Spacewalk Number 83 is coming on January 25th of 2023. No, it is not a new attraction at an Orlando theme park. It is real. True astronauts will be walking and working in the starry void for the 83rd time in history. And ER Precision Optics has all the details of the preparations being created now at the International Space Station.
Practicing and Preparing for Spacewalk Number 83
It’s No Walk In The Park! Once Out of the International Space Station, Astronauts Will Work Over Six Hours.
It often seems that Spacewalks get overlooked. Perhaps they have become unremarkable due to the news of the day. Likewise, with all the cares of modern life, some people have become complacent.
Whatever the reason, people simply do not comprehend how much meticulous preparation this dangerous activity demands. (And ER Precision Optics reminds you Spacewalk Number 83 would not be possible without the products of companies such as ours.)
A Little Backstory before Our Inspection of the Preparation for Spacewalk Number 83
- In the first place, “The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally…” Additionally, they maintain “operations, training, engineering, and development facilities…” Likewise, they support “communications networks and the international scientific research community.”
- Secondly, in case you do not know, The International Space Station was launched in 1998. It continues to have a truly prestigious membership. It includes the “U.S., Russia, Canada, Japan, and the participating countries of the European Space Agency…”
- Thus, it is not difficult to see that the “International Space Station is one of the most complex international collaborations ever attempted.”
- Additionally, you might want to know “There are life support systems on both the U.S. Orbital Segment and Russian Segment…” These systems generate oxygen and scrub away carbon dioxide.
We mention this for a reason. You see, we think the separations in technology are positive attributes of the International Space Station. The ISS believes that “having dissimilar systems enables increased levels of safety for crew…”
Spacewalking Requires Training and Discipline
Back On Earth: Under Sea Practices Prepares Astronauts to Walk and Work in the Outer Space Environment.
Now, let’s look at some of the ways astronauts are getting ready for this Spacewalk Number 83. On January 25th, Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) walk in outer space. This week, NASA Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio joined them for computerized spacewalk training.
No Ordinary Stroll Around the Stars
This walk has a purpose. In fact, we might call it space-working instead of space-walking. “Two astronauts are scheduled to exit the station and mount hardware on the truss structure…” This procedure will prepare the orbital lab for the next job, which is fitting up a new solar array.
Mundane Tasks Must Continue As Astronauts Prep for Spacewalk Number 83
Just because you are training for a spacewalk, you are not relieved of your other duties. The International Space Station and its experiments need constant attention.
“Cassada also continued tending to tomato plants growing for the Veg-05 space botany study and worked on cargo transfers inside the Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman.”
Meanwhile, “Rubio inspected emergency hardware…” Then he had to take a robotics test to upgrade his skills “when operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm.”
The Reward for Work: More Work
Spacewalk Number 83 Will Prepare the International Space Station to Hold a New Solar Array.
While these activities continued, Wakata was hard at work fitting “components on a multipurpose small payload rack in the Kibo laboratory module…” Those components support “a wide variety of research and educational activities in space.” (We can’t resist inferring that a large portion of those components either involves optics or Silicon.)
An Extraterrestrial Game of Musical Chairs
On 1-18-2023, the big accomplishment of the day was “seat moving.” Seats are more like spacesuits because they protect astronauts from such extreme events as a re-entry. They are carefully fitted and custom-made.
The astronauts moved “NASA astronaut Frank Rubio’s Soyuz seat liner from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft to Dragon Endurance…” This will provide “lifeboat capabilities in the event Rubio would need to return to Earth because of an emergency evacuation from the space station.”
Likewise, the seat move also creates protection. It simply reduces the heat load inside the MS-22. Such reductions “will protect the cosmonauts Prokopyev and Petelin in the event of an emergency return to Earth.”
How the “Seat Move” Works
As soon “as the replacement Soyuz MS-23 arrives at the space station on Feb. 22, Rubio’s seat liner will be transferred to the new Soyuz.” Likewise, the seat liners for Prokopyev and Petelin will be moved from MS-22 to MS-23 ahead of their return in the Soyuz.”
Thus, spacewalk number 83 will be history, and the 3 crewmen will return home safe and sound, while the rest of the crew keeps the ISS home fires burning.
Terrific Take-Aways: A Payload of News On Spacewalk Number 83
Work Complete! Some Astronauts Will Fly Home to Earth in a Russian Space Craft. Others Will Stay Behind in the Space Station.
If you are fascinated by our Spacewalk Number 83, or life on the International Space Station, check out the links in this blog article. In our next blog post, we will be returning to earth. We will review the properties of Silicon, which we know, love, and grow.
Thank you for reading our ER Precision Optics Blog on Spacewalk Number 83 in 2023. Remember, it happens on January 25, 2023.
