NASA Astronaut Stationed on ISS Takes Spacewalk, Another Planned

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore never thought they would be on the International Space Station long after they left Earth in June. In fact, at first he expected to stay only eight days. And now, with plans for their return home in place, they will return to earth at the end of March. But in mid-January, at least one came out — and the other has plans to do so. Williams joined astronaut Nick Hague on a trip to space January 16and both Williams and Wilmore are planning a trip together on Jan. 30

On Jan. 16 spacewalk, Williams and Hague replaced the gyro assembly that helps track the front of the orbital outpost, NASA said. It was the fourth trip to The Hague and the eighth for Williams. Astronomers also installed patches to cover damaged light filters on the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray telescope, replaced the light source on one of the universal adapters, and looked at the access points and connecting devices that the astronomers will use. Alpha in the future. Preparation of Magnetic Spectrometer.

On Jan. 30 spacewalk, which will begin at 8 a.m. ET and last six and a half hours, Williams and Wilmore will remove the radio antenna equipment and search for microbes outside the orbit.

The two astronauts say that while they miss their families, they still have work to keep them busy.

“Ultimately we want to go home,” Williams said in a recent press conference. “We left our families a while ago, but we have a lot to do here and we have to do it before we go.”

February back now is March

Recently, NASA pushed Williams and Wilmore back to Earth from February to the end of March.

“NASA and SpaceX tested a number of ways to launch the next generation, including the use of another Dragon spacecraft and a change in visibility,” according to A NASA press release issued on Dec. 17. “After careful consideration, the team determined that the launch of Crew-10 at the end of March, the completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best way to meet NASA’s requirements and meet the space goals of 2025.

The delay is so the NASA and SpaceX teams can complete the mission to launch the new Dragon spacecraft. The new spaceship will house four members of the ISS – captain Anne McClain, captain Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new crew is settled, Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth.

But Williams and Wilmore aren’t worried about the long term.

“I love everything about being here,” Williams said in early December. “Being in space is a lot of fun.”

Astronauts are getting busy, and Williams and Wilmore are helping other ISS crews with botany and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. He has supported over 60 scientific studies in the six months he has been on board, The Washington Post reports.

Here’s what you need to know about what these two astronauts are doing.

Who are astronauts?

Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veterans and are both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998, and Wilmore since 2000. Both have extensive experience in space.

Williams holds the record for the most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and the longest spaceflight by a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, she ran the first race with any person in space.

In 2009, Wilmore piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the ISS, and in 2014, he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to create a tool — a ratchet wrench — in space, the first time humans had flown it. he made something unusual.

What was their first mission in space?

Wilmore, as the leader, and Williams, as the pilot, went to the ISS in a 15-meter, Boeing-made Starliner. They launched on June 5 and stopped with the ISS on June 6. NASA hopes that the Starliner will give the agency a new way to get the crew to and from the ISS, and that Boeing made it is another sign that NASA is starting to lean. in the private press on its choices for space shuttles, The New York Times report.

Wilmore and Williams’ ISS mission was to last only eight days, during which they would test the Starliner’s components and see how it would work with a crew in space. But due to problems with the Starliner, the two astronauts are still there.

What do astronauts eat?

Food on the ISS is very important, because fresh produce must be replenished every three months and brought back from Earth. On Nov. 23, the unmanned Progress 90 cargo resupply vehicle landed successfully at the ISS. But the latest food came with an unwanted smell.

“After opening the hatch of the Progress spacecraft, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected smell and saw small droplets, which prompted the crew to close the Poisk sector to the rest of Russia,” a. A NASA representative said in a statement posted on social networks.

“Air station controllers and negative sensors monitored the station’s observations, and on Sunday, flight controllers confirmed that the atmosphere inside the station was normal,” NASA said. “There are no crew concerns, and as of Sunday afternoon, crews are working to open the door between Poisk and Progress while all other space operations are proceeding as planned.”

NASA revealed that their menu includes corn with powdered milk, pizza, shrimp cocktails, grilled chicken and tuna.

The smell that came with the spaceship is not the only food-related problem in recent times, with some media questioning the thin appearance of the astronauts based on recent photos.

Dr. JD Polk, NASA’s health and medical director, said Williams and Wilmore are doing well. “NASA and our partners have been successfully traveling in an orbital laboratory for many years, studying the effects of space on the human body as we plan to explore the far reaches of the sun,” said Polk. “The health of the crew is constantly monitored by dedicated flight surgeons on Earth, and they have their own diet and exercise to ensure they stay healthy throughout their flight.”

Williams said he weighs the same as he did when he arrived at the space station, in a video interview on Nov. 12 on the ISS.

What do astronauts say?

Astronauts have been positive about their experiences. At a live news conference in September, Williams said that while they know their work was only supposed to take eight days, they’ve both been “training for a couple of years” for it. They are fully qualified to stay in space for a long time, and help pilot the SpaceX Dragon that will bring them home next year.

“It’s so peaceful here,” Williams said on Sept. 13, though she added that she misses their families in the world.

Astronomers are engaged in research, processing and analyzing data over long periods of time.

“We have a great time here on the ISS,” Williams said in a press conference it took place from orbit in July. “I don’t mind. Butch doesn’t mind that we’ve been here a few extra weeks.”

How did they get stuck in space in the first place?

The The Starliner was delayed in May due to a valve problem in the rocket. Engineers then had to fix the helium leak. All of that is bad news for Boeing. I am competing with SpaceXwhat has been there sending astronauts to the ISS starting in 2020, and making more than 20 successful missions to the space station.

Starliner finally launched, atop an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, but some problems came with it. NASA announced this triple helium leak identified, one identified before flight, and two new ones. In addition to the leak, the crew had to deal with those who lost control, even though the technology ended with the port and the ISS.

SpaceX has also had its share of failures. A The Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016. In July of this year, the Falcon 9 rocket released liquid oxygen and sent its satellites in error, The New York Times. report. And the Falcon 9 rocket at the end of August lost its initial booster when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and he was on fire.

But that said, SpaceX has won 300 Falcon 9 flights to his credit.

Stuck in space: Writing time

• May: Starliner’s launch is delayed due to a valve problem in the rocket, and then a helium leak.
• June 5: Starliner launches with Williams and Wilmore on board.
• June 6: Starliner docks with the ISS despite battling triple helium leaks and losing control.
• Sept. 6: The Starliner leaves the ISS and lands in New Mexico, leaving Williams and Wilmore behind.
• Sept. 28: SpaceX Crew-9 mission is launched with Hague and Gorbunov on board Dragon.
• Sept. 29: SpaceX Dragon arrives with ISS.
• Dec. 17: NASA has announced that the launch of four members of the ISS will be delayed from February to the end of March.
• March 2025 onwards: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will return to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.