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Rescheduled Space Walks
Following the postponement of Thursday’s spacewalk due to technical issues, the Expedition 71 crew is taking a breather today. Mission planners have now set June 24 for the next spacewalk, during which NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will address faulty S-band antenna issues and collect microbial samples from station surfaces to study their diversity and behavior in space. Another spacewalk is scheduled for July 2, where Kimbrough and Pesquet will replace a failed gyroscope assembly, relocate an external antenna, and prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades.
Meanwhile, NASA and Boeing are gearing up for a media teleconference on June 18 to discuss Boeing's Starliner spacecraft mission and its upcoming departure from the International Space Station, marking the culmination of its Boeing Crew Flight Test. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both seasoned spacefarers, engaged in detailed discussions with Boeing mission controllers on Friday to ensure a smooth transition and review of Starliner's flight operations.
Later this week, Russia's Progress 87 resupply ship, currently docked at the Zvezda service module, will perform an engine firing to boost the space station's orbit. These routine reboost maneuvers are crucial to maintain the station's optimal altitude against the natural decay caused by Earth's gravitational pull and atmospheric drag.
Meanwhile, the space station's Russian cosmonaut crew members, Commander Oleg Kononenko, Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub, and Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov, remained focused on their extensive roster of scientific experiments and maintenance tasks on Friday. This included using advanced medical imaging devices to conduct detailed eye scans, ensuring the health of their retinas, optic nerves, and corneas in microgravity conditions. Flight Engineer Skvortsov also dedicated time to essential computer maintenance, vent cleaning to maintain air quality, and routine checks on the station's intricate plumbing system throughout the day.
