July 31–August 8
STS-46/Atlantis
August 10
Mir/Soyuz-TM 14 PE-11 landing
September 3
1992 EVA 7
World EVA 103 Russian EVA 46 Space Station EVA 54
Duration: 3:56 Spacecraft/mission: Mir PE-12 Crew: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Spacewalkers: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Purpose: Prepare worksite for VDU installation atop Sofora truss
Almost as soon as PE-12 cosmonauts Avdeyev and Solovyov took charge of Mir from Viktorenko and Kaleri they began preparations for a series of EVAs to install the 700-kg (1549-lb) VDU thruster package on top of the Sofora truss on the Kvant module. On August 18 the VDU arrived at Mir's aft port aboard Progress-M 14 in a special compartment replacing the normal Progress-M fluid cargo compartment. On September 2 the TsUP commanded Progress-M 14 to "unload" the VDU. On this EVA Avdeyev and Solovyov installed a locking device on Sofora to hold the truss securely while bent back. They used the Strela boom to move themselves and their equipment about the station.
"French Cosmonaut Visits Mir," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, November 1992, p. 362; 1991-1992 Europe & Asia in Space, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold, U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory, 1993, p. 74; "Russia to Upgrade Mir 1 Space Station, Prepares for New Orbital Facility," Jeffrey Lenorovitz, Aviation Week & Space Technology, May 4, 1992, p. 84.
September 7
1992 EVA 8
World EVA 104 Russian EVA 47 Space Station EVA 55
Duration: 5:08 Spacecraft/mission: Mir PE-12 Crew: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Spacewalkers: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Purpose: Install VDU atop Sofora truss
Avdeyev and Solovyov bent back Sofora on the hinge a third of the way along its length and locked it into position to receive the VDU. To ease installation, the thruster package deployed from Progress-M 14 at an angle matching the top of the bent-back Sofora truss. They laid a 14-m (46-ft) power cable along the truss and attached metal braces to the VDU for securing it to Sofora. Working by flashlight during orbital night, they removed the metal frame containing the tattered remnants of the Soviet flag placed atop Sofora in 1991. Ground stations of independent Ukraine suspended service during the EVA, severely limiting communications between TsUP and cosmonauts.
"French Cosmonaut Visits Mir," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, November 1992, p. 362; 1991-1992 Europe & Asia in Space, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold, U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory, 1993, p. 74.
September 11
1992 EVA 9
World EVA 105 Russian EVA 48 Space Station EVA 56
Duration: 5:44 Spacecraft/mission: Mir PE-12 Crew: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Spacewalkers: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Purpose: Install VDU atop Sofora truss
The cosmonauts attached the VDU to Sofora's top and straightened the truss, then completed electrical connections between the VDU and Mir. VDU installation was originally scheduled to require four spacewalks, but Avdeyev and Solovyov finished the work in three.
"French Cosmonaut Visits Mir," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, November 1992, p. 363; 1991-1992 Europe & Asia in Space, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold, U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory, 1993, p. 74.
September 15
1992 EVA 10
World EVA 106 Russian EVA 49 Space Station EVA 57
Duration: 3:33 Spacecraft/mission: Mir PE-12 Crew: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Spacewalkers: Sergei Avdeyev, Anatoli Solovyov Purpose: Retrieve space exposure samples; move Kurs unit on Kristall
In this final EVA of Mir PE-12, Avdeyev and Solovyov moved the Kurs rendezvous and docking system antenna on Kristall to permit Soyuz-TM 16 to dock at the Kristall androgynous docking unit, certifying the unit ahead of a planned docking by the U.S. Space Shuttle. Before returning inside Avdeyev and Solovyov removed from the base block top array an experimental solar panel that had been exposed to space for 4 years. They also removed micrometeorite panels and samples of construction materials from Kvant 2's exterior for return to Earth.
"French Cosmonaut Visits Mir," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, November 1992, p. 363; 1991-1992 Europe & Asia in Space, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold, U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory, 1993, p. 74.
September 12–20
STS-47/Endeavour
October 22–November 1
STS-52/Columbia
December 2–9
STS-53/Discovery
1993
January 13
STS-54/Endeavour launch
January 17
1993 EVA 1
World EVA 107 U.S. EVA 58 Shuttle EVA 20
Duration: 4:28 Spacecraft/mission: STS-54 Crew: John Casper, Donald McMonagle, Mario Runco, Gregory Harbaugh, Susan Helms Spacewalkers: Gregory Harbaugh, Mario Runco Purpose: Gain EVA experience ahead of SSF assembly
In a 1993 interview, STS-49 astronaut Pierre Thuot stated that, "I believe we need to increase our experience level amongst the Astronaut Office as well amongst the Johnson Space Center EVA team, since we've only had two missions with spacewalks since we resumed flying in 1988; I think it is very important that we should fly more missions to prepare us for Space Station." Thuot and his shipmates experienced difficulties during the STS-49 EVAs which cast a shadow over planned SSF assembly. The NASA EVA community took note of this, and proposed a series of Development Test Objective (DTO) 1210 (EVA Operations Procedures/Training) EVAs. The broad objectives of the DTO 1210 EVAs were to:
- broaden EVA knowledge through planning and practice
- apply knowledge gained to future EVAs
- better quantify human performance
- refine the EVA timelining process
- evaluate Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Space Station hardware
For this first DTO 1210 EVA, Endeavour's crew depressurized the cabin to 10.2 psi on January 15 to reduce prebreathe time. Harbaugh and Runco checked out their suits on January 16. Harbaugh was the HST EVA backup astronaut, the first backup astronaut of any kind in the history of the Shuttle program. On this date Harbaugh and Runco conducted a 40-min prebreathe, then left the airlock 40 min late because preparations took longer than expected. Susan Helms served as IV crewmember supporting the EVA. No extra equipment was added to Endeavour's manifest for this EVA. Harbaugh and Runco tested carrying a large object by carrying each other; demonstrated large tool use with a tool for manually positioning the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite tilt table; and tested their ability to align bulky objects by placing each other in the bracket which holds the EMU in the airlock. The EVA was videotaped for study by EVA operations engineers on the ground. The astronauts had to close out the EVA at the planned time despite their late start because it was assigned a lower priority than observations by one of Endeavour's payloads, the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer, which had to be suspended during the EVA. After returning to the cabin Runco and Harbaugh recorded answers to detailed EVA questions. After they returned to Houston, they repeated their STS-54 tasks in the WETF to help improve EVA training.
"Pierre Thuot Speaks About Astronauts 'On the Job'," Spaceflight, February 1994, p. 48; STS-54 Space Shuttle Mission Report, NSTS- 08282, March 1993, pp. 3; "Endeavour Advances Shuttle Capabilities, Astrophysics," James Asker, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 25, 1993, p. 37; "EVA DTO 1210 Results," presentation materials, Thomas Doeling, August 12, 1994.
January 19
STS-54/Endeavour landing
January 24
Mir/Soyuz-TM 16 PE-13 launch
February 1
Mir/Soyuz-TM 15 PE-12 landing
April 8–17
STS-56/Discovery
April 19
1993 EVA 2
World EVA 108 Russian EVA 50 Space Station EVA 58
Duration: 5:25 Spacecraft/mission: Mir PE-13 Crew: Gennadi Manakov, Alexandr Poleshchuk Spacewalkers: Gennadi Manakov, Alexandr Poleshchuk Purpose: Use Strela boom to move cosmonauts and solar array drive motor to worksite on Kvant; install first array drive for Kristall arrays on Kvant.
Poleshchuk and Manakov stepped outside ahead of schedule as Mir passed over China. For the first time the cosmonauts worked on a contractual basis; one source reported that they were paid one million roubles for three EVAs. Flight Engineer Poleshchuk moved to the Strela controls on the base block while Manakov took up position on the boom's end, and Poleshchuk moved him to the worksite on Kvant. They then used Strela to transfer a solar array electric drive. By the start of the third hr of the EVA, the cosmonauts moved one container and slipped 10 min in their schedule. Telemetry indicated that Poleschuk's suit ventilation was not operating properly. With some difficulty the cosmonauts attached one drive to the framework installed on Kvant in 1991, then connected plugs to link it to Mir's electrical supply. Poleshchuk then discovered that one of Strela's two control handles had come off and floated away from Mir. The planned April 23 EVA had to be postponed until after about May 20, when the next freighter, Progress-M 18, would deliver a new handle. Solovyov said after the EVA that, "we will be sure to screw the handle on tighter next time."
"High Hopes for Mir's Earning Power Dashed," Peter de Selding, Space News, May 10-16, 1993, pp. 3, 21; "Mir Enters Eighth Year in Orbit," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, September 1993, pp. 317-318.
April 25–May 6
STS-55/Columbia
June 18
1993 EVA 3
World EVA 109 Russian EVA 51 Space Station EVA 59
Duration: 4:33 Spacecraft/mission: Mir PE-13 Crew: Gennadi Manakov, Alexandr Poleshchuk Spacewalkers: Gennadi Manakov, Alexandr Poleshchuk Purpose: Repair Strela boom; install second solar array drive on Kvant
Progress-M 18 delivered a replacement Strela handle on May 24. PE-13's second EVA was scheduled to last 5 hr. The cosmonauts installed the new Strela handle, then used the boom to move the second solar drive container to the worksite on Kvant. In contrast to their April 19 EVA, Manakov and Poleshchuk installed the second drive with few problems. In fact, the cosmonauts completed the installation ahead of schedule, so they were able to spend several minutes televising images of Mir's exterior to engineers in the TsUP.
"Mir Enters Eighth Year in Orbit," Neville Kidger, Spaceflight, September 1993, p. 318.
June 21
STS-57/Endeavour launch
June 25
1993 EVA 4
World EVA 110 U.S. EVA 59 Shuttle EVA 21
Duration: 5:50 Spacecraft/mission: STS-57 Crew: Ronald Grabe, Brian Duffy, G. David Low, Nancy Sherlock, Peter Wisoff, Janice Voss Spacewalkers: G. David Low, Peter Wisoff Purpose: EVA practice ahead of SSF assembly and HST repair; contingency EVA to secure Eureca antennas
Endeavour was scheduled at launch to remain in orbit for only 7 days. A 4 hr, 20 min EVA, the lowest priority major task on STS-57, was to be conducted only if the mission was extended to 8 days. Before the EVA, Endeavour's RMS snared ESA's European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite, which was launched on an Ariane rocket in 1992. The retrievable platform's antenna would not lock down, so flight controllers increased planned EVA duration to 5 hr, 50 min, and made securing the antenna the EVA's primary task. Low and Wisoff had to prebreathe for 4 hr because Spacehab module experiments required that Endeavour's cabin pressure be kept at 101.4 kpascal (14.7 psi) throughout the flight. Brian Duffy acted as IV crewman and Nancy Sherlock operated the RMS. Before the EVA the astronauts practiced translation in Endeavour's cramped middeck using the launch escape pole. They later judged that a single translation down the payload bay sill at EVA start was more effective practice. For the first time astronauts left the airlock through an extension which linked it to the Spacehab module in the payload bay. Low pushed on EURECA's antenna from the RMS while controllers on the ground commanded the latches to close. The antenna locked down, and the astronauts turned to the EVA DTOs. These were DTO 1210 and DTO 671 (EVA Hardware for Future Scheduled EVA Missions), which tested Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission-01 (HST SM-01) and Space Station EVA equipment. They took turns carrying each other while riding the RMS to judge their ability to move large loads, used a foot restraint while working with tools, and tested safety tethers. While away from the payload bay, pointed at space, the astronauts got cold enough to shiver, and their hands became numb and painful. In their postflight debriefing, Low and Wisoff called the DTOs "time well spent."