Today’s spacewalk, which began at 7:56 a.m. EST (1256 GMT), was the 234th spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, according to NASA. The 233rd spacewalk took place just a few days prior, on Jan. 27.
This spacewalk was conducted by NASA astronaut Victor Glover and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins. This marked Glover’s second spacewalk and Hopkin’s fourth spacewalk.
“Enjoying the view,” Hopkins said about the view of the Earth from space during the spacewalk.
NASA astronaut Victor Glover rides on Canadarm2 to complete work during a spacewalk on Feb. 1, 2021. (Image credit: NASA)
Glover and Hopkins had a variety of tasks to tackle when they stepped out into space. After completing their main objectives — which included configuring a battery and adapter plate and installing three separate cameras — just about four hours into what was planned to be a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, the astronauts were able to complete some “get-ahead” activities.
“We went out the door a little bit late today but we’ve made up all that time,” Hopkins said during the spacewalk.
The pair was assisted by personnel including NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi on board the space station and NASA astronaut Bob Hines, who relayed next steps to the spacewalkers from the ground.
Throughout the duration of the mission, Glover used the “call sign,” or nickname, of “Ike, Hopkins used the name “Hopper” and Hines went by “Farmer.”
First, after leaving the space station airlock, Glover and Hopkins installed the final lithium-ion battery and adapter plate on the port 4 (P4) truss. The adapter plate completed the circuit for the battery system. This was the last in a series of battery-installment EVA activities that began in January 2017 to replace old nickel-hydrogen batteries with new lithium-ion batteries. Hopkins installed a scoop, a handling aid, on the lithium-ion battery to help with the installation.
“Final adapter plate installed on the @Space_Station. Today’s spacewalk will wrap up battery replacement work to change out batteries for 8 power channels used to route electricity on the station. Upgrades have been carried out in a series of spacewalks over the past 4 years,” NASA tweeted about the accomplishment.
✅ Final adapter plate installed on the @Space_Station. Today’s spacewalk will wrap up battery replacement work to change out batteries for 8 power channels used to route electricity on the station. Upgrades have been carried out in a series of spacewalks over the past 4 years. pic.twitter.com/Gmg7TmPA0sFebruary 1, 2021
“1 hr into today’s spacewalk and we have confirmation that the final Li-ion battery installed has a good configuration. @AstroVicGlover and @Astro_Illini are continuing to work on their tasks on the station,” NASA confirmed in another tweet.
The astronauts then drilled one bolt to secure the Direct Current Switching Unit (DCSU), which helps to route power through the station’s battery system.
Following the completion of this main task, Hopkins worked to remove the H-fixture, a grapple fixture bracket on the same truss as the battery that were once used for ground processing of solar arrays and are not needed any longer. Hopkins loosened and removed four bolts using a tool on a retractable tether. These fixtures are necessary for future power upgrades, NASA commentator Leah Cheshier noted during the agency’s broadcast.
NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins completed the second in a series of two spacewalks today Feb. 1, 2021. (Image credit: NASA)
Glover next began replacing a magenta-hued camera on the starboard truss; the camera’s color wheel had broken. To do this, Glover had to ride the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, over to the area. The arm, which provides added stability during the maneuver, was robotically controlled by Rubins from the space station.
To get onto the arm to “ride” it to the site, Glover had to attach and configure an articulating, portable foot restraint that would connect his feet to the arm. Before the maneuver, Hopkins did a quick helmet absorption pad (HAP) check to make sure nothing was leaking inside the suit.
Once secure on the arm, and with help from Rubins inside the orbiting laboratory, Glover “flew” over to the camera’s site, with the blue hues of the Atlantic Ocean swirling hazily below. Glover successfully replaced the broken camera on the starboard truss, the first of three cameras to be installed during the spacewalk. To do this, Glover used a pistol grip tool (PGT), which astronauts use to remove and install bolts during spacewalks.
Next, as the crew flew into orbital nighttime, Hopkins and Glover moved to work on two other camera systems on the space station. The pair worked to install a new HD camera on the U.S. Destiny laboratory module and then Hopkins worked to replace pieces of the camera system on the remote manipulator system on the Japanese robotic arm.
Glover then moved to exit the foot restraint on Canadarm2, jokingly saying, “I’d fly with ‘Air Rubins’ anytime,” as astronaut Rubins commanded the arm as he rode it.
At this point, just about four hours into the spacewalk, the astronauts had completed all major tasks set out for the event and moved on to “get ahead” tasks, or extra objectives that would otherwise be done during a later spacewalk.
During this final stretch of the spacewalk, Hopkins removed an additional H-fixture and took photos of the space station’s exterior to document its current state. Glover prepared the foot restraint configuration (that he earlier used for the robotic arm ride) for a future spacewalk. Glover also removed and replaced an airlock magnet, a metal plate that helps to keep the thermal cover on the space station’s Quest Joint Airlock closed.
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins (right) and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi (left) watch and wait for NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover to return from a spacewalk on Feb. 1, 2021. (Image credit: NASA)
Five hours and 20 minutes after they began, at 1:16 p.m. EST (1816 GMT), the astronauts began repressurizing the airlock and the spacewalk was officially over.
“Just want to say thank you to the entire … Farmer and vincent and everybody else, well done … i think we had a very very very good day … Thanks to everyone,” Hopkins said as the spacewalk ended.
Following today’s spacewalk, the Expedition 64 astronauts will conduct two additional spacewalks in the near future, according to NASA. Next, Glover and Rubins will prepare the space station’s power system for the installation of new solar arrays and, in the spacewalk after that, Rubins and Noguchi will continue to upgrade space station components, according to NASA. The exact dates for those spacewalks have not yet been set.
Today’s spacewalk coincides with the first day of Black History Month. Glover, who completed today’s spacewalk with Hopkins, is the first Black astronaut to take part in a long-duration mission on the station, staying for over six months as part of Expedition 64 and Expedition 65. Glover, who launched to the space station on Nov. 15, 2020, as part of SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission, is only the 15th Black astronaut to ever reach space.
“It is something to be celebrated once we accomplish it, and, you know, I am honored to be in this position and to be a part of this great and experienced crew,” Glover said during a 2020 news conference before he launched to the space station. “And I look forward to getting up there and doing my best to make sure that, you know, we are worthy of all the work that’s been put into setting us up for this mission.”
This spacewalk also coincides with the anniversary of the loss of STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia mission that, on Feb. 1, 2003, ended in tragedy the shuttle broke up while returning to Earth, killing all seven astronauts on board: Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, William McCool and Ilan Ramon. The crew had successfully made it to space, where they spent 16 days and performed about 80 experiments before attempting to return to Earth.
An investigation determined that during launch, a large piece of foam fell from the shuttle’s external tank and hit the spacecraft’s wing. That damage caused the shuttle’s reentry failure. This tragic event moved NASA to take a hard look at their safety protocols and internal workplace culture to prioritize future astronaut safety.
Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
