posted 01-15-2025 09:26 PM               

ISS Expedition 72: U.S. Spacewalk 91

Two NASA astronauts will perform a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station to complete equipment upgrades.

Expedition 72 crewmates Nick Hague and Suni Williams will exit the station's Quest airlock on Thursday (Jan. 16) to replace a rate gyro assembly that helps provide orientation control for the station; install patches to cover damaged areas of light filters for an X-ray telescope called NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer); and replace a reflector device used for navigational data on one of the international docking adapters.

Additionally, the pair will check access areas and connector tools that will be used for future maintenance work on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) and last about six and a half hours.

Hague will serve as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1) and will wear a suit with red stripes. Williams will serve as EV2 and will wear an unmarked suit. The spacewalk will be the fourth for Hague and the eighth for Williams.

It will be the 273rd spacewalk in support of the assembly, maintenance and upgrade of the International Space Station.

posted 01-16-2025 12:15 AM               

The spacewalk is expected to begin at approximately 8 a.m. EST (1300 UTC) and last for around six and a half hours.

posted 01-16-2025 01:08 PM               

Astronauts repair black hole observatory, inspect cosmic ray detector on spacewalk

Nick Hague and Suni Williams began the spacewalk at 8:01 a.m. EST (1301 GMT) and made quick work of their first and primary task to replace a rate gyro assembly that helps maintain the station's orientation. Working near and within the complex's backbone truss, the two astronauts used power tools to unmount the faulty unit and secure the new one in its place.

From there, they divided their attention, with Hague heading to work on NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) while Williams focused on replacing a reflector used by spacecraft when approaching a docking with the space station. That task brought Williams to the Harmony module and international docking adapter, just beside her and Hague's ride home in March, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft "Freedom."

Hague, meanwhile, used prefabricated patches to cover areas where optical light was seeping into the NICER observatory. First noticed in May 2023, the leak in one or more of the instrument's light-blocking filters had a significant impact on NICER's operations and data. With the patches now in place, NICER is expected to resume its X-ray observations of deep space phenomena.

Hague and Williams then came together to inspect access areas and connector tools that may be used to perform maintenance work on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on future spacewalks. Although not originally planned to be serviced, the AMS has received repairs on past spacewalks and the inspections performed by Hague and Williams may pave the way to more work, including possibly installing a new radiator.

With all of their planned tasks complete and time to spare, Hague evaluated the condition of an articulating portable foot restraint and Williams photographed the insulation on an ammonia coolant line before both returned to the airlock to end their spacewalk at 2:01 p.m. EST (1901 GMT).

"We're about two months short of the 60th anniversary of the first spacewalk and it's just really cool to be part of that legacy and do our little bit," said Hague just before the end of the EVA.

Hague has now performed four spacewalks, logging 25 hours and 56 minutes. Williams has conducted eight EVAs, spending 56 hours and 40 minutes working outside the space station.