“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).
