We mentioned last week that there was an EVA coming up. It took place this week. There were some minor equipment problems, but the EVA was completed fully and safely.

The purpose of this EVA was to add hoses to the module that circulates coolant around station radiators. It started at 12:32 UTC on the 24th and lasted six hours 54 minutes, exactly the same as the previous EVA, which was purely a coincidence.

From the beginning, the German astronaut, Mattias Maurer, had problems with his spacesuit. Right after departing the airlock, there was a problem with a cable for one of his gloves’ heaters, so he was forced to go without heaters in the glove for the duration of the spacewalk.

Then one of the cameras on his helmet came loose and had to be secured with wire ties by the other astronaut, Raja Chari. The helmet cam is a critical piece of equipment as it allows ground control to see what the astronauts are seeing to help with any problems.

With those issues resolved, the astronauts went on to complete their primary task, installing the hoses from the “Radiator Beam Valve module” to a radiator. The astronauts worked on different tasks at the same time, with Maurer first running some ethernet cables to a platform on the outside of the station before helping Chari with the radiator. The platform will be used to host commercial payloads for European customers. The astronauts wrapped up the spacewalk by installing a new HD camera on the outside of the station.

After finishing the tasks, the two astronauts re-entered the airlock and repressurized it. Maurer was first because he noted that almost 50% of his faceplate was covered in water. A leak like this has happened before during a spacewalk in 2013. In response to that leak, NASA added a Helmet Absorbency Pad (HAP) to absorb future leaks. Unsurprisingly, the HAP on Maurer’s helmet was damp. But both spacewalkers were okay overall, and the EVA was considered a success.

More Information

Astronauts Complete Spacewalk to Install Station Upgrades (NASA)