ISS Crew Completes EVA
On the Iternational Space Station (ISS), the fourth expedition crew
ISS-4 has completed an EVA.
The objective of the EVA was to install scientific equipment on the
outer surface of the ISS Russian Segment and to removed some equipment
that had been exposed to space environment, to install gas protection
devices and ham radio antenna, and to inspect some structural elements
of the ISS.
The exit hatch of the Russian Docking Compartment-module Pirs was opened
on January 25, 2002, at 18:19, Moscow Time.
The work in the open space was performed by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko
(Expedition Commander) and US astronaut Daniel Bursch (Flight Engineer
2). US astronaut Carl Walz (Flight Engineer 1) stayed inside the space
station and was checking the work progress against the on-board documentation.
Installed on the surfaces of Russian modules Pirs and Zvezda are removable
containers/cartridges that hold samples of structural materials for
outer surfaces of ISS and advanced spacecraft for exposure to space
environment.
Also installed on the Zvezda Service Module (SM) were: ham radio antenna
with its connecting cables, "Platan-M" scientific equipment
developed by Ioffe Physics and Technology Institute of St. Petersburg
to study heavy nuclei in low-energy cosmic rays; six gas protection
devices for the module attitude control thruster units, that considerably
reduce the level of contamination from these thrusters propellant combustion
products on the outer surface of the space station.
Dismantled from SM were "Kromka" scientific equipment units
designed to study quantitative distribution and chemical composition
of combustion products exhausts from the module attitude control thrusters.
these units were replaced with similar ones.
Yuri Onufrienko and Daniel Bursch visually inspected SM window and having
completed their work in open space returned to the Pirs module bringing
with them the dismantled equipment and tools that supported their work
in open space. The exit hatch of the Pirs module was closed on January
26 at 00:18. The work in space lasted 5 hours 59 minutes.
In the course of the work the crew photographed the work results.
This was the second EVA performed by Expedition ISS-4 crew.
The reports from the crew and the Lead Operations Control Team (LOCT)
who control and monitor the space station mission from the Mission Control
Center near Moscow (the Flight Director is cosmonaut V.A.Soloviev),
the crew is in good health and ISS on-board systems operate within design
limits.
Present during EVA operations at the Mission Control Center were specialists
from S.P.Korolev RSC Energia and its subcontractors.
