Meir and Adenot replace a docking retroreflector and an HD camera in a 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot finished a 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station on 1 September. They installed a new retroreflector on Harmony's forward port, replaced a high-definition camera on the truss and swabbed the exterior for microorganisms. Late in the walk Adenot lost movement in her left shoulder; Meir found the glove heater cable harness catching and unzipping the joint cleared it. Electrical jumper cables and Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer radiator prep were only partly done and deferred.
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Meir and Adenot replace the Harmony retroreflector and the HD camera
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed their spacewalk outside the International Space Station on 1 September after 6 hours and 49 minutes. They installed a new retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module, which supports navigation for arriving spacecraft, and replaced a high-definition camera on the station's truss. Space.com reports the walk began from the Quest airlock at 8:40 a.m. EDT, that it was the sixth all-female extravehicular activity, that the older reflector had become coated in thruster residue, and that the new camera was the Camera Port 3 unit. NASA also says the pair swabbed the exterior for microorganisms.[1], [2]
A snag in Adenot's left shoulder joint cleared after Meir unzipped it
Late in the spacewalk Sophie Adenot reported limited movement in her left shoulder joint. Jessica Meir inspected the suit, judged that the glove heater harness was catching, and unzipping the joint resolved the problem before the pair entered the airlock. Space.com reports that Meir unzipped part of the upper arm assembly and freed a cable caught between the shoulder multi-layer insulation and the rotation joint. NASA says it was US spacewalk 99, Meir's seventh and Adenot's third.[1], [2]
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer prep is deferred to a later spacewalk
NASA says installing electrical jumper cables and preparing for the replacement of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer's radiator were only partly completed and were deferred to a later spacewalk. Space.com reports that Jessica Meir rode Canadarm2 to the spectrometer, torqued 46 bolts for later maintenance, and relocated power and thermal jumper cables and a portable foot restraint. NASA says Meir now ranks third among women at the agency for total spacewalks, behind Peggy Whitson with 10 and Suni Williams with 9. It was the 284th spacewalk in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.[1], [2]
