Russian Spacewalkers Throw Old Experiment Overboard In Amazing Views From Space Station
Expedition 69 commander Sergey Prokopyev and flight engineer Dmitry Petelin tossed a trio of no longer needed devices overboard, including a spent science experiment, during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
Transcript
00:00 And a view of the cosmonauts working
00:04 to remove the seismoprognose experiment
00:07 from just behind the solar array or one of the solar arrays
00:12 on the Zvezda service module.
00:15 Again, once detached, this experiment no longer providing
00:22 data after almost 10 years of scientific investigations
00:27 of seismic activity back on Earth,
00:30 it will be jettisoned retrograde
00:32 from the space station toward the aft end
00:35 of the Zvezda service module on a trajectory
00:38 that will ensure no potential for recontact
00:41 with the orbital outpost.
00:43 [ Foreign Language ]
00:51 >> So for the jettisoning.
00:53 [ Foreign Language ]
00:55 >> All right.
01:00 You position yourself against the velocity vector
01:12 and so you should be aiming 45 degrees away from SM module.
01:21 All right.
01:23 Hold on. Let me secure myself.
01:25 Here first.
01:26 [ Foreign Language ]
01:27 >> As the two cosmonauts position themselves
01:30 in the right orientation for the jettisoning
01:34 of the seismoprognose experiment, this is the view
01:38 from Dmitry Patelin's helmet camera.
01:41 [ Foreign Language ]
01:45 >> Dima can actually hold on to your back
01:48 to make sure you're secure just in case this is necessary.
01:55 All right.
01:55 I found a place to secure myself to and brace against.
02:04 [ Foreign Language ]
02:10 >> Okay. And I'm removing it and I'm removing mine as well.
02:15 [ Foreign Language ]
02:21 >> Bring it up.
02:23 >> Copy.
02:25 [ Background Music ]
02:31 >> All right.
02:31 It's free.
02:32 >> Copy.
02:33 [ Background Music ]
02:37 >> And jettisoning.
02:39 >> And there it goes.
02:43 >> It was a good, trusty jettisoning.
02:46 >> Our ballistics officer here
02:47 in mission control reports it was jettisoned
02:50 in a good trajectory well away from the station,
02:53 no chance for re-contact with the complex.
02:56 So the seismic experiment that has spent almost a decade
03:00 on the International Space Station is now on its own
03:04 to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
03:07 [ Background Music ]
03:13 >> Wave goodbye to it.
03:19 Rest in peace.
03:21 And we can, Sergei, you can wrap up photography,
03:28 but please help as well with SVPE monoblock as well.
03:38 Will do.
03:40 >> That jettison occurred at about the two hour
03:43 and nine minute mark into the spacewalk.
03:46 The two cosmonauts running about an hour
03:48 and 20 minutes ahead of the timeline.
03:53 >> All right.
03:54 So when we are done with the scheduled imagery,
04:01 we would not need to conserve the battery charge at all
04:06 and you will have a go to keep the cameras rolling as long
04:10 as you need to or want to.
04:13 Okay. And now we have SVPE with the cables, everything secured.
04:17 The second latch is left.
04:23 [ Background Music ]
04:34 >> Next up for the cosmonauts will be the disconnecting
04:40 of a number of connectors and the removal
04:42 of a telemetry system monoblock
04:47 that older telemetry equipment has been mounted on.
04:52 That will be the second in the series of jettisons
04:57 that is expected to occur sometime
04:59 within the next 30 minutes or so.
05:02 [ Background Music ]
05:08 >> So for the window, you need to stick
05:12 to the handrail that we recommend.
05:18 Okay. Definitely.
05:20 All right.
05:21 SVPE is secured to me.
05:24 Okay. Position yourself then.
05:28 Get ready.
05:29 And the jettisoning vector is going to be the same
05:34 in the direction of the Earth's horizon.
05:37 >> The jettisoned item or items that just took place
05:46 about two and a half minutes ago were both the seismic detection
05:50 experiment and a monoblock or stanchion upon
05:55 which older data transmission system equipment was
05:59 mounted on.
06:01 [ Background Music ]
06:24 >> All right.
06:25 I am ready.
06:27 Okay.
06:28 [ Background Music ]
06:35 >> It's kind of heavy.
06:39 And you can really feel the inertia.
06:43 Oh, right there.
06:45 Right. Is that looking good?
06:48 Yeah. Well, check.
06:49 It should be 45 degrees.
06:51 [ Background Music ]
06:56 >> Okay. So I removed the safety set up.
07:04 Okay.
07:04 >> Sergei, are you recording the video?
07:10 I am.
07:12 >> And jettisoning.
07:15 [ Background Music ]
07:31 >> Following the jettisoning of the seismic experiment,
07:35 Prokopyev now has jettisoned the monoblock or stanchion upon
07:39 which it and telemetry equipment were mounted on.
07:44 >> It's kind of slower than the one before.
07:48 >> So this is the second of three planned jettisons.
07:56 >> It's like feeling the importance of its tasks and goals.
08:07 (upbeat music)