays to ensure a sufficient power supply is maintained for NASA’s exploration technology demonstrations for Artemis and beyond as well as utilization and commercialization.

This was the seventh spacewalk for Kimbrough, the third for Pesquet, and the third they conducted together. Kimbrough has now spent a total of 46 hours and 15 minutes spacewalking, and Pesquet’s total spacewalking time is 19 hours and 47 minutes.

Space station crew members have conducted 239 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 62 days, 18 hours, and 28 minutes working outside the station.

In November 2020, the International Space Station surpassed its 20-year milestone of continuous human presence, providing opportunities for unique research and technological demonstrations that help prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars and also improve life on Earth. In that time, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the orbiting laboratory that has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas.

On-orbit Status Report

USOS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #74 – 2B IROSA Install: EV1 (Thomas Pesquet) and EV2 (Shane Kimbrough) performed a 7 hour and 15 minute EVA and completed the following tasks in support of Integrated Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) installation.

Release IROSA from FSE
Get ahead task: Release Outer Hinge Restraint Bolt, R5
Install IROSA on P6 2B Mast Canister [Partially completed]
Due to complications with aligning IROSA on the Mounting Bracket when unfolded, they were unable to complete the following tasks:

Connect IROSA Electrical Connectors
Deploy P6 2B IROSA
Retrieve APFR 3 and return IV
Ground teams have established that with IROSA soft captured and folded on the Mounting Bracket and bolts M31-M34 driven, IROSA is in a safe configuration.

Payloads:

Antimicrobial Coatings (Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings): Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation, and then took photos of the experiment surfaces. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space approximately six months then return to Earth for analysis.

OBIS (Oral Biofilms in Space): The crew hydrated the OBiS assembly session packs 6-10 with Fluid Bag 2 into the Fluid Chamber and then restowed the packs into the MERLIN for incubation. Fluid Bag 2 is a fluid medium containing chemicals designed to promote bacterial growth along with oral care bioactives within the Fluid Chamber. Effect of Environmental Stressors on Oral Biofilm Growth and Treatment (Oral Biofilms in Space) studies the effect of gravity on the behavior of oral bacteria, including the structure of the bacterial community, and changes in bacterial response to common oral care agents. The findings could support development of novel treatments to fight oral diseases such as caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis. The investigation also could provide insights into how microgravity affects the microbiome of other mucosal surfaces in the body.

Systems:

Dragon Cargo Transfer: Today, the crew performed SpX-22 cargo transfer operations and will continue to work cargo operations throughout the week.

Completed Task List Activities:

None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Configuration of the Video Distribution Subsystem (VDS) in support of the Extravehicular Activities (EVA)
Support for 2B IROSA EVA
Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) IROSA Support
Look Ahead Plan:

Thursday, June 17 (GMT 168)
Payloads:

OBIS Bag3 initiate (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
ManD print of AstroVest parts (NASA)
Lyo-2 Sample stow and install (NASA)
Food Physiology Brief (NASA)
Standard Measures Presleep Question (NASA)
NRCSD-20 Deployer removal (NASA)
ISS HAM (NASA)
Systems:

EVA debrief
EVA tether inspection
EVA battery charge
EMU water recharge
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Pre-Treat Tank Remove & Replace
Friday, June 18 (GMT 169)
Payloads:

JAXA Moderate Temp PCG Sample prep (JAXA)
AC Touch (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
NanoRacks Module-83 Photo (NASA)
Standard Measures Post Sleep Question (NASA)
PK-4 disk audit (Joint)
Systems:

IDA-Zenith MLI Velcro Inspection and Re-seat
EVA ROBO procedure review
EVA tool configuration
EVA procedure review
EVA ROBoT session
Saturday, June 19 (GMT 170)
Payloads:

Repository Urine setup (NASA)
Systems:

EVA procedure review
EVA tool audit
EVA procedure conference
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Communication configuration for EVA
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) Preparation
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Purge
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) Prebreathe
Crewlock Depress
Crewlock Egress
Worksite Prep
Worksite Prep / Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Setup
Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Integrated Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) Support
Integrated Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) Release from Flight Support Equipment (FSE)
Integrated Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) Install [Partially completed]
Antimicrobial Coatings Touch
Environmental Health System (EHS) – Microbial Capture Device (MCD) and Coliform Water Sample Analysis post processing
Oral Biofilms In Space (OBiS) Flow operations
Water Recovery System (WRS) Waste Tank Sample
Integrated Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) Deploy [Not Completed]
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Social Media Event
Worksite Cleanup
Dragon Cargo Transfer
EVA Crew Lock Ingress
Crewlock Repress
Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Post-EVA Activities
Photo/TV Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Disassembly
Return to nominal communication configuration after USOS EVA