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Spacewalkers spot residue around vent ports BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: January 26, 2005 Spacewalkers Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov have spotted a residue of some sort on and around a trio of vent ports on the exterior of the Russian command module Zvezda that might shed light on past problems with the space station's air rejuvenation system. Extra time was built into the spacewalk schedule to give Chiao and Sharipov time to inspect the vents, which are used to dump trace contaminants and other byproducts overboard from the station's carbon dioxide removal system and its Elektron oxygen generator. The Elektron, which generates oxygen by breaking down water molecules with electricity, shut down recently because of air bubbles in the system. It later was restored to service, but similar shutdowns have occurred before and engineers are trying to figure out what might be responsible. Whether the residue spotted today is a factor, or at least a clue, is not yet known. "The area of some 15 centimeters in diameter around the vent, black, brownish residue," Sharipov reported through an interpreter. "Elektron vent is all covered, like honeycomb. ... It looks like when the fluid was being dumped, the water evaporated but the solid components got solidified, not only on the vent but at the vent base as well." The spacewalkers photographed the vents for later transmission to Russian experts on the ground. Chiao and Sharipov opened the outer hatch of the Russian Pirs airlock module at 2:43 a.m. EST (0743 GMT), officially kicking off the spacewalk. Today's EVA proceeded smoothly with Chiao and Sharipov running slightly ahead of schedule. A German robotics experiment was mounted on the hull of the station and an antenna needed for the radio-controlled device was hooked up after a Japanese experiment package was moved out of the way. They later attached a Russian experiment package on the hull. The crew closed the hatch of the Pirs airlock module at 8:11 a.m. EST, officially ending a five-hour, 28-minute spacewalk. All major objectives were accomplished. "Congratulations, good job, thank you," a Russian manager radioed the crew. With today's excursion, 39 NASA astronauts, 10 Russian cosmonauts, one Canadian and one Frenchman have staged 57 space station assembly and maintenance spacewalks totaling 343 hours and 45 minutes. The Expedition 10 crew plans to stage a second spacewalk March 25. |
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The upcoming spacewalk by the International Space Station's Expedition 10 crew is previewed by NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center on Jan. 21. (25min 04sec file)
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The Russian Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft with the Expedition 10 crew undocks from the International Space Station's Pirs module for the capsule's relocation to another docking port. (2min 19sec file)
After backing away from the space station, the Soyuz capsule performs a roll maneuver for alignment to prepare for linkup with the new docking port. (2min 04sec file)
Spectacular views of the Russian Soyuz capsule flying over the Earth were captured by station cameras during the move between docking ports. (3min 35sec file)
Expedition 10 returns to the space station with a successful docking to the Zarya control module's Earth-facing docking port, completing the Soyuz relocation. (1min 50sec file)
External television cameras on the International Space Station provide views of the Soyuz's final approach and docking to Zarya. (3min 34sec file)
A brief preview of the Expedition 10 mission aboard the International Space Station is provided in this narrated video. (5min 03sec file)
This narrated biography offers an interest glimpse at the backgrounds of Expedition 10 commander Leroy Chiao and flight engineer Salizhan Sharipov. (4min 43sec file)