Operating from the International Space Station, the pair will finish installing a high-speed space-to-ground antenna on the truss structure.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are preparing for a critical maintenance excursion. The spacewalk will feature NASA astronaut Anil Menon and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, according to recent operational updates from the space agency. The mission marks the final extravehicular activity planned for the month of August. For NASA astronaut Anil Menon, the planned Aug. 25 trip into the vacuum of space will be not just his third spacewalk ever, but his third in a row following his recent Aug. 6 and Aug. 18 ventures. Joining him will be Sophie Adenot, an astronaut with the European Space Agency who NASA says just became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk.
Completing the Antenna Installation on the Z1 Truss
The primary objective for Tuesday’s outing is to finish installing a replacement Space-to-Ground antenna on the Z1 truss segment above the Unity module. During a previous excursion on Tuesday, Aug 18, Menon and Adenot successfully removed an old high-speed antenna that since November had ceased being able to track NASA’s data relay satellites, rendering it unusable. However, the spacewalkers ran out of time while attempting to disconnect its electrical connections and lock down gimbal bolts, or pins, to secure the large dish assembly during its transport to its temporary stowage location, prompting mission controllers to have the astronauts tether the failed antenna to the truss and waive them off installing the replacement. A second antenna has been in use since, continuing the transmission of critical data and enabling high-speed communications with Mission Control Houston.
“We got into this with the mindset that we wanted everything to go perfectly,” said Menon as the spacewalk came to an end. “Things were a lot different than expected, but what I would say that I am really impressed with is that all of those contingencies were well thought out.”
Things were a lot different than expected, Menon added, while expressing admiration for the contingency planning prepared by ground teams.
Robotic Support and Crew Responsibilities Aboard Expedition 75
Station operations require close coordination among the Expedition 75 crew members. Flight engineers Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot wrapped up their spacewalk preparations on Monday with tool configurations, spacesuit leak checks, and procedure reviews inside the Quest airlock alongside two of their Expedition 75 crewmates while the rest of the orbital residents studied the human respiratory system, activated Earth observation gear, and packed a cargo spacecraft prior to its departure.
NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, flight engineer and station commander respectively, assisted Menon and Adenot with their spacewalk preparations throughout Monday. All four astronauts gathered together at the end of their shift for a conference with mission controllers on the ground to discuss spacewalk readiness and robotics operations. On Tuesday, Hathaway will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm from inside the orbital outpost with Menon attached and guide him along the antenna installation worksite. Adenot will remain tethered to the Z1 where she and Menon will install the antenna and make the precise connections required to activate high-speed communications.
Building on August Maintenance Milestones
Tuesday’s outing follows a busy month of structural upgrades. Menon and Jessica Meir completed an earlier spacewalk on August 6 to install mounting hardware on the station’s 3B power channel, located on the Starboard 6 truss segment, to prepare for future International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, known as IROSA. That initial excursion prepared the power channel to support increased power generation for the laboratory.
The cumulative efforts reflect the ongoing maintenance required to sustain the orbiting laboratory, which has been stationed in low-Earth orbit for more than 25 years, typically about 260 miles high, where it has been home to astronauts from all over the world. NASA and its commercial partners like Amazon will provide plenty of ways to ensure you can keep up with the cosmic action as it unfolds in real time. NASA will provide live coverage of the event starting at 7 a.m. ET on multiple streaming platforms, with the crew scheduled to set their spacesuits to battery power at 8:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, signifying the start of a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
Продолжение темы
