Space has definitely been busy this week as I present my second weekly series on what's happening in space. Probably the biggest topic is when and where will the Chinese space station Tiangong-1 reenter Earth. The projection is April 1st. I can just see the April Fools pranks already. Looking for some space souvenirs? You might have better luck hitting the jackpot in the lottery. Should you get lucky, however, it might not be the best idea to just pick it up and take it home. Hydrazine is a highly toxic chemical used in rocket fuel and could have contaminated any of the debris that by chance might have survived. I know, it's tempting. An April Fools prank? Definitely! Let's see who comes up with the funniest one.
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Now on to a more serious note, NASA has announced it is delaying the launch of the new James Webb telescope. Originally projected to launch in 2019, the review board has determined more time is needed for the testing and integration of the various components on this spacecraft. This delay will add extra cost to the program and may bust the eight billion dollars prelaunch cost cap set by Congress. This is not good news for the Science mission directorate but the necessity of getting this right is paramount. If you remember the issues with the Hubble Space Telescope, they had to send the Space Shuttle up to repair the Hubble in order to make it fully functional. This is not an option with the James Webb telescope, so getting it correct before launch must happen.
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This week on the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts Feustel & Arnold conduct a spacewalk to install wireless communications, to enhance data processing, on the Tranquility module. This will support the Ecostress experiment which will measure plant temperature on Earth. This study will allow scientists to understand how much water plants need and how they respond to stress factors. Additionally, they replaced a pan-tilt mechanism on a camera used outside of the ISS and removed coolings hoses located on the ISS truss (NASA, 2018).
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Of all the space photos I follow and use in my class, this is going to be one of my favorites. Astronaut Barry White provides some great insight during his spacewalk. "While out on a spacewalk, one of the first things you notice physiologically is the sound of your voice. The spacesuits are pressurized at ~4psi (~207mm) about 1/3 normal pressure on earth...less pressure on the vocal cords...and everyone sounds like Barry White!"(Wheellock, 2018).
Though spacewalks (EVAs) may sound fun, they are actually quite dangerous and must be taken seriously. In order to prepare for such a walk, many tasks must be completed to prevent astronauts from experiencing decompression sickness. This is similar to what divers may experience by ascending from a dive too quickly. First, the cabin must be decompressed and oxygen content added 24 hours before the walk. Astronauts must pre-breath pure oxygen to purge nitrogen from their body. This is a two hours and 20 minutes multistep process before the spacewalk to prepare them for breathing pure oxygen in the space suit. Once the astronaut is suited up and in the airlock, this airlock must be depressurized before the astronaut can step into deep space (NASA, n.d.).
I hope you have enjoyed this week's update and it has provided you some insight to spacewalks. For those who saw the movie Gravity, you now know one of the many errors associated with that movie. It was a movie, not a documentary, so enjoy these kinds of movies for the content. I'm sure, for those knowledgeable, you can find multiple errors in each space movie. Until next time, have some fun on April fools day and share any good tricks concerning the Tiangong-1 reentry.
