[Brandi Dean] Hi!
Thanks so much.
We're here today in Building 7 in one of our spacesuit labs.
We've got Marc Ciupitu here with us to talk about the spacewalk going on tomorrow
with Anton Shkaplerov and Oleg Kononenko.
Mark is the Lead EVA Manager for all Russian spacewalks here with NASA and also a Flight
and Increment Manager for EVAs as well.
Right? Did I get that good?
Okay. So he is going to tell us a little bit about what that means, what he does,
first of all and then we'll talk about the spacewalk.
[Marc Ciupitu] Well, what I do...
First of all thanks.
It's nice to be here...
What I do was is oversee all aspects of EVA for the office that includes operations, hardware,
logistics and including safety as well.
I also chair the Joint EVA Working Group which is a bilateral U.S. and Russian group
where we oversee all the aspects of our EVAs together.
So and we also try to resolve issues that we have to work out together.
That's my main duty.
[Brandi] How much involvement does NASA have when we have a Russian spacewalk coming up?
[Marc] We do get involved pretty in-depth.
We get all the information from our Russian counterparts and we get
that to the ISS Program office and make sure everything is within requirements, etcetera.
We also lend them some of our tools for the EVAs.
So we do get involved.
[Brandi] So it's not like we can just kind of sit back and kind of relax just because none
of our crew members are going out.
[Marc] No.
Not at all.
Our crew members do help out to get prepared for EVAs.
They get involved as well.
[Brandi] Okay.
So the spacewalk is tomorrow.
What are they going ot be doing tomorrow morning as they get ready for the spacewalk?
[Marc] Well in the morning the crew will first don their gear -- liquid cooling garments.
[Brandi] And I think we actually have somebody here, Russell, in a liquid cooling garments.
And I think we can get a quick look at what that actually is.
[Marc] You see the liquid cooling garment as tubes all the way up down
through the knees around the arms.
And basically what that does is allow the crew to regulate cooling water through their LCGs.
And that way they can regulate the temperature
so they feel comfortable when they work inside the suit.
[Brandi] Yeah, I guess there's not...
it gets pretty cold or pretty hot in space depending
on whether you're in the sun or in the shade.
[Marc] That's correct.
[Brandi] And this is how we help them stay comfortable.
[Marc] Yep.
[Brandi] okay.
Thank you so much Russell!
[Marc] Once they have the gear on they will ingress the airlock, close the hatch,
do some leak checks of the hatch.
They will ingress the suits, close the suits and do some leak checks of the suits as well
as the prime and backup airlocks.
There will be a pre-breathe when they get all the nitrogen out of their body.
Start breathing pure oxygen and then they will basically switch to autonomous power.
Then get off the umbilicals, open the hatch and go out EVA.
[Brandi] So it sounds alot like a U.S. spacewalk.
[Marc] It's very similar.
[Brandi] Yeah.
Are there any major differences?
[Marc] Uh.
Some of the differences is how they ingress the suits.
The suits are built differently.
So that's the process.
A little different.
The pre-breathe times are also a little different.
The suit pressure is no different.
[Brandi] Yeah.
And speaking of the suits we've got an Orlan,
a Russian spacesuit here behind us that we can take a look at.
Maybe you can point out some of the features on it.
[Marc] Sure.
Here in front you'll see an electronics control panel.
Top and left.
And here you have a fluid numeral hydraulic control panel.
[Brandi] What does that do?
[Marc] With this one the crew regulates the oxygen inside the suit and also the cooling.
This lever right here regulates the coolant that gets with the liquid coolant garment.
On the control panel they regulate all their fans, their pumps,
any messages, error messages and so on.
[Brandi] Okay.
And this suit is a little different than the one they'll actually be wearing tomorrow.
Right? [Marc] Correct.
This is an Orlan-M.
The suits on orbit are called Orlan-MK.
The extra K is the computer.
The suit on orbit now has a computer.
So the crew has alot more interaction with a computer rather than analogue before.
[Brandi] Okay.
Okay. So this is just an older version.
A little bit upgraded on orbit for them to use.
It looks very different from the U.S. spacesuits.
[Marc] Yes.
The other thing to point out are the two tethers you see here.
The crew uses these two tethers to translate outside ISS and they attach these
to the handrails and they translate acroos the ISS this way.
[Brandi] Okay.
So on the U.S. spacesuit you've got, kind of the, bearing where the waist connects
and then different, you know, connection points
for the shoulders and wrists and things like that.
Right? [Marc] Correct.
[Brandi] This is pretty different.
[Marc] The Orlan is a one size fits all spacesuit.
[Brandi] Really?
[Marc] All the crew does is they size to their measurements using levers
on the arms and on the legs and...
[Brandi] Levers?
Yeah. They have...
The newer suit has a nice little lever that they wear...
[Brandi] Kind of cranks it shorter or longer...
[Marc] Right.
[Brandi] ...depending on what you need?
[Marc] It lets it out or it tightens up...
[Brandi] Okay.
[Marc] ...depending on the size of the crew members.
[Brandi] Interesting.
[Marc] Um.
So all they really do, they ingress the suit from the back.
Let me show you here.
This door opens up.
The crew sits inside on the lower part of the door.
Gets the hands in through the arms.
Ducks in. Make sure they don't hit their head
and then they basically just sit inside the suit.
It's very convenient.
[Brandi] Okay.
And I know we're looking at rear entry suits for our future spacesuits.
Huh? [Marc] Going to the moon and Mars.
That's true.
[Brandi] Great.
Okay. So, um, once you get in and I guess close the door and it's all sealed up tight?
[Marc] You close the door you do have to attach the gloves.
That's the only thing that they have to do.
That's the last thing.
They attach the gloves and then they are ready to go.
[Brandi] Okay.
And that takes about how long?
[Marc] The whole process from getting inside the airlock to go out the door is
about two-and-a-half, three hours.
[Brandi] Okay.
That's a long time to get ready in the morning, huh?
[Marc] That's right.
[Brandi] But they've got alot of work to do once they get out there.
[Marc] Yes.
Once they get out there...
the spacewalk tomorrow, we'll call it Russian EVA 30.
They have two prime tasks.
The first task is to relocate one of the two cargo cranes they call the Strela.
Which is a Russian word "arrow."
They will relocate it from the docking compartment up zenith to the MRM-2,
the Mini-Research Module number 2.
[Brandi] Okay.
[Marc] That task is going to take around three-and-a-half, four hours.
It's a major part of the EVA.
the reason they are relocating it is to get it off the DC-1,
which next year is going to be orbited.
[Brandi] DC-1 is?
[Marc] Docking compartment 1.
Um, and the reason it's being deorbited is
because the Russians are launching a new module called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, MLM.
And it's going to be docked in the same port that DC-1 is right now.
[Brandi] Okay.
[Marc] The other main task is to install MOD shields.
Five of those.
[Brandi] And those are Micrometeoroid Orbital Debris Shields.
[Marc] That's correct.
So five of those shields will be installed on the service module
and that should help decrease the risk of MOD strikes penetrating the ISS.
That task is about two hours.
If there's time left the crew have planned three get-aheads, each about 20 minutes each.
One's a materials experiment called Vynoslivost which means "endurance" in Russian.
It will be installed on handrails on the MRM-2.
The second is a biological experiment called Test and the crew is actually going to try
to see if there's microorganisms living under the MLI on the vehicles.
And the thrid get-ahead task is to install some struts
on the EVA ladder on the docking compartment.
The EVA ladder has shown that it's moving a little bit
so the support structure will help it firm up.
[Brandi] Sure.
Okay. Alright, so uh, it's supposed to be about six hours?
[Marc] It's roughly six hours according to the timeline.
[Brandi] And you mentioned earlier sometimes we loan them tools, U.S. tools to use.
[Marc] That's correct.
[Brandi] And one of the things going along this time is helmet cameras.
[Marc] So they do have helmet cameras.
We use the...we lend them our lights and the helmet cameras on each suit.
So we'll be able to get some really good views on EVA.
We also...what you see here we actually have a piece
of hardware called the Orlan tether adapter that the crew installs and with it they can use alot
of our tool caddies, our retractable tethers, etcetera, etcetera.
And they also use our photo cameras, digital still cameras as well.
[Brandi] What will the rest of the crew be doing inside while this is going on?
[Marc] The other four crew members, two of them will be isolated in the MRM-2
because their Soyuz is docked to that module
and that's Commander Burbank and Flight Engineer Ivanishin.
And our other two crew members are Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers
and they will be in the FGB during the EVA.
[Brandi] And that's dictated by where they're leaving the station for the spacewalk
and what that cuts off from access?
[Marc] Correct.
Because the Soyuz is a rescue vehicle.
So they need to be close to that.
[Brandi] But they will be as much as they can, kind of going about their regular business.
[Marc] That is true they all have activities planned during the EVA.
And actually when we do the relocation of the Strela if needed the crew can go and look
and make sure and help guide them if there are tight clearances.
So they will be ready to support.
[Brandi] Alright.
Well thank you so much for talking with us.