Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** U.S. Spacewalk 74 Animation – NASA Video
On Wednesday, June 16, NASA flight engineer Shane Kimbrough and ESA Astronaut (European Space Agency) Thomas Pesquet will exit the space station to install the first two of six ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) to ultimately upgrade six of the station’s eight power channels. They will install the first array on the far end of the left (port) side of the station’s backbone truss structure (P6) to upgrade the 2B power channel. On Sunday, June 20, the duo will install the second solar array to upgrade the 4B power channel on the P6 truss. The solar arrays arrived at the station in the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft as part of the company’s 22nd commercial resupply services mission to the station. This spacewalk will be the seventh for Kimbrough, and the third for Pesquet. This will also be the third spacewalk Kimbrough and Pesquet will conduct together, following two Expedition 50 spacewalks in January and March 2017. This will be the 239th spacewalk in support of station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
** Expedition 65 Spacewalk 74 and 75 Briefing – June 14, 2021 – NASA Video
On Monday, June 14, NASA hosted a news conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss upcoming spacewalks to install new solar arrays to help power the International Space Station. The news conference participants were; Dana Weigel, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, Pooja Jesrani, spacewalk flight director, Kieth Johnson, spacewalk officer, and Dan Hartman, manager, Gateway Program
** Expedition 65 Shane Kimbrough Discusses IROSAs Spacewalk – June 14, 2021 – NASA Johnson
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA discussed a pair of spacewalks he and crewmate Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to make June 16 and 20 to begin the installation of new ISS roll-up solar arrays (IROSAs) that will augment the power supply of the orbital outpost for the remainder of its lifetime. The first array of this initial pair of power generators, launched on the SpaceX Cargo Dragon flight two weeks ago, will be installed on the first of two spacewalks by Kimbrough and Pesquet on the far port truss of the station (P6 truss) to upgrade the power output for the station’s 2B power channel. A second spacewalk by Kimbrough and Pesquet will install the second roll-up array on the P6 truss for the 4B power channel. Four more arrays will be installed next year to complete the upgrades
** Spacewalk to Install New International Space Station Solar Arrays – NASA
After more than 20 years, the International Space Station is getting new solar arrays, and you have the chance to watch it LIVE during a spacewalk! On June 16, Shane Kimbrough of NASA Astronauts and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency will venture into the vacuum of space for ~6.5 hours to install and deploy two roll-out solar arrays on the space station.
** Watch China’s Shenzhou-12 crew dock with new space station – VideoFromSpace
Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo docked with the space station core module Tianhe aboard their Shenzhou-12 spacecraft on June 17, 2021. They launched about 6.5 hours prior to docking from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert.
** Chinese astronauts enter new space station after 6.5 hour flight – VideoFromSpace
Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo entered the space station core module Tianhe on June 17, 2021. Full Story: https://www.space.com/shenzhou-12-doc…
They launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert and docked with the orbital outpost about 6.5 hours later.
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Outpost in Orbit:
A Pictorial & Verbal History of the Space Station
