After a long break, NASA suggests timing for next spacewalk

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps (center) assists NASA astronauts Mike Barratt (left) and Tracy Dyson wrong nan station’s Quest airlock connected nan time of nan incident. NASA TV

If you look astatine nan database of spacewalks that person taken spot astatine nan International Space Station (ISS), you’ll announcement that only 2 person taken spot successful 2024, pinch nan past 1 happening successful June.

Considering that astatine slightest 12 took spot each twelvemonth betwixt 2021 and 2023, this is intelligibly an different move of events. But there’s a bully logic for it.

NASA suspended spacewalks astatine nan ISS successful June aft h2o leaked from nan work and cooling umbilical portion connected a spacesuit worn by American astronaut Tracy Dyson soon aft nan station’s hatch was opened astatine nan commencement of a planned walk.

In response, NASA decided to suspend each spacewalk astatine nan orbital installation to springiness engineers clip to analyse nan rumor and create a fix.

After replacing a seal and nan umbilical relationship that links nan spacesuit to nan ISS, nan compromised suit was successfully repressurized, though further testing was needed to corroborate that nan suit creation was reliable and safe.

With nan rumor apparently now resolved, Bill Spetch, operations and integration head of NASA’s ISS program, said successful a caller property convention that nan abstraction agency plans to resume spacewalks immoderate clip successful 2025, Space.com reported.

A circumstantial day has yet to beryllium set, pinch Spetch explaining that it’s “just a matter of erstwhile is nan correct timing,” adding that spacewalks are usually scheduled to return spot betwixt spacecraft arrivals and departures, arsenic good arsenic astir astronaut investigation activities.

As pointed retired by Space.com, Dyson’s suit is from a creation created successful nan 1970s and utilized during nan abstraction shuttle programme successful nan 1980s. It was besides worn for walks successful which astronauts constructed nan ISS precocious supra Earth, arsenic good arsenic for attraction and upgrade activity connected nan exterior of nan position complete nan past 2 decades. Now, NASA is looking to switch nan aging suit pinch a much mobile and comfortable creation based connected nan 1 tested by Jared Isaacman during nan caller Polaris Dawn mission.

Despite utilizing different spacesuits to NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos abstraction agency besides suspended ISS spacewalks, apt arsenic a precautionary measurement and to let clip for thorough checks of each systems and instrumentality related to spacewalks, including Roscosmos’s ain spacesuits, to guarantee that everything’s successful order.