Keith’s note: I was on BBC World News [Audio], Deutsche Welle [Audio], and CGTN [Audio] talking about the Polaris Dawn EVA. During my BBC and DW interviews I compared and contrasted spacewalks in the 1960s and today as well as NASA spacesuits and new commercial space suits. I used one of those spongy astronaut things NASA gives away at meetings but I added a USB-C cable to demonstrate the tether used by the Polaris crew. If you are of a certain age and watched Gemini astronauts doing EVAs live on TV, then you may recognize the orange-visored helmet that my little astronaut is wearing. Update: After the return of Polaris Dawn I spoke with Deutsche Welle Sunday morning [Audio] and then again in the evening [Audio]. I also spoke with Alhurra [Audio] (videos below)

Station Managers “GO” For Monday Morning Spacewalk “The International Space Station Mission Management Team met Sunday and gave its approval to proceed with a spacewalk Monday out of the Quest airlock by Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA to assist in moving the Mobile Transporter rail car a few inches to a worksite on the station’s truss where it can be latched in place […]

NASA Astronauts to Conduct Spacewalk as Early as Monday, Dec. 21 “Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA are preparing for a previously unscheduled spacewalk outside the International Space Station on either Monday, Dec. 21, or Tuesday, Dec. 22. The pair will move the station’s mobile transporter rail car so it can be latched in place ahead of the Wednesday, Dec. 23 docking of a […]

Astronauts Complete Third International Space Station Spacewalk in Eight Days [With Video] “Outside the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA conducted their third spacewalk in eight days March 1 to install antennas and communications gear that will be used to provide rendezvous and navigational information to visiting vehicles approaching the complex in the future, including the new U.S. commercial crew vehicles.”

Updated Dates Announced for Space Station U.S. Spacewalks, NASA “Space station managers decided Thursday to move the first two spacewalks by NASA’s Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts by one day because of added analysis of spacesuits they will wear.” NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 19 February 2015, SpaceRef “Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation: The USOS crew members performed final preparations for the upcoming EVAs. Today, they […]

EVA 23: exploring the frontier, Luca Parmitano Blog “At this exact moment, just as I’m thinking about how to uncoil the cable neatly (it is moving around like a thing possessed in the weightlessness), I ‘feel’ that something is wrong. The unexpected sensation of water at the back of my neck surprises me – and I’m in a place where I’d rather not be surprised. I move my head from […]

NASA suspects life-support pack in spacewalk emergency, Florida Today “NASA engineers are narrowing in on the cause of the dangerous spacesuit water leak that could have drowned Italy’s first spacewalker, officials said Monday. Meanwhile, Luca Parmitano and crewmates aboard the International Space Station started unpacking a Russian space freighter that hauled up three tons of supplies and a spacesuit repair kit over the weekend. Engineers “are looking at what steps […]

NASA Wants Spacesuit Repair Kit on Russian Launch, AP via Florida Today “NASA is rushing to get spacesuit repair tools on a launch to the International Space Station this weekend. … The Russian supply ship is set to lift off Saturday from Kazakhstan.”

NASA Creates Spacewalk Mishap Investigation Board, NASA “NASA has appointed a board to investigate the July 16 early termination of a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, develop a set of lessons learned from the incident and suggest ways to prevent a similar problem in the future. The board will begin its work Friday, Aug. 2, in close coordination with a NASA engineering team already examining the spacesuit and life […]

Marc’s note: Today’s spacewalk had to be cut short after only an hour and 32 minutes as a water leak in Luca Parmitano’s suit was causing a build-up of water in his helmet. Both astronauts returned safely to the confines of the Space Station. The location of the leak within Parmitano’s suit is to be determined. You can watch the post-EVA activities on NASA TV. UPDATE: The post spacewalk news […]