Originally the Skylab 4 crew was to have undertaken only two EVAs, the last occurring on mission day 54, a few weeks before their return to Earth. The only task slated for the EVA was retrieval of all ATM film. The actual last Skylab 4 EVA, the fourth of the mission, took place on mission day 80, days before the crew's return to Earth, and included 16 tasks. Gibson and Carr used the backup "clothesline" film transfer device to move film, collectors, and a camera back and forth between the ATM and the Airlock Module. Carr demonstrated hand over hand movement along a tether. The astronauts completed the Earth atmosphere photography begun on their first EVA by snapping photographs between their ATM film removal tasks. The astronauts then mounted the Micrometeoroid Particle Collection experiment on the ATM. NASA hoped that the experiment could be collected by Space Shuttle astronauts during a Skylab visit in the early 1980s. Gibson's suit cooling system sprang a leak, so he switched to minimum cooling and continued work. At the end of the EVA he reported that he was "tired and hungry."
"Skylab EVA," Robert Kain, Crew Training and Procedures Division, NASA JSC, no date; Skylab Experience Bulletin No. 27: Personnel and Equipment Restraint and Mobility Aids: EVA, JSC 09561, NASA JSC, May 1975.
February 8
Skylab 4 splashdown
July 3-19
Salyut 3/Soyuz 14 Expedition 1
August 26-28
Salyut 3/Soyuz 15
December 2-8
Soyuz 16
1975
January 10-February 9
Salyut 4/Soyuz 17 Expedition 1
May 24-July 28
Salyut 4/Soyuz 18 Expedition 2
July 15-24
Apollo "18" (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project)
July 15-21
Soyuz 19 (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project)
1976
July 6-August 24
Salyut 5/Soyuz 21 Expedition 1
September 15-23
Soyuz 22
October 14-16
Salyut 5/Soyuz 23
1977
February 7-25
Salyut 5/Soyuz 24 Expedition 2
October 9-11
Salyut 6/Soyuz 25
December 10
Salyut 6/Soyuz 26 Principal Expedition (PE) 1 launch
December 20
1977 EVA 1
World EVA 41
Russian EVA 3
Space Station EVA 11
Duration: 1:28 Spacecraft/mission: Salyut 6 PE-1 Crew: Yuri Romanenko, Georgi Grechko Spacewalkers: Yuri Romanenko, Georgi Grechko Purpose: Test Orlan-D space suit in depressurized airlock; inspect Salyut 6 front port
This SEVA, the first Soviet EVA since 1969, was originally planned as a test of the Orlan-D suit in the depressurized transfer compartment at the front of Salyut 6. The Orlan-D was based on the Orlan lunar EVA suit, the most distinctive features of which were a hard torso, adjustable soft limbs, and simple self-donning via a hatch in the back. The hatch cover contained life support equipment, removing the need for external hoses. The Orlan lunar suit was designed to be used by one cosmonaut on a single mission. Orlan-D, as the redesigned suit was called, was to remain aboard a station for up to 2 years and be used by several cosmonauts. The suit operated at 40 kpascal (5.8 psi), permitting a pure oxygen prebreathe period of only 30 minutes. For Salyut 6, EVA duration was limited to about 3 hr. A waist tether with a "snap lock" tether hook for attaching to handrails outside the station was considered integral to the suit. The Orlan-D relied for electrical power and voice communications on an umbilical plugged into a socket in the space station transfer compartment. Because Soyuz 25 could not dock at Salyut 6's front port, Flight Engineer Grechko was given the additional task of inspecting and recertifying the port for future Soyuz Ferry dockings. Grechko opened the front docking port and pulled himself halfway out so that he could inspect and manipulate the outer surfaces of the docking mechanism using special tools. He found everything to be in perfect working order. For years Soviet spaceflight observers believed that mission Commander Romanenko, in his eagerness to look out the open hatch, nearly drifted free of the station, and that only quick action by Grechko prevented him from being lost in space. Grechko now denies categorically that his commander was ever in danger, and adds ruefully that "Yuri was very angry about the story." Romanenko says that the story had its start in a "bad joke" Grechko told which was misunderstood, and adds that, even though his short safety tether was not secured, his electricity/communications umbilical firmly fastened him to Salyut 6. Depressurized time was 88 min, but SEVA time was only 20 min.
Red Star in Orbit, James E. Oberg, Random House, 1981, pp. 165-167; "Meeting Cosmonaut Georgi Grechko," George Spiteri and Tony Bird, Spaceflight, July 1994, p.245; "Romanenko - Living and Working in Space," Spaceflight, September 1989, p. 294; "Above the Planet: Salyut EVA Operations," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, February 1989, pp. 48-49; "Space Suits: Ten Periods of Extravehicular Activity from the Salyut 7 Space Station," G.I. Severin, et al, 35th IAF Congress, October 7-13, 1984, pp. 2-3; Nauchnyy Orbital'nyy Kompleks, Konstantin Feoktistov, Novoye v Zhizhni, Nauke, Tekhnike, Seriya Kosmonavtika, Astronomiya, No. 3, 1980, pp. 1-63 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS L/9145, June 17, 1980, p. 10); "211 Days in Orbit," V. Gorkoy and N. Konkov, Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, August 1983, pp. 40-41 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-006-L, July 20, 1984, pp. 61-62); "The Experience in Operation and Improving the Orlan-type Space Suit," 1. P. Abramov, Acta Astronautica, Vol. 36, No. 1, July 1995, pp. 1-12; Pressure Suits and Systems for Working in Open Space, I. P. Abramov, G. 1. Severin, et al, Machinostroyeniye Publishing House, Moscow, 1984 (translated by U.S. Air Force Systems Command, Foreign Technology Division, March 25, 1987).
1978
January 10
Salyut 6/Soyuz 27 Visiting Expedition (VE) 1 launch
January 16
Salyut 6/Soyuz 26 VE 1 landing
March 2-10
Salyut 6/Soyuz 28 VE 2
March 16
Salyut 6/Soyuz 27 PE 1 landing
June 15
Salyut 6/Soyuz 29 PE 2 launch
June 27-July 5
Salyut 6/Soyuz 30 VE 3
July 29
1978 EVA 1
World EVA 42
Russian EVA 4
Space Station EVA 12
Duration: 2:05 Spacecraft/mission: Salyut 6 PE-2 Crew: Vladimir Kovalyonok, Alexandr Ivanchenkov Spacewalkers: Vladimir Kovalyonok, Alexandr Ivanchenkov Purpose: Remove space exposure cassettes and detectors from hull
Forty-five days into their 140-day stay on Salyut 6, Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov don the Orlan-D suits first worn by Grechko and Romanenko. They then depressurized the transfer compartment and open the hatch in its side, starting the first full-emergence EVA of the Soviet space program since 1969. The transfer compartment was located at the front of the Salyut 6 station. The 2-m-dia (6.56-ft-dia) cylindrical compartment included a round hatch leading out onto the station's port side. An air-tight hatch at the front separated the compartment from the docked Soyuz, while another at the rear sealed off the 4.15-m-dia (13.6-ft-dia) cylindrical work compartment. The transfer compartment contained valves to spill its air into space; valves to refill it with air from the work compartment; control and display panels; connectors for umbilicals providing electricity and communications to the suits; anchoring points for restraints and tethers; and storage compartments for tethers, foot restraints, two Orlan-D suits, and other EVA equipment. Handrails on the station's exterior converged at the airlock hatch. Flight Engineer Ivanchenkov positioned himself on the Yakor ("anchor") foot restraint near the airlock hatch, while Kovalyonok floated with his feet in the transfer compartment. The cosmonauts rested during the 35-min orbital night, and were treated to the sight of a brilliant meteor burning up below them in Earth's atmosphere. Ivanchenkov removed three space exposure cassettes launched on Salyut 6's exterior and handed them to Kovalyonok for stowage in the transfer compartment. He then replaced meteoroid dust collectors and installed radiation sensors. Ivanchenkov photographed the Black Sea, Kazakhstan, and China. The Tsentr Upravleniya Polyotami ("Flight Control Center") (TsUP) in Kaliningrad, outside Moscow, ordered the spacewalkers to return inside just before Salyut 6 passed from radio range. Kovalyonok decided while out of radio contact that they could stretch the EVA 20 min longer to enjoy the view of Australia's Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand. After the EVA, the cosmonauts used air from the Progress 2 logistic resupply ship's tanks to replace that vented when they depressurized the transfer compartment. Using Progress freighters to make up EVA air loss becomes standard practice.
"Space Suits: Ten Periods of Extravehicular Activity from the Salyut 7 Space Station," G.I. Severin, et al, 35th IAF Congress, October 7-13, 1984, pp. 2-3; Nauchnyy Orbital'nyy Kompleks, Konstantin Feoktistov, Novoye v Zhizhni, Nauke, Tekhnike, Seriya Kosmonavtika, Astronomiya, No. 3, 1980, pp. 1-63 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS L/9145, June 17, 1980, p. 10); "211 Days in Orbit," V. Gorkoy and N. Konkov, Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, August 1983, pp. 40-41 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-006-L, July 20, 1984, pp. 61-62); "The Experience in Operation and Improving the Orlan-type Space Suit," I. P. Abramov, Acta Astronautica, Vol. 36, No. 1, July 1995, pp. 1-12; Pressure Suits and Systems for Working in Open Space, 1. P. Abramov, G. 1. Severin, et al, Machinostroyeniye Publishing House, Moscow, 1984 (translated by U.S. Air Force Systems Command, Foreign Technology Division, March 25, 1987); Red Star in Orbit, James E. Oberg, Random House, 1981, pp. 202-204; "Above the Planet: Salyut EVA Operations," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, February 1989, pp. 48-49.
August 26-September 3
Salyut 6/Soyuz 31 VE-4
November 2
Salyut 6/Soyuz 31 PE-2 landing
1979
February 25
Salyut 6/Soyuz 32 PE-3 launch
April 10-12
Salyut 6/Soyuz 33 VE-5
June 6
Salyut 6/Soyuz 34 launch
June 13
Salyut 6/Soyuz 32 landing
August 15
1979 EVA 1
World EVA 43
Russian EVA 5
Space Station EVA 13
Duration: 1:23 Spacecraft/mission: Salyut 6 PE-3 Crew: Valeri Ryumin, Vladimir Lyakhov Spacewalkers: Vladimir Lyakhov, Valeri Ryumin Purpose: Discard KRT-10 radio telescope dish
On day 172 of Salyut 6 PE-3, Lyakhov and Ryumin transferred their experiment results, film, specimen cassettes, and personal items to the Soyuz 34 spacecraft, in case they were unable to get back inside the Salyut 6 work compartment after this contingency EVA to remove the KRT-10 antenna from Salyut 6's aft docking port. During EVA preparations the backup fan in Ryumin's suit failed because its control unit was exposed to high humidity. Insulation on the control unit was subsequently improved in later suits. Soviet surgeons reported later that Ryumin and Lyakhov maintained a heart rate very similar to their preflight rate (about 60 beats/min) throughout the flight, but that this changed during the EVA. Ryumin's heart rate reached 130 beats/min while he waited in the airlock. As flight engineer, he clambered out the EVA hatch first, about 10 min before Salyut 6 slipped into night. By this time the cosmonauts were out of range of ground stations. Three hr were allotted for the EVA, and communication was expected to be restored halfway through. With difficulty, Ryumin opened a handrail recessed into the station's hull, then gripped it with one hand for 30 min until orbital sunrise. Lyakhov remained inside the depressurized transfer compartment. As Ryumin moved aft along the station, Lyakhov took his place at the handrail and paid out the umbilical connected to Ryumin's Orlan-D suit. Ryumin had to use a "nipper" (wirecutters designed for IV use) to cut through four 1-mm steel cables and free the antenna, which flops loosely at the rear of the station. Each time he cut at a cable, the 10-m-dia (33-ft-dia) antenna pitched toward him, threatening to cut his suit (as it had cut thermal insulation blankets on the station's aft bulkhead) or smash him. Lyakhov positioned himself so he could warn Ryumin of the dish's movements. Ryumin's heart rate reached 146 beats/min while he worked. Finally, the last cable was cut and Ryumin pushed the KRT-10 antenna away with a "forked stick." When communication was restored with the ground the cosmonauts reported that they had completed their task, and at first were not believed. While flight controllers and official spectators in the TsUP applauded their triumph, Ryumin and Lyakhov returned to the exterior of the transfer compartment, where Ryumin wiped a porthole with a cloth to collect samples of obscuring "space dust." The cosmonauts also collected space exposure experiment cassettes mounted just outside the EVA hatch. After the EVA Ryumin found a small puncture in his suit's primary bladder, possibly caused by a sharp wire on the KRT-10 antenna.