Coolant Anomaly Confronted by Cosmonauts During Extravehicular Activity

Attribution: Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko (on the left) and Nikolai Chub (on the right) from Roscosmos. Courtesy: NASA

On October 25, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub successfully finished an extravehicular operation, despite complications including a coolant spill and incomplete solar sail deployment. The mission was concluded without any critical impediments.

The extravehicular activity by Kononenko and Chub concluded on October 25 at 9:30 p.m. EDT, spanning a duration of 7 hours and 41 minutes.

Primary Operations During the Extravehicular Activity

Throughout the course of the extravehicular task, Kononenko and Chub conducted an inspection and took photographs of an auxiliary external radiator on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. They also disconnected this radiator from Nauka’s cooling mechanism. During this process, a coolant bubble escaped from the leak point, requiring the cosmonauts to cleanse their suits before proceeding further.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (bearing red stripes) and Nikolai Chub (bearing blue stripes) set up a synthetic radar communications system as part of their 7-hour and 41-minute long extravehicular activity. Courtesy: NASA TV

The pair also initiated the launch of a nanosatellite aimed at evaluating solar sail technology. Regrettably, the nanosatellite’s solar sail did not unfurl to the extent visible by the monitoring cameras on the station. Additionally, the cosmonauts installed a synthetic radar communication mechanism. One of the four panels of this radar system could not be fully extended during the operation, and this task will be deferred to a future mission.

Post-Extravehicular Procedures and Forthcoming Extravehicular Activities

Upon concluding the extravehicular activity and prior to reentry into the Poisk airlock, the cosmonauts performed a routine inspection of their Roscosmos Orlan spacesuits and the tools deployed during the operation. This was to ensure no traces of coolant were present and to remove any that were found. Following repressurization, the suits and tools were again cleansed to minimize the potential for contaminant introduction into the space station’s atmosphere. Additional atmospheric filtration methods will subsequently be applied within the station to remove any lingering traces of contaminants.

This operation marked the sixth extravehicular activity for Kononenko and the inaugural one for Chub. It stands as the 268th spacewalk undertaken for the assembly, maintenance, and upgrading of the space station.

In the coming schedule, NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli are set to perform an extravehicular activity on Monday, October 30. Real-time coverage will commence at 6:30 a.m. via NASA Television, the NASA application, and the official agency website. The extravehicular activity is projected to start around 8:05 a.m. and will have an approximate duration of six-and-a-half hours.

During this U.S.-led extravehicular activity, numbered as 89, O’Hara and Moghbeli will emerge from the station’s Quest airlock to finalize the removal of a malfunctioning electronics box from a communications antenna bracket and to replace one out of the twelve Trundle Bearing Assemblies on the port truss Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. This mission will mark the first extravehicular activity for both astronauts.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about spacewalk

More about spacewalk

• Roscosmos Official Website
• NASA Spacewalks Information
• Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module
• International Space Station Assembly and Maintenance
• Extravehicular Activity Overview
• Solar Sail Technology
• NASA Television
• Trundle Bearing Assemblies