1
00:00:00,170 --> 00:00:03,060
A first aboard the space station …

2
00:00:03,060 --> 00:00:06,670
Some gear well-suited for the Artemis generation
…

3
00:00:06,670 --> 00:00:12,820
And ensuring astronaut safety … a few of
the stories to tell you about – This Week

4
00:00:12,820 --> 00:00:15,139
at NASA!

5
00:00:15,139 --> 00:00:20,180
On Oct. 18 our Christina Koch and Jessica
Meir ventured outside the International Space

6
00:00:20,180 --> 00:00:28,550
Station for the station’s first-ever spacewalk
conducted by an all-woman team of spacewalkers.

7
00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:33,120
Our Administrator Jim Bridenstine, several
members of Congress, and the media watched

8
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,360
the start of the spacewalk at our headquarters
in Washington.

9
00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:41,539
Not only is this historic, but it is also
a prime example of inclusion; an important

10
00:00:41,539 --> 00:00:47,069
element of our Artemis program that will send
the first woman and next man to the Moon by

11
00:00:47,069 --> 00:00:48,069
2024.

12
00:00:48,069 --> 00:00:51,059
“This is significant for women all over
the world.

13
00:00:51,059 --> 00:00:55,889
I think it’s important that young girls
be able to see themselves as having all of

14
00:00:55,889 --> 00:00:59,350
the opportunities that young boys see themselves
as having.”

15
00:00:59,350 --> 00:01:00,350
(:22)

16
00:01:00,350 --> 00:01:04,589
Station managers scheduled this spacewalk
to replace a faulty battery charge/discharge

17
00:01:04,589 --> 00:01:09,759
unit used to regulate the amount of electrical
charge put into batteries that help power

18
00:01:09,759 --> 00:01:11,030
the station.

19
00:01:11,030 --> 00:01:15,820
Although the faulty unit had no impact on
station operations, safety of the crew, or

20
00:01:15,820 --> 00:01:21,280
the ongoing experiments, it was preventing
a set of recently installed batteries from

21
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:23,799
providing increased power.

22
00:01:23,799 --> 00:01:28,259
Replacement of the unit was also necessary
before resuming the series of previously scheduled

23
00:01:28,259 --> 00:01:33,110
spacewalks to outfit the station’s power
system with new batteries.

24
00:01:33,110 --> 00:01:37,740
Following the spacewalk – which was the
221st in support of space station assembly

25
00:01:37,740 --> 00:01:42,930
– Koch and Meir received a congratulatory
call from the White House for their historic

26
00:01:42,930 --> 00:01:49,929
accomplishment.

27
00:01:49,929 --> 00:02:02,720
“So these are our spacesuits for the Artemis
generation.”

28
00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:07,259
We showcased a pair of spacesuits that will
be worn by the first woman and next man to

29
00:02:07,259 --> 00:02:11,230
explore the Moon as part of the agency’s
Artemis program.

30
00:02:11,230 --> 00:02:17,700
The Orion Crew Survival System suit incorporates
safety technology and mobility features that

31
00:02:17,700 --> 00:02:23,420
will help protect astronauts during launch
and reentry aboard our Orion spacecraft.

32
00:02:23,420 --> 00:02:29,000
The Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit
or xEMU – is the spacesuit astronauts will

33
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,860
wear while exploring the surface of the Moon’s
South Pole.

34
00:02:32,860 --> 00:02:38,599
The xEMU improves on suits worn during the
Apollo era as well as current suits used for

35
00:02:38,599 --> 00:02:41,120
spacewalks outside the space station.

36
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:46,439
Both suits can accommodate a broad range of
astronaut sizes and feature improved fit,

37
00:02:46,439 --> 00:02:51,340
comfort, and range of mobility for the lunar
surface.

38
00:02:51,340 --> 00:02:57,290
On Oct. 16 at the Redstone Test Center in
Huntsville, Alabama, engineers conducted a

39
00:02:57,290 --> 00:03:02,180
successful hot fire test of the jettison motor
for our Orion spacecraft’s Launch Abort

40
00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:03,439
System.

41
00:03:03,439 --> 00:03:08,250
In the unlikely event of an emergency on the
launch pad or during ascent, the Launch Abort

42
00:03:08,250 --> 00:03:12,680
System will safely lift Orion and its crew
away from the rocket.

43
00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:18,020
The static test is the final in a series of
three to qualify the jettison motor for human

44
00:03:18,020 --> 00:03:23,450
spaceflight on the Artemis II mission – the
first integrated test flight of Orion and

45
00:03:23,450 --> 00:03:31,030
our Space Launch System or SLS rocket, with
a crew of astronauts onboard.

46
00:03:31,030 --> 00:03:36,769
On Oct. 17, crews inside the Vehicle Assembly
Building at our Kennedy Space Center in Florida

47
00:03:36,769 --> 00:03:42,301
practiced lifting, moving, and stacking operations
that will be needed to prepare the SLS for

48
00:03:42,301 --> 00:03:43,640
future missions.

49
00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:48,940
They used a full-size mockup known as the
SLS core stage pathfinder.

50
00:03:48,940 --> 00:03:53,329
The practice – expected to go on all this
month – is part of preparations for our

51
00:03:53,329 --> 00:03:56,599
Artemis missions to the Moon.

52
00:03:56,599 --> 00:04:01,909
After seven years of operations, we ended
our Van Allen Probes mission on Oct. 18 when

53
00:04:01,909 --> 00:04:07,120
Spacecraft A – the last of the mission’s
operable twin spacecraft – finally ran out

54
00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:08,959
of propellant.

55
00:04:08,959 --> 00:04:11,900
Operations for spacecraft B ended three months
ago.

56
00:04:11,900 --> 00:04:16,510
The mission - originally expected to last
just two years – made major discoveries

57
00:04:16,510 --> 00:04:21,920
that revolutionized how we understand our
near-Earth environment, by studying the rings

58
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:27,560
of charged particles trapped by Earth’s
magnetic field, known as the Van Allen belts.

59
00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,760
That’s what’s up this week @NASA …