The crew of expedition nine to the International Space
Station (ISS) – Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (ISS-9
Commander) and US astronaut Michael Fincke (ISS-9 Flight
Engineer) – have carried out their second space walk on
the outer surface of the space station.

The objective of the space walk was to perform work under
a program of extravehicular activities (EVA) which included
replacement of a failed RPCP unit for remote power control
of Control Motion Gyro CMG 2, installed on truss S0 of the
US orbital segment.

This is the tenth space walk of ISS crews performed from
the Russian segment. The previous space walk performed on
June 25 was cut short because of pressure drop in the main
oxygen bottle in Michael Fincke’s spacesuit detected from
telemetry data 10 minutes after opening the exit hatch on
the Pirs docking module and caused by the failure to completely
close the injector activation valve in his suit. This valve
has a peculiar design feature: while it is being closed,
one must make sure not only that the signal light went out,
but also that the handle has been locked.

During preparations for a repeat of EVA started on June
26, the crew and the ground services assured the operational
readiness of the same Orlan-M space suites that were used
in the previous space walk, checked out and prepared equipment
and tools, communications and medical parameter monitoring
systems, once again conducted necessary training sessions
and consultations with the specialists.

The exit hatch of the Russian Pirs module was opened at
1:19 Moscow Time.

Upon successful completion of activities under EVA program
performed over a period of 5 hours 40 minutes, Gennady Padalka
and Michael Fincke returned into the Pirs module, closing
its exit hatch at 06:58.

The space walk resulted in restoring the functionality of
the US Control Motion Gyro CMG 2, installing on Pirs module
a device for measuring vacuum levels and detecting microparticles
near the station surface, as well as additional safety elements
to provide a more convenient crew translation path to working
areas on the outer ssurface of the ISS during subsequent
EVAs.

The crew and their equipment moved over the Russian segment
between Pirs module and Functional and Cargo Module (FGB)
Zarya using a cargo boom installed on the Pirs module, and
between FGB and the work area using crew restraints available
on the surfaces of the modules and US orbital segment trusses.

Operations under EVA program were performed within coverage
areas of the Russian ground tracking stations. Outside these
areas, data exchange between ISS and Mission Control Center
near Moscow (MCC-M) wes supported by US facilities.

According to reports from the crew and Lead Operations Control
Team (LOCT) who monitor and control the Russian segment
mission from MCC-M, the crew is in good health and the space
station on-board systems status is as-designed.

The ISS space station currently consists of: FGB Zarya,
Service Module Zvezda, docking module Pirs, transportation
spacecraft Soyuz TMA-4 and Progress M-49, Unity and Destiny
modules, Quest airlock and a multi-segment truss structure
with deployed solar arrays.

The station flies in low Earth orbit with the following
parameters: maximum altitude of 375.2 km, minimal altitude
of 358.3 km, orbital period 91.6 min.

The next space walk of the ISS-9 crew on the outer surface
of ISS is planned for early August, 2004, as the head of
LOCT, pilot-cosmonaut V.A.Soloviev said to the newsmen at
the briefing held at MCC-M upon completion of the EVA.