saying that: "The world's first egress into open space by a woman cosmonaut has been made by Svetlana Savitskaya. Her successful performance of unique experiments in conditions of outer space demonstrated that it is possible for a woman to function effectively while performing complex work not only on board a manned orbiting complex but also in open space." In January 1985, Boris Paton referred to Savitskaya's experiments, saying that "the time when robots will be serving as welders in outer space is not too distant."
"Above the Planet: Salyut EVA Operations (Part Two)," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, March 1989, pp. 140–141; Kosomolskaya Pravda, July 27, 1984, p. 1 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-005, October 26, 1984, p. 39); Sotsialisticheskaya Industriya, July 27, 1984, p. 1 (abstracted in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-005, October 26, 1984, p. 40); Izvestia, July 27, 1984, p. 3 (abstracted in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-005, October 26, 1984, p. 41); Avtomaticheskaya Svarka, June 1986, pp. 1-4 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-86-008-L, December 16, 1986, pp. 43-51); "Salyut 7: Third Expedition to the Station," S.A. Bovin, Zemlya i Vselennaya, March-April 1985, pp. 9-15 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-86-001, January 13, 1986, pp. 58-59); "The Mir Complex, Our Commentary: A Bridge to the Stars Themselves," A. Tarasov, Pravda, March 29, 1988, p. 2 (translated in JPRS Report, Science & Technology, USSR: Space, August 17, 1988, pp. 46-49); "Soviets Resupply Salyut, Provide EVA Details," Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 20, 1984, p. 25.
August 8
1984 EVA 11
World EVA 58 Russian EVA 15 Space Station EVA 23
Duration: 5:00 Spacecraft/mission: Salyut 7 PE-3 Crew: Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, Oleg Atkov Spacewalkers: Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov Purpose: Complete Salyut 7 propulsion system repair
The VE-4 crew delivered a Portable Pneumo Press to the PE-3 crew of Kizim, Solovyov, and Atkov. The tool was developed specifically to allow completion of the Salyut 7 ODU oxidizer system repair. Dzhanibekov received training in its use on Earth, and in turn trained Kizim and Solovyov aboard Salyut 7 during his visit. VE-4 also delivered an instructional videotape, manuals, and photos of the device in operation. Kizim and Solovyov moved to the worksite, pulled back the thermal blankets, and used the press to squeeze a stainless steel pipe. Checks showed that the ODU oxidizer system was at last sealed. With this EVA, their sixth together, Kizim and Solovyov broke David Scott's 1971 record for total career EVAs and completed a record 22 hr, 50 min of EVA in a single mission. The EVA also marked the tenth EVA for the Orlan-D suits they wore and the last use of the Orlan-D suit. Perhaps because it was old, Solovyov's suit suffered cooling water pump failure during the EVA. He compensated by operating primary and backup circulating fans simultaneously and resting periodically to cool off. Before returning inside, Kizim and Solovyov removed a sample of silicon solar cell material so engineers could study its degradation. They used a special holding tool to avoid contaminating it with their suit gloves. Physician Atkov later reported that the men's hands were in bad shape after the EVA, "as if they had been in a fist fight," though their general health remained good. In an interview after the flight, the cosmonauts said that their work was "a rather good rehearsal for future major installations," and that "in future such work will be indispensable for the servicing of... satellite systems." "The experience," they added, "is also valuable in that it forces the crew to learn 'on the move,' when already aboard the space station."
"Above the Planet: Salyut EVA Operations," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, May 1989, p. 154; Krasnaya Zvezda, August 10, 1984, p. 1 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-006, November 14, 1984, p. 5); Pravda, August 9, 1984, p. 6 (abstracted in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-84-006, November 14, 1984, p. 7); "Salyut 7: Third Expedition to the Station," S.A. Bovin, Zemlya i Vselennaya, March-April 1985, pp. 9-15 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-86-001, January 13, 1986, p. 58); Zemlya i Vselennaya, March-April 1985, pp. 15-22 (translated in USSR Report: Space, JPRS-USP-86-001, January 13, 1986, pp. 67, 69); "The Experience in Operation and Improving the Orlan-type Space Suits," I. P. Abramov, Acta Astronautica, Vol. 36, No. 1, July 1995, pp. 1-12.
August 30–September 5
STS-41D/Discovery
October 2
Salyut 7/Soyuz-T 11 PE-3 landing
October 5
STS-41G/Challenger launch
October 11
1984 EVA 12
World EVA 59 U.S. EVA 44 Shuttle EVA 6
Duration: 3:29 Spacecraft/mission: STS 41-G Crew: Robert Crippen, Jon McBride, David Leestma, Kathryn Sullivan, Paul Scully-Power, Marc Garneau Spacewalkers: David Leestma, Kathryn Sullivan Purpose: Demonstrate the Orbital Refueling System for hydrazine fuel transfer
The astronauts reduced Challenger's cabin pressure to 70.3 kpascal (10.2 psi) 24 hr before planned airlock egress to reduce prebreathe time. Leestma and Sullivan entered the payload bay on mission day 7. The bay was largely taken up by the 10.7-m-by-2.1-m (35-ft-by-7-ft) Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR)-B antenna, forcing both astronauts to attach their tethers to the port slidewire. This produced some minor tether crossing and tangling. The main task of the EVA was a test of the Orbiter Refueling System using toxic hydrazine fuel, which required 1 hr. The astronauts also tested the Provisional Stowage Assembly EVA tool box and new EMU boots. Before going inside they manually stowed the Ku-band antenna, which had given trouble earlier in the flight, and inspected the SIR-B antenna, which had not closed properly and had had to be pushed shut using the RMS. The astronauts found that insulation caught between the antenna sections was a possible cause. As they prepared to close out the EVA, the airlock hatch cover escaped. While Crippen maneuvered Challenger to pursue, Leestma somersaulted from the middle of the bay and snatched it. After airlock repressurization Leestma and Sullivan used the Interscan hydrazine vapor detector to confirm that they had carried no hydrazine inside on their EMUs.
STS 41-G Crew Report (no date); "Challenger Crew Obtains Significant Science Data," Craig Covault, Aviation Week & Space Technology, October 15, 1984, p. 16.
October 13
STS-41G/Challenger landing
November 8
STS-51A/Discovery launch
November 12
1984 EVA 13
World EVA 60 U.S. EVA 45 Shuttle EVA 7 MMU EVA 5
Duration: 6:00 Spacecraft/mission: STS 51-A Crew: Frederick Hauck, David Walker, Joseph Allen, Anna Fisher, Dale Gardner Spacewalkers: Joseph Allen, Dale Gardner Purpose: Retrieve Palapa B-2 satellite
Before launch, Hauck, Discovery's commander for STS 51-A, gave the mission only a 50 percent chance of success because the satellites were not designed for retrieval nor EVA servicing. Only a month ahead of the mission, Flight Director Larry Bourgeois insisted that flight planners and crew develop plans for manually handling the satellite in case either of two handling aids, the Apogee Kick Motor Capture Device (the "stinger") and the "A-frame," failed to operate as planned. The STS 51-A crew and astronaut Jerry Ross developed a backup procedure and practiced it in the WETF and on JSC's air-bearing floor just three wk before flight. This EVA to recover the 555-kg (1222-lb) Palapa B-2 satellite took place on mission day 5 with Ross as EVA CapCom, Anna Fisher on the RMS, and David Walker as IV support crewman. Joseph Allen donned the MMU and attached the stinger to its arms. He then flew to Palapa, inserted the stinger into the spinning, drum-shaped satellite's Apogee Kick Motor bell, and activated the MMU's automatic attitude hold feature to stop the spin. Allen and Gardner cut off Palapa's omnidirectional antenna, then Gardner, standing in an MFR on the RMS, attempted to attach the 2.44-m (8ft) A-frame device, which stubbornly resisted his efforts. The astronauts stowed the A-frame and fell back on the backup plan; Gardner grasped and held the satellite, then Fisher guided him to the stowage frame intended to hold Palapa in Discovery's payload bay. Gardner's gloves became abraded during the EVA because of friction from a knurled tool handle. The astronauts removed a bracket clamp from the A-frame during EVA closeout and took it into the airlock for examination in the crew compartment. Astronauts in the WETF began work to refine the backup satellite handling procedure for the Westar VI retrieval. Later investigation revealed that the A-frame was blocked by a Palapa waveguide extension that did not appear in the spacecraft blueprints.
STS 51-A Flightcrew Report (no date); "Satellite Retrieval Succeeds Despite Equipment Problem," Aviation Week & Space Technology, November 19, 1984, pp. 16-19; "The Fat Lady Sang," Space News Roundup, NASA JSC, December 7, 1984, p. 2; "Satellite Rescue Made Possible By Detailed Contingency Plans," Craig Covault, Aviation Week & Space Technology, December 10, 1984, pp. 46-49; "Shuttle 51A Missions Report," John Pfannerstill, Spaceflight, June 1985, pp. 260-265.
This EVA to recover Westar VI marks the final flight of the MMU. By the time Gardner stowed the MMU, the two flight units had flown a total of 10 hrs, 22 min in space. Allen and Gardner ventured into Discovery's payload bay on mission day 7 with Anna Fisher again operating the RMS and Jerry Ross again serving as EVA CapCom. Gardner flew the MMU to the 499-kg (1098-lb) Westar VI satellite and successfully stabilized it using the stinger and MMU. The astronauts left the omnidirectional antenna intact to serve as a handling aid. While Allen held the satellite on the RMS, Fisher moved him to the back of the payload bay where the astronauts secured Westar VI for return to Earth. A torque wrench escaped when Gardner bumped a tether release button, but IV crewman David Walker alerted him and he captured it before it could drift out of reach. In their postflight debrief, the crew noted that the EVAs were physically and mentally exhausting for all five STS 51-A crewmembers. The IV crewmembers were involved throughout the EVAs and had no opportunities to rest or eat, they reported. They suggested that Shuttle crews of at least six were desirable for missions with complex EVAs. Allen and Gardner reported that satellites were relatively easy for two crew to handle - in fact, they were easier to handle in some ways than the long, lightweight A-frame. Allen added that "As objects get smaller in space, they become more difficult to handle. It's really extraordinary how much easier it is to move more massive objects like satellites." The crew mission report states that "[s]ince larger mass equates to greater stability, an object of light mass but large dimension - a very flimsy girder, for example - could prove the most challenging to handle since very gentle forces at one end could cause it to gyrate dramatically at the other end."
The crew also suggested that only contingency EVAs occur on mission day 1 or 2; that EVAs scheduled for mission day 3 be simple and short; that complex EVAs be performed no earlier than mission day 4; and that mission day 5 is the best first day for complex EVAs. JSC Director Gerald Griffin said after the flight that the "flexibility that people bring to the equation has made... the ultimate difference. We have proven that the flexibility of people in orbit allows us to respond in short order to unforeseen circumstances." He added that the Solar Max and Palapa/Westar flights "taught us a great deal about what we can do with people in low earth orbit, and this knowledge will prove useful to us as we construct the space station."