Gemini XII Crew Masters the Challenges of Spacewalks

Gemini XII pilot Buzz Aldrin, left, and command pilot Jim Lovell stand in a Gemini mockup during training at NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center) in Houston.

In the 20 months following the first piloted Gemini mission, NASA astronauts demonstrated the ability to change orbits, perform rendezvous and docking, along with spending up to two weeks in space. Spacewalking, on the other hand, remained an enigma. With only one more Gemini flight on the schedule, solving the problems of working outside a spacecraft would be the primary goal for Gemini XII.

As was the case on the previous four missions, the Gemini XII flight plan called for rendezvous and docking with a target vehicle. But, according to Dr. George Mueller, NASA’s associate administrator for Manned Spaceflight, mastering what NASA called an extravehicular activity (EVA) or spacewalk would be crucial in proving the agency was ready to move ahead with Apollo and achieving the goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

“I feel that we must devote the last EVA period in the Gemini Program to a basic investigation of EVA fundamentals,” he said. To take on the challenges of this crucial flight, NASA assigned a veteran of the longest spaceflight to date and the astronaut who helped “write the book” on orbital rendezvous. The command pilot was Jim Lovell who served on the 14-day Gemini VII mission in December 1965. A Naval aviator, he went on to be a member of the Apollo 8 crew, the first mission to orbit astronauts around the moon in 1968. As commander of Apollo 13 in 1970, Lovell became the first person to travel in space four times.

Russians Plan 26th Space Station Spacewalk

Two Russian cosmonauts will float outside one of the International Space Station’s hatchways on Monday to perform a grab bag of spacewalking tasks that outfit the Russian segment for future assembly work and support external experiments. Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Skripochka, both Expedition 25 flight engineers, will wear Orlan spacesuits and emerge from the Earth-facing Pirs docking compartment airlock around 9:25 a.m. EST for a planned 5-hour, 55-minute excursion. Monday’s spacewalk will be the fifth for Yurchikhin, who will wear the spacesuit marked with red stripes and the first for Skripochka, who will wear the suit with blue stripes.

The primary assembly and maintenance objectives of the spacewalk are to install a multipurpose workstation on the starboard side of the Zvezda service module’s large-diameter section, clean thermal insulation around the vents for the Elektron oxygen-generation system and relocate a television camera from one end of the Rassvet docking compartment to the other. Research objectives include cleaning and removing a robotics experiment known as Kontur, short for Development of a System of Supervisory Control Over the Internet of the Robotic Manipulator in the Russian Segment of ISS, from the port side of Zvezda into the Pirs airlock; installing a new materials experiment on a handrail on the Rassvet module, and collecting samples from the exterior of Zvezda and Pirs.

While Yurchikhin and Skripochka are outside the station, their colleagues inside will be in their respective Soyuz spacecraft, ready for departure in the unlikely event of an emergency. Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineer Shannon Walker will be in the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module, while Flight Engineers Scott Kelly and Alexander Kaleri will be in the Soyuz TMA-O1M spacecraft docked to the Poisk module.Flight controllers in the Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside of Moscow, will provide primary support for the spacewalk, but coordinate activities with their colleagues in Mission Control, Houston.

NASA Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson Available For Interviews

Recently returned from a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson will be available for live satellite interviews from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston between 8:15 a.m. and 10 a.m. CDT on Friday, Oct. 15. To arrange an interview, reporters should contact producer Jeremiah Maddix at 281-483-8631, 281-414-6995 or jeremiah.m.maddix@nasa.gov by 2 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 14. Video b-roll of Dyson’s flight will air Oct 15 from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. on NASA Television.

Dyson and her crewmates launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 crew capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in April. During the 174-day mission, Dyson served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 23 and 24 and conducted three spacewalks, logging 22 hours and 49 minutes outside the station. The crew replaced a faulty cooling pump module on the station’s backbone, known as the truss. The Expedition 24 crew landed safely in central Kazakhstan on Sept. 25. Dyson was born and raised in Arcadia, Calif. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from California State University at Fullerton and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California at Davis.

Dyson flew as a mission specialist on the STS-118 space shuttle mission. On the flight, she operated Endeavor’s robotic arm and directed four spacewalks as the intravehicular crew member. NASA TV's Live Interview Media Outlet channel will be used for the interviews. The channel is a digital satellite C-band downlink by uplink provider Americom. It is on satellite AMC 3, transponder 9C, located at 87 degrees west, downlink frequency 3865.5 Mhz based on a standard C-band, horizontal downlink polarity. FEC is 3/4, data rate is 6.0 Mbps, symbol rate is 4.3404 Msps, transmission DVB-S, 4:2:0.

International Space Station Expedition 24 Crew Lands Safely

Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko landed their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft in Kazakhstan on Saturday, Sept. 25, wrapping up a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Skvortsov, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft as it undocked at 10:02 p.m. EDT Friday from the Poisk module's docking port on the station's Zvezda module. The undocking and landing occurred a day later than planned because of a hatch sensor problem Thursday night. That problem prevented hooks on the Poisk side of the docking mechanism from opening. Station crew members installed a series of jumper cables, bypassing the sensor, and the Poisk module hooks retracted.

Following undocking and a normal descent, the crew landed at 1:23 a.m. near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Russian recovery teams were on hand to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and adjust to gravity after 176 days in space. Skvortsov and Kornienko will return Saturday to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow. The trio launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in April. As members of the Expedition 23 and 24 crews, they spent 174 days on the station. Caldwell Dyson and Expedition 25 Commander Doug Wheelock conducted three spacewalks to replace a faulty cooling pump module on the station's backbone, known as the truss.

Kornienko conducted one spacewalk to prepare the recently delivered Russian Rassvet Module for future automated dockings by Russian spacecraft. The station is occupied by Wheelock, who assumed command of the station Wednesday, NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker, and Russian Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin, who arrived in mid-June. A new trio of Expedition 25 crew members - NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka - will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 7 (Oct. 8 in Kazakhstan) and arrive on the station about 48 hours later.

Astronauts Linda Godwin and Scott Altman Leave NASA

NASA astronauts Linda Godwin and Scott Altman have announced plans to leave the agency. Godwin will retire and Altman will take a job in the private sector. Godwin joined NASA in 1980 and worked in the Payload Operations Division. She was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1985. A veteran of four spaceflights, Godwin logged more than 38 days in space, including more than 10 hours during two spacewalks. She flew aboard STS-37 in 1991; served as payload commander of STS-59 in 1994; and flew on STS-76 in 1996 and STS-108 in 2001. Godwin also supported numerous technical assignments within NASA's Astronaut Office and most recently served as the assistant to the director for exploration, Flight Crew Operations Directorate.

"Linda's 30-year career at NASA was filled with contributions to the human spaceflight mission," said Brent Jett, director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "She should be proud of her service to the agency and the country." Altman, a retired U.S. Navy captain, joined NASA in March 1995. He also has flown four shuttle missions, logging more than 51 days in space. He was the pilot of STS-90 in 1998 and STS-106 in 2000, and was commander of the final two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, STS-109 in 2002 and STS-125 in 2009.

Altman also performed other technical duties within the agency, including temporary duty to NASA Headquarters as deputy director of the Requirements Division of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Most recently, he served as chief of the Exploration Branch of the Astronaut Office."Scott has been a tremendous contribution to the astronaut corps and this agency," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office. "In his 15 years with NASA, he has performed flawlessly and demonstrated leadership in every position he's served. He will be greatly missed."

View this site : Property auctions

Communicating in Space

When astronauts venture outside of a spaceship or the International Space Station, they must wear protective space suits to keep them safe from the harsh environment of space. While inside these pressurized suits, it's essential that they remain in constant communication with the rest of the crew in space as well as Mission Control Center on Earth. While wearing the current space suits, astronauts wear a Communications Carrier Assembly (CCA), or "Snoopy Cap" a fabric hat fitted with microphones in the ear area for listening and boom microphones in front of the mouth for speaking. These caps are worn under the helmet and visor that surround an astronaut's head.

NASA is in the process of completely redesigning their space suits, with the goal of creating a brand new space suit to be used starting in 2020. Redesigned and reinvented communications equipment will be an important facet of the new suit. NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is working on different parts of the new space suit, including communications equipment. The Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) is involved with testing various proposed solutions to the communications requirements within the suit. The Communications Carrier Assembly (CCA), while effective, has some logistical drawbacks.

Multiple cap sizes must be available due to the difference in astronauts' head sizes. The caps cannot be adjusted once the visor of the helmet is in place and the astronaut is in space, which means that if the microphones shift, communication quality can decrease. The boom microphones can also interfere with feeding and drinking mechanisms during long-duration spacewalks. An additional problem is that astronaut sweat can negatively interfere with the performance of the electrical and mechanical parts in the CCA. For several years, Glenn has performed research and development on a variety of communications technologies. About six years ago, teams at Glenn began working on integrated audio solutions to support extravehicular activities, like space walks.

NASA Plans Next Space Station Repair Spacewalk For Monday

The third spacewalk to restore full cooling capability to the International Space Station is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 16. Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson will venture outside to install a replacement pump and connect its electrical and fluid lines. The two NASA astronauts conducted the first two spacewalks to remove the failed ammonia pump from the station's truss, or backbone. The pump removed during Wednesday's spacewalk failed on July 31, causing a loss of half of the station's cooling system. Since then, the station has been operating normally while a second ammonia pump provides cooling for electronics.

NASA Television coverage will begin Monday at 5 a.m. CDT. Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson are scheduled to begin the spacewalk just before 6 a.m. Monday's spacewalk will be the sixth for Wheelock and the third for Caldwell Dyson. Approximately two hours after the conclusion of the spacewalk, NASA TV will broadcast a briefing from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The briefing participants will be Kirk Shireman, International Space Station deputy program manager; Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director; and David Beaver, Expedition 24 spacewalk officer.

Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations, and should contact their preferred NASA center to confirm participation. Johnson's newsroom will be open for credentialed reporters to attend the briefing. Johnson also will operate a telephone bridge for reporters with valid media credentials issued by a NASA center. Journalists planning to use the service must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the briefing. Phone bridge capacity is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

NASA Moves Space Station Repair Spacewalk To Saturday

The first of two spacewalks by NASA astronauts to replace a failed ammonia pump on the International Space Station has been moved to Saturday, Aug. 7. A second spacewalk is planned for Wednesday, Aug. 11, to complete the repairs. Teams of flight controllers, engineers, and spacewalk experts have made significant progress in preparing for the first spacewalk, but need an additional day to get ready. The additional time allows for final procedures to be sent late Thursday to the station, giving the crew a full day to review the plans developed by Mission Control. Managers also moved the second spacewalk to Wednesday to give the crew more time to rest and prepare.

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson are scheduled to perform the spacewalks, which will air on NASA Television. Coverage will begin at 5 a.m. CDT. The spacewalks are scheduled to begin at 5:55 a.m. Saturday's spacewalk will be the fourth for Wheelock and the first for Caldwell Dyson. Approximately two hours after the conclusion of each spacewalk, NASA TV will broadcast a briefing from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The briefing participants will be Mike Suffredini, International Space Station program manager; Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director; and David Beaver, Expedition 24 spacewalk officer. Johnson's newsroom will be open for credentialed reporters to attend the briefing.

Johnson also will operate a telephone bridge for reporters with valid media credentials issued by a NASA center. Journalists planning to use the service must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of a briefing. Phone bridge capacity is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Engineers and flight controllers continue to review data on the July 31 pump failure, which caused the loss of one of two cooling loops aboard the station. This failure resulted in a power down and required adjustments to maintain as much redundancy as possible for the station systems. The systems are stable, and the station's six crew members are not in any danger.

NASA Moves Space Station Repair Spacewalk To Friday, Sets Briefings

The first of two spacewalks by NASA astronauts to replace a failed ammonia pump on the International Space Station has been delayed by 24 hours to Friday, Aug. 6. A second spacewalk is planned for Monday, Aug. 9, to complete the repairs. Flight controllers and station managers made the decision Monday night after reviewing proposed timelines, final procedures for the repair work, and the results from a spacewalk dress rehearsal conducted in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson are scheduled to perform the spacewalks.

The two NASA astronauts will replace an ammonia coolant pump that failed July 31. NASA Television coverage of both spacewalks will begin at 5 a.m. CDT. Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson are expected to begin the spacewalks from the Quest airlock at 5:55 a.m. Friday's spacewalk will be the fourth for Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson's first. Approximately two hours after the conclusion of each spacewalk, NASA TV will broadcast a briefing from Johnson. The briefing participants will be Mike Suffredini, International Space Station program manager; Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director; and David Beaver, Expedition 24 spacewalk officer.

Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations, and should contact their preferred NASA center to confirm participation. Johnson will operate a telephone bridge for reporters with valid media credentials issued by a NASA center. Journalists planning to use the service must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of a briefing. Phone bridge capacity is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Engineers and flight controllers continue to review data on the failure, which resulted in the loss of one of two cooling loops aboard the station. 

NASA Sets Briefing To Preview Updated Space Station Spacewalk Plan

NASA managers will discuss updated plans for two International Space Station spacewalks during a news briefing at 3 p.m. CDT on Monday, Aug. 2. The briefing replaces one originally scheduled for Tuesday.The news conference from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Journalists may ask questions from participating NASA locations.

The briefers are:
- Michael Suffredini, manager, International Space Station Program
- Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson are scheduled to perform two spacewalks. The two NASA astronauts will replace an ammonia coolant pump that failed July 31. Engineers and flight controllers continue to review data on the failure, which resulted in the loss of one of two cooling loops aboard the station. This caused a significant power down and required adjustments to provide the maximum redundancy possible for station systems. The systems are stable, and the six crew members aboard are not in any danger.

Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson originally were scheduled to perform a spacewalk to outfit the Russian Zarya module for future robotics work and prepare the station for the installation of a new U.S. permanent multipurpose module. However, because of the importance of restoring redundancy to the station's cooling and power systems, Thursday's spacewalk will be dedicated to the pump module replacement. Another spacewalk will be scheduled a few days later to complete the repairs. NASA TV coverage of the 15th U.S. spacewalk from the station will begin at 5 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5. Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson are expected to begin the spacewalk from the Quest airlock at 5:55 a.m. It will be Wheelock's fourth spacewalk and Caldwell Dyson's first.

NASA Sets Briefing to Preview Space Station Spacewalk

NASA officials will discuss an upcoming International Space Station spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts during a news briefing at 2 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 21. The briefing will take place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Questions will be taken from journalists at participating NASA locations.

The briefers are:
- Dan Hartman, Integration and Mission Operations manager, International Space Station Program
- Chris Edelen, Expedition 24 spacewalk flight director

On Monday, July 26, Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko will wear Russian spacesuits for a six-hour spacewalk. They will prepare the recently delivered Russian Rassvet Module for future automated dockings by Russian spacecraft. NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 10 p.m. Yurchikhin and Kornienko are expected to exit the Pirs airlock to begin their work at 10:45 p.m. It will be Yurchikhin's third spacewalk and the first for Kornienko.

Veteran Astronauts Gorie And Olivas Leave NASA

Veteran astronauts Dominic Gorie and John "Danny" Olivas are leaving NASA. Olivas' last day with the agency was Tuesday, May 25 and Gorie's is June 4.Gorie, a retired U.S. Navy captain, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights. He has traveled more than 18 million miles in space during his missions, serving as pilot and commander.

Gorie served as pilot on shuttle mission STS-91 in 1998 and STS-99 in 2000. He served as commander on STS-108 in 2001 and STS-123 in 2008."Dom is a superlative leader of people who consistently treats others with respect and professionalism," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We will sincerely regret the loss of his candor, humor and professionalism."

Olivas has flown on two shuttle flights and has accumulated more than 668 hours in space. He served as a mission specialist on STS-117 in 2007 and on STS-128 in 2009 and conducted five spacewalks. Olivas accumulated more than 34 hours of extravehicular time in space."Danny's expertise in spacewalking and materials engineering will be sorely missed with his departure," Whitson said.