Sergei Volkov (EVA-1, Orlan #27, red stripes) and Oleg Kononenko (EV-2, Orlan #26, blue stripes) completed their second spacewalk. This was the originally-scheduled spacewalk for various tasks. The duration was 5h 54m (17:08-23:02 on 15 July). Reports:
“Phew! Spacewalkers remove explosive bolt”, MSNBC.com, 10/7. Sergei Volkov (EVA-1, Orlan #27, red stripes) and Oleg Kononenko (EV-2, Orlan #26, blue stripes) completed their first spacewalk to retrieve a suspected faulty pyro bolt from Soyuz TMA-12. The spacewalk lasted 6h 18m. More reports at NASA and this NASASpaceflight.com thread. Their next EVA is to take place on 15 July.
This blog entry regarded them as somewhat amateurish:
They fumbled and they stumbled, and wrestled with their space tools, but in the end, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Volkov managed to cut through insulation and pull an explosive bolt from a Soyuz spacecraft parked at the International Space Station.
[…]
Nowhere near as polished as U.S.-trained spacewalkers, the Russians had problems finding their tools which were tethered to a special case and often tangled. At times the pair looked like a couple of amateur car mechanics with fishbowls on their heads, working with oven mitts, trying to change spark plugs with a spoon.
This was the first EVA for both; they also did not have extensive rehearsal training on Earth like the NASA Shuttle astronauts do. Russian EVA training tends to be more general, rather than focus on learning specific tasks like U.S. EVAs do (for Shuttle missions). The EVA was also somewhat unexpected (not initially scheduled). This item from Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №714 elaborates:
8/7/2008/09:28 – The ISS crew for the first time in the history of the Station conducted a second “general rehearsal” before going out in open space
A “general rehearsal” for the upcoming EVA will be held again today on the ISS. Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko will hold a second so-called “dry run” in the Russian space suit Orlan-M for the EVA, scheduled for July 10, said Valerii Lyndin, the official representative of Moscow Mission Control Center. The first rehearsal was similar to that of June 26, he recalled.
The Russians dismantled ducts in the Pirs docking module from where they will step into space, then donned 130 kg Orlans and “take a walk” in them in the module. There is provision also for entrance to the docking compartment of the Soyuz attached to Pirs, in which the crew could return to Earth in case of emergency. In addition, the crew must test the system transition and living quarters.
On the ISS this is the first precedent of this prolonged and thorough preparation for an EVA; usually crew conducts one training session in their flight suits and one in the spacesuits. However, this time Volkov and Kononenko decided to twice practice abandoning the Station and entering the “lifeboat” in the Orlan-M spacesuits. The reasons for this are several. First, Volkov and Kononenko are novices; for them this is their first EVA. Certainly, they worked out in detail all EVA operations in the hydrolaboratory of the Zvezdni Gorodok/Star City; however, training on Earth is still not work in open space. Furthermore, this output is unplanned; the cosmonauts before the flight did not do extensive training for it. The novices have to inspect “the lifeboat” – the Soyuz spacecraft – and extract the cartridge, which the specialists consider the reason “for the disruption” to the ballistic descent of two previous expeditions – ISS-15 in October 2007 and ISS-16 in April this year. This is not a trivial task even for an experienced crew, since the Soyuz is not fitted with handrails unlike other ISS modules. And one additional difficulty: conditions are complicated by the unusual configuration of the Station, when the Soyuz spacecraft, which usually is docket to the end of the Russian segment, is “moored” to Pirs, from where cosmonauts exit into space. In the case of a contingency situation for Volkov and Kononenko, it is necessary for them to move directly into the Soyuz Orbital Module in their bulky spacesuits so they can, after removing their spacesuits, take their seats in the Descent Module of the Soyuz spacecraft vehicle, in which the third member of the ISS-17 crew – American Gregory Shamitoff – will already be waiting.
According to Lyndin, the only precedent for such operations before Volkov and Kononenko VKD are Russian Alexander Kaleri and NASA astronaut Michael Foale (ISS crew-9), but both had experience of several long-duration flights on the orbital complex Mir, and the ISS Station crew then consisted only of two people, so the cosmonauts did not have to worry about the safety of a third crew member.
After some comments (from the NASASpaceflight.com forum!), the blog author edited:
Many readers rightly point out (see the comments section) that this was the first spacewalk for these cosmonauts and that Russians don’t traditionally undergo the same level of highly choreographed EVA training as their U.S. counterparts. They also point out the spacewalk achieved its objectives and was a success. Agreed on all counts and important points. No disrespect was intended. Nevertheless, it was a markedly different experience from recent NASA spacewalks. – RB
More on cosmonaut training from NK news №214:
9/7/2008/00:09 – Russian cosmonauts will do parachute training in Siberia
The group of GCTC cosmonauts who are undergoing parachute training will be based in a separate helicopter regiment of the Siberian air force and air defense, said Lieutenant Vladimir Drik, temporarily Acting Assistant Commander of the Air Force, on Tuesday.
“The main program for the group, which will be prolonged to the middle of August, consists of jump training, which is part of a comprehensive training for the cosmonauts crews for work in space,” said Drik.
According to him, the special exercises for the training of cosmonauts, developed by domestic specialists, which are to be undertaken in just a few seconds of flight, make it possible to train for complex combined activities. During the exercises the instructors check the rapidity of reaction, the speed of decision-making of the cosmonauts and the clarity of their actions, specified the assistant Commander.
“During the jump the cosmonaut must be able to simultaneously keep track of many sources of information, and at the same time be prepared for any abnormal situations. Parachute jumping for the cosmonauts brings out the necessary qualities for spaceflight – concentration, attentiveness, courage,” said Drik.
“Will We Ever Reach Mars?”, RIAN/Space Daily, 7/7. Andrei Kislyakov opinion piece, mainly to do with the upcoming IMBP medical experiment (26/6 entry).
According to Sergei’s biography page at Astronaut.ru (in Russian), he has reappeared on the ISS crew list, initially as a backup for ISS-21A (for cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri on the prime crew):
In 2008, Sergei has tentatively been named as part of the backup crew of ISS-21A. According to these plans, the prime crew will launch on Soyuz TMA-18 in March 2010. This will be the first flight of a new modification of the Soyuz-TMA spaceship (700 – Series 1).
“Russia seals agreement with private investor for space tourism”, Space Daily, 2/7. After some confusion it seems this project is real (see announcement at Space Adventures early in June).
The Russian space agency has sealed a deal with a private investor to build a Soyuz spacecraft specially for tourist hire and operational in 2011, a statement said Wednesday. “We have concluded an agreement with an investor to begin financing such a Soyuz vessel with an anticipated launch date of 2011,” the Roskosmos website stated. The craft, piloted by a professional astronaut, is designed to carry two so-called space adventurers.
I can’t feel much enthusiasm for it (see 15/6 entry and Cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov’s complaints in the 18/5 entry). The once-grand vision of the Soviet space program has been degraded into a taxi service for bored rich capitalists. I don’t believe government programs should be providing rides for tourists – leave that to the private industry! (Whenever the latter actually launches a spaceship into orbit.)
Two Russian spacewalks in Orlan spacesuits are to take place at long last – the previous one was just over a year ago (6 June 2007). James Oberg gives an overview in “Next spacewalk will have an explosive twist”, MSNBC.com, 2/7.
Two Russian cosmonauts on the international space station practiced Thursday for a dramatic spacewalk planned in July, which will involve taking an explosive bolt from the exterior of a docked Soyuz spacecraft and bringing it into the station itself. The risky operation is aimed at figuring out why similar bolts on earlier Soyuz spaceships misfired, leading to two rugged, off-course landings over the past year. The cosmonauts hope to avoid similar problems when they use the currently docked Soyuz to return to Earth at the end of their mission in October.
The 2/7 ISS Daily Report provides an outline of both spacewalks (20A and 20):
EVA-20A Timeline Preview: Orlan EVA-20a by Volkov/EV1 & Kononenko/EV2 is scheduled to begin at ~2:18 p.m. EDT [18:18 UTC] (DC1 EV hatch open) on 10/7, to last an estimated 6 hrs. During the spacewalk, EV2 will be riding on the DC1-based Strela 1 crane, operated via hand crank by EV1, who will then join EV2. Main objective is the inspection of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft at its first separation plane (Plane I) followed by removal of one pyrobolt for return to Earth. Before removing the separation bolt, EV2 will install temporary protective covers on the spacecraft’s DPO attitude control thrusters, open up the MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation), demate the pyrobolt’s electrical connector and cut the wiretie between the pyrobolts. MLI will then be reattached and the covers removed again. If enough time remains after the Soyuz activity, the spacewalkers will also install a docking target (for the new MLM/Multipurpose Laboratory Module) in the SM PkhO (Transfer Compartment) area for zenith port docking. [Background: Before their separation, Descent Module (SA) & Instrumentation Compartment (AO) are connected by five locks, each “zamok” containing two pyrobolts with individual electrical connection, of which only one needs to fire to release the lock. The locks are equally spaced around the 360-degree circumference of the separation plane, i.e., 72 deg apart. After the five locks have released, five pushers, also equally spaced, separate the two modules by pre-loaded spring force. Each lock and pusher is located at the apex (node) of two triangularly arranged aluminum pipes, i.e., altogether 20 inclined pipes, which make up the open truss structure between the modules.]
EVA-20 Timeline Preview (preliminary): The Orlan EVA-20 by Volkov (EV1) & Kononenko (EV2) on 7/15 is scheduled to begin at ~1:14 p.m. EDT [17:14 UTC] (DC1 EV hatch open), to last an estimated 5 hrs 30 min, i.e., concluding at approximately 6:44 p.m. [22:44 UTC] Part of the EVA will be supported by the DC1-based Strela 1 crane, operated via hand crank. Main objectives of the Russian spacewalk are:
- Closeout ops on Soyuz TMA-12 Plane I inspection/pyrobolt removal (if not completed during EVA-20A);
- Installation of a new docking target on SM PkhO (Transfer Compartment), Plane IV, for MLM (if not completed during EVA-20A);
- Post-installation photography of the new docking target;
- Inspection of mounting holes for an adapter of a Kurs antenna (4AO-VKA) on PkhO-RO (SM Working Compartment, small diameter section);
- Transferring one “Yakor” foot restraint (of two) from the DC1 EVA ladder to the SM and installing it in an attachment socket at a PkhO handrail (two Yakors were installed on DC1 ladder during EVA-17A on 2/22/07);
- Installing the VSPLESK (“Burst”) science payload on the SM RO (large diameter section); and
- Removing the BIORISK-MSN (BIO-2) experiment container 1 from the DC1 for return to the station (BIORISK-MSN #1 was installed with two other BIO-2 containers during EVA-19 on 6/6/07).
Unfortunately the Mars-500 has been delayed for 6 months. From Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №213:
1/7/2008/16:50 – Mars-500 experiment postponed for at least six months
The beginning of a major scientific experiment in which scientists intended to simulate the conditions of a manned flight to Mars, has been delayed more than six months. This was announced by Moscow’s Institute for Space Research (IMBP), which will host the experiment named “Mars-500”.
According to new data, a preliminary 105-day study is rescheduled for the first quarter of 2009. Accordingly the start date of the implementation of the 520-day experiment is also moved back. Maybe it will begin in late 2009, the Institute says.
IMBP notified all partners involved in the project of the postponement of the experiment, said a representative of the institution. He also said that at the moment, the institute had selected 10 Russians, who may take part in the ground “flight” to Mars. Six of them are participating in the ongoing two-week research study in the IMBP on the development of methods of non-surgical treatment of disorders that may arise during the flight to Mars.
The source also added that the institute completed the pilot complex ground volume 550 cubic meters, consisting of five airtight linked modules. The only module remaining unfinished is the one which simulates the Martian surface.
Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov had some complications after surgery on 16 June for lower stomach pain (he was treated by the urology department) and was put in intensive care, but was released from hospital on 23 June. He is 74 years old. (Relevant NASASpaceflight.com and CollectSpace threads)