Drowning in Space - ISS EVA #23

No one drowned in space, and the crew is fine but for a little while it was bit dicly.  Luca Parmitano, the first Italian to preform a spacewalk was on his second spacewalk of his career.  He report that there was some water on the back of his head.  The amount of water started to increase, and it moved to the front of his helmet and got into his mouth, nose, and eyes.  Luca was outside the ISS in his spacesuit with his EVA (extravehicular activity) crew-mate Chris Cassidy.  Both these guys are cool customers, Luca is a Major and former test pilot in the Italian Air Force who enjoys skydiving and SCUBA diving.  One thing to point out about Luca that in 2007, he was awarded the Medaglia al Valore Aeronautico d'Argento (Decoration for Aeronautical Valor in Silver) by the President of the Italian Republic, after safely landing his AMX in emergency due to a bird strike.  This was not Luca's first or last brush with death.  There is a reason he was selected as an astronaut.  His partner outside the space station was Commander (US Navy, not of the ISS) Chris Cassidy, the second Navy SEAL in space.  Chris is a combat veteran with 10 years of experience in the SEALS and two Bronze Stars for Valor during operations in Afghanistan.  While the FCT (Flight Control Team in Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX) talked with Luca with some troubling shooting steps to try to figure out where the water was coming from Chris chimed in, that it could be urine, right after Luca said he drank some.  This helped ease some of the tension in the FCR (Flight Control Room), even in space jokes about peeing are still funny.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 36 flight engineer takes a picture while outside the ISS for EVA 23 Photo Credit: NASA

 "ISS mission management team leader Kenneth Todd, joined by flight director David Korth and EVA officer Karina Eversley, confirmed the seriousness of the problem at an afternoon press conference. Korth noted that EVAs are already dangerous. For Parmitano, this experience was like plunging one's head into a sloshing fishbowl, with no way to get it off.

Eversley agreed that the choking hazard from inhaled water was real, and it eventually caused flight controllers to terminate the spacewalk. Todd said he was proud of the way the ISS team handled the near-emergency, one they had never encountered before. "The crew was cool and expert in reporting and diagnosing the problem. Our training on the ground paid off, and the team kept its eye on the main objective"—the crew's safety." From ISS Astronauts Have a Spacewalking Close Call - Popular Mechanics

For an idea of why this was dangerous look at this video Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian Commander of the ISS, made while he was up there.

Now image all that water on your face, it affects you seeing where to go, being able to talk on the radio, breathe, now it gets scary. 

There are two sources of water in a spacesuit other then urine (the diaper the astronauts wear should prevent this): the EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit, aka the spacesuit) cooling system that holds about 3.8 liters of water and the water drink bag which holds about 1 liter.  
In the earlier EVA# 22 when taking off Luca's suit it was reported there was a lot of water in this helmet, special steps were given to dry out the suit.  This water was believed to come from his drink bag.  The drink bag was found to be empty.  He was given a new drink bag to use on EVA #23. 

I would rule out the drink bag as the issue beacuse:
A. He was given a new one
B. It only hold about 1 liter of water, the crew reported 1 -1.5 liter of water in his helmet. 
C. He would have been drinking some water in the first hour of the spacewalk reducing the amount in his drink bag

The cooling system for the EMU seems to be the cause of the issue in my mind.  It holds 3.8 liters of water.  That's more than enough to have caused the flood in Parmitano's helmet, estimated at about 1 to 1.5 liters.  The cooling water moves from the heat exchanger to inside the suit onlong the astronauts skin via the Liquid Cooling Garment (LCG).  To cause this leak there has to be something wrong with the LCG or the connection that supplies the LCG. 

For those of you who were not spacesuit field test engineers here is something to help you understand how spacesuits work:

How NASA Spacesuits Work: EMUs Explained (Infographic)
by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist, Space.com

You can read the rest of the article HERE. 
To see the NASA press release go to This Website

Also now from NASATV see the coverage of the leak discussion:

Now the big question you are wondering where was I during all this excitement?  I was in MCC, not in FCR but one of the support rooms.  I was training on learning how to work the Bio-hardness, which the astronauts wear that get all their Bio data and send it to the ground for the Flight Surgeons.  The job which I was training for was to make sure all the bio data made it down to the ground, and trouble shoot any problems that arise.

For current process on finding the water leak issue the  very smart engineers and EVA operations personnel are still work on it.  I will let you know once they find out something.

   

Major Andrew R. Morgan, M.D. U.S. Army

Major Andrew R. Morgan, M.D. U.S. Army

Major Morgan's specialty is Emergency Medicine where he is Board Certified and licensed in Nebraska and Virginia.  He went to medical school at the Uniformed Services University of The Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD and graduated in 2002.   He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy.   He has experience as an emergency physician and flight surgeon for the Army special operations community, and currently is completing a sports medicine fellowship.

To round out the astronaut class is a flight surgeon.

Jessica U. Meir, Ph.D

Jessica U. Meir, Ph.D

She has a PhD from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California, San Diego) in Marine Biology and her dissertation was titled Blood oxygen transport and depletion: they key of consummate divers.  She also has a MS from the International Space University in Space Studies as well as a BA in Biology from Brown University.  She her  Post doc research at in comparative physiology at the University of British Columbia where she studied the diving physiology and behavior of emperor penguins in Antarctica and the physiology of bar-headed geese, which are able to migrate over the Himalayas.

Current Job: Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

 The most interesting I think Dr. Meir has been involved in is NEEMO 4, which she was a member of the NASA Aquanaut Crew. 

As for guessing the civilian astronaut's call signs' I am going to go with Penguin for Dr. Meir.

Major Anne C. McClain U.S. Army

 Major Anne C. McClain U.S. Army

"Major Anne C. McClain, 34, from Spokane, WA, is a graduate of Gonzaga Preparatory School. She also attended Saint George’s School.

McClain said she fell in love with flying at a young age and grew up attending air shows at Fairchild Air Force Base.

She eventually left Spokane and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; the University of Bath and the University of Bristol, both in the United Kingdom.

McClain is an OH-58 helicopter pilot, and she recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River.

“I love the international cooperation,” said McClain. “And really to me just being part of team human. And exploring beyond our earth is just intrinsically satisfying. And when you couple that with engineering and flight and really just being on the cutting edge of everything that humans have done is just so exciting and there's nothing that compares.”

From http://www.krem.com

Major Nicole Mann (USMC)

Major Nicole Mann (USMC) is a Mann is an F/A 18 pilot, currently serving as an Integrated Product Team Lead at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River.  She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a graduate degree from Stanford.

Major Nicole Mann USMC

 From the United States Naval Academy Foundation, 2011 Issue 1, "Major Nicole Anuapu Mann ’99, USMC, who starred on the women’s soccer team and was Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1999, still draws on her playing days for coach Carin Gabarra. Mann is a Marine Corps test pilot with well over 1,000 flight hours. “Playing sports at the Academy forced you into situations where you had to learn leadership skills,” Mann said. “Getting ready to play a game equals the same kind of feeling I get before I fly.You’re strapped into a 40,000-pound jet, headed for a mission over Iraq or Afghanistan. You’re nervous and excited and it’s game time. It’s time to perform. Then, you take off and you’re playing in the moment.”

Sounds like she was a pretty good athlete in college, similar to Lt. Com. Glover who was a two sport D-1 athlete.
 

Lt. Commander (USN) Victor J. Glover

Lt. Commander (USN) Victor J. Glover

Current Job: Navy Legislative Fellow in the U.S. Congress and Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy

"Victor is a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy and Naval Aviator currently serving as a Legislative Fellow. He has flown over 40 aircraft accumulating over 2000 flight hours, 400 carrier landings, and 24 combat missions supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Victor was most recently stationed in Japan, deploying to various locations in the Western Pacific. Previously serving as a test pilot he was awarded the 2009 Black Engineer of the Year Awards, Modern Day Technology Leaders Award. Victor was commissioned in the Navy via Officer’s Candidate School, where he served as the Regimental Commander.

As an undergraduate at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo he was a NCAA Division-I Wrestler & Football player, led efforts to establish the first student-funded outreach and retention center in the California Public University system, and was awarded the College of Engineering Service to the Community Award. Victor earned graduate degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, Air University, and the Air Command and Staff College with distinction.

He is an advocate for youth traditionally underrepresented in higher education, a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, a life-member of the Tailhook Association, serves on the Cal Poly College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, is a mentor for Ever Forward (Siempre Adelante), and dreams of becoming a master Djembe drummer." From his Linkedin page. 

I think his summery in his own words describes this guy enough.  The one thing I have to point out is that he wants to become a master Djembe drummer. 

This is a Djembe Drum

Maybe he can join Max Q the all astronaut band.

Lt. Colonel (USAF) Tyler N. Hague

Lt. Colonel (USAF) Tyler N. Hague

Current Job: Deputy Chief of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization

The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization is a joint ly operated organization of the U.S. Department of Defense to reduce or eliminate the effects of all forms of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used against U.S. and allied forces.  You can read its wiki page HERE. 

He flew with the 416th Test Squadron and developed technology to discover IEDs and used it real time while deployed in at  Balad Air Base, Iraq.  More can be read HERE.

He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a BS in astronautical engineering. 

He also graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards, Calif.

Christina M. Hammock

Christina M. Hammock

 

Current Job: Station Chief at
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in American Samoa

Her Past Jobs include:

• Electronics and Instrument Technician at Polar Field Services, Raytheon Polar Services, NOAA
• Electrical Engineer at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
• Research Associate at Raytheon Polar Services

• Electrical Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

She has a BS in Electrical Engineering, Physics and a MS in Electrical Engineering all from North Carolina State University.  She has spent time in Summit Station Greenland, Palmer Station Antarctica and, Barrow, Alaska while working for NOAA and Raytheon Polar Services.
 Station Chief in American Samoa. 

All ASCANs get flight signs, my guess will be something to due with ice, maybe Ice Woman.

Josh A. Cassada, Ph.D

Josh Cassada, PhD. from nasa.gov

His current job is being the Chief Technology Officer at Quantum Opus, LLC.

 "Quantum Opus is a small, privately held Limited Liability Company (LLC) based in Albion, Michigan that is committed to the goal of providing novel products and services to enable researchers to make single-photon measurements with unmatched sensitivity, speed, and precision."  More about it HERE

His past jobs have been:

• Chief of Flight Operations/P-8A Acceptance Pilot at DCMA Boeing Seattle
• Instructor Pilot at U.S. Naval Test Pilot School
• Test Pilot at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron TWO ZERO

• P-3C Patrol Plane Commander/Mission Commander/Instructor Pilot at Patrol Squadron EIGHT
• Research Assistant/Postdoctoral Fellow at the Collider Detector Facility (CDF) at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Graduate Teaching Assistant in Undergraduate Physics at University of Rochester

• Space Physics Research Intern at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 

 You can check out his Linkedin profile HERE

From what I can see is that Dr. Cassada is a research physicist that was a test pilot for the Navy and Boeing.  No wonder he stood out to the Astronaut selection board.

I will continue to publish short bios of each of the ASCANs in the class for the information of them that I can find.

NASA Selects Astronaut Class of 2013, Group 21

The astronaut candidates are:

Josh A. Cassada, Ph.D., 39, is originally from White Bear Lake, Minn.
Cassada is a former naval aviator who holds an undergraduate degree
from Albion College, and advanced degrees from the University of
Rochester, N.Y. Cassada is a physicist by training and currently is
serving as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for Quantum Opus.

Victor J. Glover, 37, Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy, hails from Pomona,
Calif., and Prosper, Texas. He is an F/A-18 pilot and graduate of the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards, Calif. Glover holds
degrees from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis
Obispo, Calif.; Air University and the Naval Postgraduate School,
Monterey, Calif. He currently is serving as a Navy Legislative Fellow
in the U.S. Congress.

Tyler N. (Nick) Hague, 37, Lt. Colonel, U.S. Air Force, calls Hoxie,
Kan., home. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado
Springs, Colo.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Mass., and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards, Calif.
Hague currently is supporting the Department of Defense as Deputy
Chief of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.

Christina M. Hammock, 34, calls Jacksonville, N.C., home. Hammock
holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Carolina State
University, Raleigh, N.C. She currently is serving as National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Station Chief in
American Samoa.

Nicole Aunapu Mann, 35, Major, U.S. Marine Corps, originally is from
Penngrove, Calif. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy,
Stanford University and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent
River, Md. Mann is an F/A 18 pilot, currently serving as an
Integrated Product Team Lead at the U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent
River.

Anne C. McClain, 34, Major, U.S. Army, lists her hometown as Spokane,
Wash. She is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point,
Va.; the University of Bath and the University of Bristol, both in
the United Kingdom. McClain is an OH-58 helicopter pilot, and a
recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air
Station, Patuxent River.

Jessica U. Meir, Ph.D., 35, is from Caribou, Maine. She is a graduate
of Brown University, has an advanced degree from the International
Space University, and earned her doctorate from Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. Meir currently is an Assistant Professor of
Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston.

Andrew R. Morgan, M.D., 37, Major, U.S. Army, considers New Castle,
Pa., home. Morgan is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point, and earned a doctorate of medicine from the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. He has experience as
an emergency physician and flight surgeon for the Army special
operations community, and currently is completing a sports medicine
fellowship.




The new astronaut candidates will begin training at NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston in August. 

A detail look in the ASCANs (astronaut candidates) will be coming later today.  You can also check out: Astronaut Class 2013 

EVA #22 Training Exercise

In July there will be two EVAs (Extra-vehicular activity) where the astronauts will go out outside the International Space Station (ISS) to preform a number of maintenance tasks on the Station.  I am scheduled to work the first of the two EVAs, EVA # 22.   Two astronauts Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), an US Navy SEAL, and Major Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), an Italian Air Force Test Pilot will perform the EVA.  Major Parmitano is going to be the first Italian to perform a spacewalk or EVA.

Commander Chris Cassidy                            Major Luca Parmitano

EVAs are a very complex task, first the crew has to re-size the on-board spacesuits so they can fit somewhat comfortably in the spacesuits. While on the ground they plan the EVA down to every handhold that the spacewalking crew members will use.  This is a planned EVA so before these astronauts where even in space they wer training in the NBL (Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory), a giant people at Johnson Space Center that is 40 feet deep, 100 feet wide and 200 ft long.  It is used to simulate the weightless environment of space, and it has a mockup of the exterior of the space station in it.

Even an astronaut that does not go outside the station still has to help out with the EVA.  Dr. Karen Nyberg of NASA gets to be involved.  She helps the two EVA crew members get in and out of their suits and she gets to control the giant robotic arm of the space station to assist in the EVA.

Dr. Karen Nyberg

The Flight Control Team (FCT) also undergoes  lots of training on the ground.  One of these training exercises is a full dress rehearsal of the EVA with the FCT that is on console during that EVA.  The FCT including both shifts that will be on-console are in the SIM, that means that there is a handover in the middle of the SIM, which is very rare in the SIM world.   

NBL at JSC

The FCT runs through all the procedures and look for issues to fine tune their calls to the crew to make sure things will run smoothly on the ground side.  Even in the dress rehearsal the training team still throws in a number of things that go wrong, but nothing that will stop the EVA early to make it run like on a real day.  At the end the FCT team undergoes a in-depth debrief to talk about what each flight control position did well and what they did not do well.

All this training will prepare the FCT to respond to any problems that will arise during EVA # 22.

Update to 2013 Astronaut Class Selection

All the phone calls have gone out, now its just waiting for NASA to pick the time they will announce who they selected. 

NASA Astronaut Group 21, the class of 2013 is rumored to only be about 8 people strong.

As I said in my earlier post, I do not know anyone selected but I will keep asking around.

2013 Astronaut Class Will be announced on Monday

Yesterday and today phone calls have been made across the country to people selected for the 2013 Astronaut class.  The number selected is between 8-10, but I have heard rumors that the class size is exactly 8.  No one that I know has been selected keep post, once I learn something on Monday I will post it here.

Baltimore Orioles Visit JSC MCC

Yesterday the Baltimore Orioles visited mission control at Johnston Space Center.  The Orioles were in town for a series versus the hometown Astros.

The picture is from the JSC Facebook Page more pictures can be seen at Photos of Orioles Visit.  Astronauts Ricky Arnold (in the blue on the left) and Terry Virts (in the blue on the right).  Ricky Arnold is a Baltimore Orioles fan being from Maryland.  Terry Virts is also from Maryland.   Missing from the tour group is astronaut Greg Wiseman who is from Baltimore, MD (To round out the trio of astronauts from MD).  Wiseman is assigned to be part of Expedition 40/41 to the ISS, so he is most likely in the thick of training for his stay on ISS which is scheduled to be launched in March of 2014.

I missed the visit myself because I was working the night shift but I heard it during handover from the Public Affairs Officer (call sign PAO).

The Red Sox come to town August 5-7 to play the Astros.  I am looking at astronauts Sunita Williams, Commander of Expedition 33 (Needham, MA) and Chris Cassidy, currently on the ISS, (York, ME)  both avid Red Sox fans to get those guys to visit MCC.

Astronaut Dr. Karen Nyberg

Also you can track Dr. Nyberg activities by her Facebook page, I don't think she sings, but I heard that she will be doing some quilting  https://www.facebook.com/AstronautKarenNyberg?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

Astronaut Karen Nyberg

Astronaut by day. Aspiring quilter, crafter, artist, runner by night. Wife and Mommy 24/7. Launched to the International Space Station 28 May 2013

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UND In SPACE

At the University of North Dakota the Graduate School Office in Twamley Hall where I had to deliver numerous pages of paper work to allow me to graduate.  In the hallway of the 4th floor where the Graduate School Office is, are pictures of notable alumni of UND.   Right across from the door was a picture of Dr. Karen Nyberg, the first and only astronaut to graduate from UND.  Dr. Nyberg is a member of Expedition 36 and currently on-board the ISS.  I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Nyberg when she was training for her mission.  And of course I wore my UND swimming polo and had a nice conversion with her about UND.

About a month and a half before I was attending Expedition 35's 100 day party.  A celebration of an astronaut's breaking of 100 days in space.  This was for Commander Chris Hadifield and Dr. Tom Marshburn.  I was happening to be wearing my UND swimming polo (its on my nominal rotation of polos I wear to work) and Commander Hadifield being a Canadian who had been to Grand Forks, ND struck up a conversation about Grand Forks and UND.  He also told me that he was unpacking Expedition 36's exercise equipment, including Dr. Nyberg's cycling shoes.  He told me he hid a surprise for her in her shoe.  I have no idea what it was, but it might end up being a debrief question.

To bring this story full circle I was on console to support Dr. Nyberg's first workday after she arrived on the ISS.  And of course I was wearing my UND swimming polo that day.

Roughly one year ago I was walking by her picture in the Graduate School Office, now I am watching her on Downlinked Video from ISS at Mission Control.