Russians inspect Soyuz for problems with ballistic trajectory

by William Atkins

Thursday, 03 July 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! NASA announced on July 2, 2008, that two International Space Station cosmonauts will conduct a spacewalk to inspect their Soyuz vehicle so as to minimize the chance of having another ballistic trajectory when it flies home later this summer. Expedition 17 commander Sergei Volkov and flight engineer Oleg Kononenko will conduct a spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-20) on July 10, 2008, beginning from the airlock at the ISS Pirs docking compartment. It is the first spacewalk for the Expedition 17 crew of the International Space Station. In preparation for the spacewalk the three Expedition 17 crewmembers--Volkov, Kononenko and U.S. astronaut and ISS flight engineer Greg Chamitoff--are reviewing standard operating procedures they will use while conducting the spacewalk. In particular, they are going over procedures needed in the unlikely event the Pirs module fails to re-pressurize after the spacewalk is completed. Procedures call for the spacewalkers to enter the Soyuz, move it to another docking port, and re-enter from the airlock at that port. Among other preparatory activities, the cosmonauts are also testing the communication links on their spacesuits with their RSA mission controllers in Moscow, Russia. Because the last two Soyuz spacecraft (Soyuz TMA-10, on October 21, 2007, and TMA-11, on April 19, 2008) have returned to Earth with ballistic trajectories, the two cosmonauts will inspect their Soyuz craft during the spacewalk. A ballistic trajectory is only used when the spacecraft’s onboard computer has rejected the normal trajectory. The resulting ride through the Earth’s atmosphere is at a much steeper angle of descent then normal, which gives the occupants of the Soyuz spacecraft a much more harrowing ride back home with much greater G-forces (gravitational forces). What will the cosmonauts do on their spacewalk? Please read on. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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