spacewalk

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This Is a First for China's Space Program

First female Chinese astronaut conducts spacewalk

(Newser) - Wang Yaping has become the first Chinese woman to conduct a spacewalk as part of a six-month mission to the country's space station, per the AP . Wang and fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang left the station's main module on Sunday evening, spending more than six hours outside installing equipment...

Astronauts Install Solar Panel to Power Up Space Station

More will be coming in plan to increase electrical capacity

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts equipped the International Space Station with the first in a series of powerful new solar panels Sunday, overcoming suit problems and other obstacles with muscle and persistence. It took two spacewalks for French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough to install and unfurl the panel to...

2 Female Astronauts Just Made History
2 Female Astronauts
Just Made History

2 Female Astronauts Just Made History

Christina Koch, Jessica Meir are first to make women-only spacewalk to fix the ISS power grid

(Newser) - For the past 50 years, the guys have gone out into space to carry out all needed repairs. On Friday, that all changed, thanks to Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. The two NASA astronauts became the world's first all-female team to do a spacewalk when they were sent out...

US Astronauts Plan Historic Spacewalk Friday

All-female mission was delayed until a medium suit was delivered

(Newser) - Christina Koch and Jessica Meir plan to step outside the International Space Station on Friday to replace a broken part, but also to make history. It will be the first all-female spacewalk. "We don’t even really think about it on a daily basis," Meir told reporters in...

He Was the First to Walk in Space
First Human to Walk
in Space Is Dead
OBITUARY

First Human to Walk in Space Is Dead

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was 85

(Newser) - The first-ever spacewalk had an unexpected snag when Alexei Leonov was unable to get back in his space capsule. As the AP reports, Leonov's suit had ballooned in the vacuum of space so much that he needed to vent oxygen through a valve in his suit in order to...

First All-Female Spacewalk Will Happen This Month

Spacesuit issue forced earlier cancellation

(Newser) - A space milestone is set to happen later this month—the first all-female spacewalk, which was canceled earlier this year because of a lack of medium-sized spacesuits . NASA says American astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will pair up Oct. 21 in one of five planned spacewalks to swap out...

NASA Calls Off First All-Female Spacewalk Over Odd Problem

They don't have enough spacesuits of the right size

(Newser) - NASA officials didn't realize until after they had scheduled it that a Friday mission involving American astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch would be the first all-women spacewalk. But the milestone has now been called off because of a lack of medium-sized spacesuits, the New York Times reports. NASA...

Astronaut Who Made History With Spacewalk Dies at 80

Bruce McCandless 'encouraged all of us to reach new heights'

(Newser) - NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first person to fly freely and untethered in space, has died, the AP reports. He was 80. McCandless was famously photographed in 1984 flying with a hefty spacewalker's jetpack, alone in the cosmic blackness above a blue Earth. He traveled more than 300 feet...

Space Station Shield Lost During Spacewalk

US astronauts 'MacGyvered' a solution

(Newser) - In space, nobody can hear you scream, "Oh no, there goes the shielding"—apart from Mission Control. American astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough suffered a frustrating setback during a spacewalk Thursday when one of the four fabric shields they were installing on the exterior of the International...

Computer Glitch May Force Spacewalk

It's a backup, and the crew is not in danger

(Newser) - It's never fun when your computer goes down, but it's especially bad if you happen to be about 200 miles above Earth at the time. A computer outage at the International Space Station may require a spacewalk by astronauts and threatens to delay next week's launch of...

Astronauts Make Rare Christmas Eve Spacewalk

Astronauts swap in new cooling pump

(Newser) - A pair of astronauts installed a new ammonia pump on the International Space Station during a spacewalk today, in just the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in NASA's history, the AP reports. "It's like Christmas morning opening up a little present here," astronaut Rick Mastracchio said as...

Astronauts Begin Space Station Repairs

First of multiple spacewalks needed is underway

(Newser) - Two US astronauts are in the midst of the first of two and perhaps three spacewalks needed to repair the cooling system of the International Space Station, reports AP . Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins will work on the faulty pump today, Monday, and again on Christmas Day if necessary. You...

Xmas Spacewalk Planned for Space Station Fix

Cooling system in urgent need of repair

(Newser) - Before they can tuck into their freeze-dried turkey dinners, two American astronauts are going to have to venture out on a spacewalk to fix a faulty pump that has shut down part of the International Space Station's cooling system. The Christmas Day spacewalk is one of three that NASA...

Olympic Torch Returns From Space

Crew parachutes into Kazakhstan

(Newser) - A Russian space capsule carrying the Sochi Olympic torch and three astronauts returned to Earth today from the International Space Station in a flawless landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan. The Soyuz capsule landed at 8:49 local time, about three and a half hours after undocking from the station...

Close Call: Helmet Leak Endangers Astronaut

Spacewalk aborted as Italian astronaut runs into trouble

(Newser) - In one of the most harrowing spacewalks in years, an astronaut had to rush back into the International Space Station today after a mysterious water leak inside his helmet robbed him of the ability to speak or hear and could have caused him to choke. Italian Luca Parmitano seemed fine...

Stinging Eye Almost Derails Spacewalk

Astronaut Andrew Feustel has an eye irritation ... 220 miles up

(Newser) - Eyelash, space dust, tears … who knows what was, but an astronaut today got something in his eye that stung "like crazy"—and almost interrupted a spacewalk. Several minutes later, Andrew Feustel assured everyone his eye was feeling better and the third spacewalk of the Endeavour continued as...

'Bummer:' Astronauts Hit Trouble on Spacewalk

Mike Fincke loses bolt on spacewalk to repair solar wings

(Newser) - Astronaut Mike Fincke ran into trouble today while trying to lubricate a joint in the life-sustaining solar power system of the International Space Station, losing one bolt and getting a washer stuck in a crevice. Fincke, one of NASA's most experienced spacemen, had to settle for a partial lube...

Spacesuit Glitch Ends Endeavour Spacewalk

Two astronauts end spacewalk early when a spacesuit malfunctions

(Newser) - NASA managers cut short today's routine spacewalk by two Endeavour astronauts because one of their carbon dioxide sensors stopped working. The astronauts were nearly five hours into a planned six-and-a-half hour spacewalk at the International Space Station when mission controllers noticed that Gregory Chamitoff's spacesuit sensor wasn't...

Space Station Cooling System Malfunctions

Spacewalks may be necessary to perform repairs

(Newser) - Half of the International Space Station's cooling system has suddenly shut down, forcing the astronauts on board to power down equipment and face the likelihood of urgent spacewalking repairs. After huddling today, NASA managers gave preliminary approval for a pair of spacewalks, the first of which would take place later...

Astronauts 'Moved to Tears' by New Views
 Astronauts 
 'Moved to Tears' 
 by New Views  
SPACE STATION WINDOW

Astronauts 'Moved to Tears' by New Views

In addition to a pretty sight, 'Cupola' will aid in shuttle docking

(Newser) - The shutters are open on the International Space Station’s new observation deck, which one astronaut describes as a “bay window to the world,” and the views are stunning. The centerpiece of the “Cupola,” as it’s called, is a 31-inch diameter circular aperture that is...

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