Thomas Bisquet, known for the red stripes on his wetsuit, during a walk outside the car on June 16, 2021. NASA Twitter Capture © Crane
- On Wednesday, the French astronaut will make his first extravehicular flight since his return aboard the International Space Station on April 24.
- During 6:30, the French will install solar panels with the American Shane Kimbrough to boost the production capacity of the International Space Station.
- This outing out of the car is a real physical and technical challenge, and it will be the third for the Frenchman who will be back in space again on Sunday to continue the installation.
it’s a Picnic outside the car, but above all exceptional. Arrived on the plane
International Space Station On April 24, astronaut
Thomas Bisket Set foot outside on Wednesday, just after 2:15 p.m. French time. Four years after his first and second experiments, the Frenchman has found space again.
And for the third time in his life he will live his “dream in a dream”, which, however, is not a walk in the park at an altitude of 400 kilometers above the floor of cows. It is rather a very, very long marathon that he will be running over the next six hours, alongside American Shane Kimbrough. After getting up around 8:30 in the morning, and eating a good breakfast, they attacked a long day. He began to associate pure oxygen with decompression sickness.
It is working hard on the side of the International Space Station for a breathtaking view of our good old EarthThom_astro… who wouldn’t have time to really enjoy it #cnes pic.twitter.com/FKsYv2xKU4
– 20 minutes Toulouse (@20minutestoul) June 16, 2021
This then followed a long, laborious dressing of time to put on a thermostat suit, then a wetsuit, before installing the “safer” tool, which would allow them to steer in case their cable came to light. Around 1:30 p.m., they entered the International Space Station’s airlock, before it opened about 45 minutes later.
“A 6-hour walk is said to be like running a 6-hour marathon, which is a great cycling stage of the same duration, and it represents a significant expenditure of energy,” explains Sebastian Rockett, head of parabolic flights at the National Center for Space Studies. Teams working with the astronaut followed his first “steps” into the astronomical void. The outings that the astronauts repeated several times in the swimming pools.
Here is a space screwdriver in the hands of astronaut Thomas Baskett # ISS #MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/JsQ9LEZFwz
– 20 minutes Toulouse (@20minutestoul) June 16, 2021
In addition to the pace, there are also difficulties in working with a wetsuit and wearing gloves that are far from as thin as those of a surgeon. After sticking to the International Space Station, the two astronauts will take out their own DIY equipment to install لتثبيت New solar panels. A complicated process that they will renew on Sunday.
Enhance the capabilities of solar panels
Today, the International Space Station has eight solar panels with a total area of 2,500 square metres. The oldest of them was installed at the end of the year 2000 and could produce up to 160 kilowatts of power, allowing the plant to be supplied with power. The new panels will allow this energy to be boosted by 20-30%.
👨🚀 Daily Program for Tweet embed Me: we go out into the void, I will be transported by a robotic arm that holds the solar panels 3 meters long, we will connect them ⚡ and back to @space station 6.30 am later. see you tonight 👋
⏯ https://t.co/F9tPIBmyVN pic.twitter.com/3G5Cn4U3o2– Thomas Bisquet (@Thom_astro) June 16, 2021
As chief engineer this time around, he will deploy solar panels on the port side of the International Space Station. Delivered on June 5 by Space X’s Dragon cargo ship, it has already been delivered to the ship’s exterior, draped over itself. Thomas Pesquet will recover this large 350kg baggage and, thanks to a robotic arm manipulated from the International Space Station by Megan MacArthur, will move it over 20 metres. Then, the two men, holding the feet, take turns carrying the panels at arm’s length, to the end of the station where they will be opened before being clamped and manually connected to the overall system.
“This connection to the general system can only be made during the eclipse, which lasts about 45 minutes,” explains Sebastian Roquet of CNES. Once in place, the panels will span six meters wide and 19 meters long.
From preparing to go out
A dangerous but highly safe mission that takes place under the watchful eye of the other astronauts remaining inside the International Space Station. In 2013, Italian Luca Parmitano had to urgently return to his back, as the cooling system of his mane flowed into the ventilation system.
“There’s no routine, it’s a new adventure every time. It’s a bit like a diving trip, the preparation is always the same, but we are constantly changing the environment and the things to do,” says Sebastian Roquet, who reminds us that this adventure is above all else team adventure.
