Daily Archives: April 24, 2014

In a spacewalk lasting less than an hour, two members aboard the International Space Station successfully restoreda critical computer system.

A pair of NASA astronauts replaced a dead backup computer on the International Space Station during a short spacewalk Wednesday (April 23) to restore a critical computer system back to full strength.

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NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson made quick work of their repair during the spacewalk, removing the faulty station computer and installing a spare less than an hour after floating outside the orbiting laboratory at 9:56 a.m. EDT (1356 GMT).

"It looks like a good day for you guys to take a walk in space," Mission Control radioed the astronauts as the spacewalk began. The spacewalk was slated to last only 2.5 hours. [See photos from today's spacewalk]

Mastracchio and Swanson replaced a computer known in NASA parlance as a Multiplexer-Demultiplexer, or MDM. The device is a backup computer for routing commands to systems supporting the space station's solar arrays, robotic arm rail car and other critical systems along the station's backbone-like main truss.

The 10-year-oldMDM computer failed on April 11during a standard test. The primary computer in the system is working fine, but NASA station flight controllers ordered today's repair spacewalk to restore redundancy in the system.

"Looks like we've got a new MDM," Mastracchio said as he finished the job.

A quick test showed the new computer was working fine.

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Space station astronauts step outside to replace dead computer

Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Steven Swanson returned to the Quest airlock aboard the International Space Station at 11:32 a.m. EDT (GMT-4), ending a short but successful one-hour 36-minute spacewalk to replace a faulty external computer.

The start of the spacewalk, known as U.S. EVA-26, came just five hours after the departure of a Russian Progress supply ship that undocked from the Zvezda command module at 4:58 a.m. After moving about 300 miles ahead of the station, the uncrewed Progress will return and re-dock Friday to test an upgraded navigation and rendezvous system planned for future vehicles.

But the spacewalk was the focus for the station's NASA crew and flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The goal was to replace an external multiplexer-demultiplexer, or MDM, a 49-pound computer mounted in the central S0 segment of the station's solar power truss that failed April 11.

Less than an hour into a planned 2.5-hour spacewalk, Mastracchio and Swanson pulled a failed external computer from its rack in the central S0 truss segment of the International Space Station's solar power truss Wednesday and installed a replacement, making quick work of a critical repair.

Before unbolting the computer, Mastracchio reported there were no obvious signs of any damage in the area and examining the faulty "black box" after it was removed, he said everything looked good with no evidence of anything out of the ordinary. While additional troubleshooting will be needed to make sure, it would appear that an internal component failure of some sort was responsible for the original malfunction.

With the new computer in place, flight controllers sent commands to power it up and then began a series of diagnostic tests to verify its performance before uplinking the latest software. The faulty computer was carried back inside the station for troubleshooting and repairs.

"Your R & R was successful, we have a good MDM," Hansen called. "It's in diagnostic mode as expected."

"Oh, wonderful," one of the spacewalkers replied. "Fantastic," said the other.

11 Photos

Satellite images provide a fresh look at Earth

Read more here:
Fixing computers in space requires more than IT

Image Caption: International Space Station crewman, Dan Burbank, shakes hands with NASAs Robonaut 2. Credit: NASA

NASA

Getting your space legs in Earth orbit has taken on new meaning for NASAs pioneering Robonaut program.

Thanks to a successful launch of the SpaceX-3 flight of the Falcon 9/Dragon capsule on Friday, April 18, the lower limbs for Robonaut 2 (R2) are aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Safely tucked inside the Dragon resupply vehicle, R2s legs are to be attached by a station crew member to Robonauts torso already on the orbiting outpost.

R2s upper body arrived on the space station back in February 2011 during the last flight of the space shuttle Discovery. That event signaled the first human-like robot to arrive in space to become a permanent resident of the laboratory.

Jointly developed by NASAs Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates in cooperation with with General Motors, R2 showcases how a robotic assistant can work alongside humans, whether tasks are done in space or on Earth in a manufacturing facility.

NASA has explored with robots for more than a decade, from the stalwart rovers on Mars to R2 on the station, observes Michael Gazarik, the associate administrator for NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). Our investment in robotic technology development is helping us to bolster productivity by applying robotics technology and devices to fortify and enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety in space.

Some assembly required

The R2 now consists of a head and a torso with two arms and two hands. With the addition of the newly developed climbing legs, the robot can augment its chief role: to help astronauts by taking over some of their duties on the space station.

But before R2 is up and running with its new limbs, theres some assembly required.

See the article here:
Robonaut 2 Getting Its 'Space Legs'

Two astronauts quickly replaced a bad backup computer box and took on an extra task at the International Space Station on Wednesday during one of NASA's shortest spacewalks.

Within an hour, NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson removed the old box, which failed to respond to commands on April 11, and installed a spare. Ground controllers reported that the new box, known as a multiplexer-demultiplexer or MDM, was working fine.

Mastracchio tucked the old box into an equipment bag and told Mission Control that he had "one MDM, slightly used."

"Nice and clean," Mission Control communicator Jeremy Hansen told the spacewalkers. "Good job."

Most spacewalks run for five or six hours, but this one lasted only an hour and 36 minutes arguably making it NASA's shortest glitch-free operation outside the space station.

An astronaut performs a repair job on the International Space Station during Wednesday's spacewalk.

Routine but critical task

The backup box is part of a redundant system that plays a part in controlling critical equipment on the station, including the solar arrays, a robotic rail car and the external cooling system. The primary computer box is working just fine, but NASA didn't want to go without a working backup any longer than necessary.

Replacing the box is considered one of the space station's "Big 12" routine maintenance tasks. Mastracchio and Swanson have been trained in advance for such jobs.

While Mastracchio switched the boxes, Swanson cut some dangling lanyards that had been blocking the way for the space station's Dextre robotic hand. In the future, Dextre might be able to perform maintenance tasks like the computer replacement without the need for a spacewalk.

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Spacewalkers Make Quick Work of Computer Repair on Space Station

Flight engineers Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson left the station's Quest airlock just after 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) for what was expected to be a 2-1/2-hour spacewalk. They carried with them a spare computer to be installed in the central section of the station's exterior power truss.

"It looks like a great day to take a walk in space," Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed to the crew from NASA's Mission Control in Houston.

NASA scheduled the abbreviated outing - most U.S. spacewalks last more than six hours - after the computer failed on April 11.

Replacing the computer is "pretty straightforward," astronaut and former space station crewmember Chris Cassidy said in an interview last week on NASA Television.

"We anticipate it to go quickly, but as with anything in space operations ... you never know what's going to be thrown at you," Cassidy said.

Except for emergency repairs, such as the computer replacement, NASA spacewalks remain suspended while engineers continue to assess the spacesuit failure last year that caused the helmet worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano to fill with water, nearly drowning him.

The leak was later traced to a blocked filter. NASA flew new parts to the station for astronauts to make spacesuit repairs. Before two emergency spacewalks in December to fix the station's cooling system, astronauts also outfitted their helmets with absorbent pads and snorkels for breathing if the leak reoccurred.

Those spacewalks were completed with no problems. Mastracchio, who is making his ninth spacewalk, and Swanson, on his fifth, also included the snorkels and pads in their helmets for Wednesday's outing.

A new spacesuit was among the cargo aboard the Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon capsule that reached the station on Sunday.

NASA expects to resume routine spacewalks for maintenance and less-pressing repairs in July.

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Astronauts replace computer outside space station