Astronauts Practice NICER Repair

Astronaut Don Pettit practices the NICER repair in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 16, 2024. Lucas Widner (KBR), the flight controller, speaks to both Pettit and astronaut Nick Hague, who is working on a different task in the pool. Support divers swim in and out of frame.

0:00 Widner provides a safety briefing as Pettit works his way toward the NICER mockup. 0:43 Pettit is positioned in front of the NICER model. He locates the sunshade for the first patch installation. 1:06 Pettit drops the T-handle tool, but support divers mimic the tether bringing it back to him. Widner reminds him to do a pull test to ensure the patch is locked into place. Pettit rechecks the position for the patch. He removes the patch from the caddy and installs it, confirms it is locked in place, and reconfirms the position. 3:11 Pettit installs another patch.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Four different views track a training exercise on May 16, 2024, at the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. At top left is footage of astronaut Don Pettit taken by a diver. Below it is the view from Pettit’s helmet camera. The right side shows footage of astronaut Nick Hague in the same setup. The audio includes Pettit, Hague, and flight controller Lucas Widner.

0:00 Widner provides a safety briefing as Pettit works his way toward the NICER mockup. Hague moves into position to rehearse an installation for one of the station’s solar panels. 0:43 Pettit locates the position for the first NICER patch. Hague moves hand-over-hand along a mocked-up section of the station. 1:06 Pettit drops the T-handle tool, but support divers mimic the tether bringing it back to him. He removes the patch, installs it, confirms it’s locked in place, and reconfirms the position. Hague latches components to a section of the space station mockup. 3:11 Pettit installs another patch.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Astronaut Nick Hague practices the NICER repair in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 16, 2024. He’s speaking with flight controller Lucas Widner. Also audible but not in frame is astronaut Don Pettit speaking with flight controller Derrick Porter.

0:00 Widner confirms Hague is good to start the repair and reminds him to do a pull test on each patch. 0:21 Hague inserts the first patch into the NICER mockup as Porter gives instructions to the off-screen Pettit. 1:12 Hague inserts the second patch, completes a pull test, and then removes the tool. He confirms the procedure with Widner. Hague then removes the next patch from the caddy and checks the NICER diagram attached to his wrist. Pettit and Porter hold a brief conversation. 2:36 Hague inserts another patch and confirms he’s done a pull test. 3:05 Hague inserts another patch, confirms it’s locked, and announces there’s only one more to go. He talks with Widner about his positioning.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Four different views track a training exercise on May 16, 2024, at the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. At top left is footage of astronaut Don Pettit’s suit setup. Below it is the view from his helmet camera. On the right is the same arrangement of cameras for astronaut Nick Hague.

0:00 Hague starts getting suited up next to the pool. 0:30 Pettit starts putting on his suit as the NBL crew adjusts the arms on Hague’s. 1:07 The NBL crew attach the top and bottom halves of Hague’s suit. 1:40 Pettit and Hague now have their caps and mics on. Hague adjusts his gloves as the crew checks the configuration of his suit. 2:43 A crane hoists the platform carrying Pettit and Hague. It swings over the pool and starts to lower them into the water. Support divers keep their air lines from getting tangled. 3:21 The top view of the split screen switches to the dive cameras underwater. Pettit and Hague come into view as the platform lowers. The divers complete final safety checks of the astronauts’ suits. Pettit and Hague confirm their helmet microphones are working.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Four different views track a training exercise on May 16, 2024, at the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. At top left is footage of astronaut Don Pettit’s suit setup. Below it is the view from his helmet camera. On the right is the same arrangement of cameras for astronaut Nick Hague.

0:00 Hague starts getting suited up next to the pool. 0:30 Pettit starts putting on his suit as the NBL crew adjusts the arms on Hague’s. 1:07 The NBL crew attach the top and bottom halves of Hague’s suit. 1:40 Pettit and Hague now have their caps and mics on. Hague adjusts his gloves as the crew checks the configuration of his suit. 2:43 A crane hoists the platform carrying Pettit and Hague. It swings over the pool and starts to lower them into the water. Support divers keep their air lines from getting tangled. 3:21 The top view of the split screen switches to the dive cameras underwater. Pettit and Hague come into view as the platform lowers. The divers complete final safety checks of the astronauts’ suits. Pettit and Hague confirm their helmet microphones are working.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Astronaut Don Pettit simulates taking pictures of the NICER telescope mockup during a training exercise in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 16, 2024.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: An astronaut in a pool

Image description: A man wearing a spacesuit stands at the bottom of a pool. He holds a mock plastic camera. He’s pointing it at a white hollow box. The side of the box facing him is covered in black circles. The background is full of different kinds of equipment and scaffolding.

Astronaut Nick Hague holds a NICER patch at the end of a T-handle tool during a training exercise on May 16, 2024, in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: Divers and a man in a spacesuit in a pool

Image description: The camera looks upward at a man in a spacesuit as he floats in a pool. He is on the right side of the frame and reaches out with one hand. He’s holding a black wedge with a silver tab on the bottom. From his wrist dangles a white box with two circles inside. The circles are segmented into six. A scuba diver holds onto him with one hand, while another passes above. On the left side of the frame is a white box. The side facing the man in the spacesuit is covered in black circles.

Astronaut Nick Hague removes a NICER patch from the caddy during a training exercise on May 16, 2024, in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: An astronaut in a pool.

Image description: A man in a spacesuit works near the bottom of a pool. He is turned away from the camera, looking down at a white plastic box in his left hand. Inside the box, one black circle is visible. It’s made up of six black wedges. With his right hand, the man uses a T-shaped tool on one of the wedges. Behind and slightly to his right is a white panel with a vertical sign that reads “REMOVE FROM FRAM BEFORE LIFTING.” On the right side of the photo is a white box. The side facing the man is covered in black circles.

Astronaut Don Pettit removes a patch from the caddy during a training exercise in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston on May 16, 2024.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: An astronaut in a pool

Image description: A man in a spacesuit works near the bottom of a pool. He is in the bottom left corner of the image, turned away from the camera. In his left hand he holds a T-shaped tool. In his right hand, he holds a white plastic box. Inside the box are two segmented circles. Each has a few black wedges inside them. To the man’s left is a white panel with a sign placed vertically. It reads: “REMOVE FROM FRAM BEFORE LIFTING.” To his right is a large white box. The side facing him is covered in black segmented circles, similar to the ones in the box in his hand.

Astronaut Nick Hague removes a patch from the caddy using a T-handle tool during a training exercise in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 16, 2024. The booklet on his wrist has a schematic of the NICER telescope and where the patches will go.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: An astronaut practicing in a pool

Image description: A man in a spacesuit works near the bottom of a pool. The camera looks down on him so his helmet is in the top left corner. He’s using a T-shaped tool in his left hand to remove one of five black wedges from a circle set in a white box. On his left wrist is a booklet with a diagram of a telescope.

Astronaut Don Pettit uses the T-handle tool to insert a patch into the NICER model during a training exercise on May 16, 2024, in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: An astronaut in a pool

Image description: In this photograph, a man wearing a spacesuit works near the bottom of a pool. He’s using both hands to turn a T-shaped tool, which is attached to a silver wedge. He has inserted the wedge into a black cylinder segmented internally into six pieces, like a pie. The circle is one of many attached to the front of a white square frame. The frame is attached to the floor of the pool. From the man’s right wrist dangles a white plastic rectangle. A small booklet is attached to his left wrist.

Shown here are two practice NICER patches installed in the NICER mockup in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during a training exercise on May 16, 2024.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: The NICER training set up

Image description: The frame is filled with rows of black circles. Two rows are totally in frame, but two additional rows are partially visible above and below them. Each circle is segmented internally into six pieces, like a pie. Two silver wedges have been inserted into the two circles at the center of the image. In the bottom circle, the patch is in the center left segment. In the top circle, it’s in the bottom left segment. The background has the blue-green glow of light filtering through a pool.

All five practice NICER patches have been inserted into the NICER model in this photo taken during an NBL training exercise on May 16, 2024, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. These are the same locations where the real patches will be inserted when astronauts complete the repair on the space station.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: The NICER model submerged in a pool

Image description: The camera looks up at a hollow square framework submerged in a pool. The front of the square is covered in eight rows of seven circles. Each circle is segmented internally into six pieces, like a pie. Silver wedges have been inserted into circles on the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh rows. More pieces of scaffolding and infrastructre are visible in the background.

Astronaut Don Pettit removes a patch from the practice NICER caddy during a training exercise at the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 16, 2024.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: An astronaut in a pool.

Image description: A man near the bottom of a pool wears a spacesuit. The camera looks down on him from above. He hovers in the top half of the image. His helmet light illuminates his hands. One hand holds a white plastic box. The other hand holds a silver T-shaped tool, which he pokes into the box. In the bottom half of the image is a mockup of the NICER instrument. It’s a hollow square. The side facing Pettit is covered in rows of black circles. Each circle is segmented internally into six pieces, like a pie. The concrete pool floor is visible beneath the man and model.

Astronauts used a 3D printed plastic mockup of NICER to practice the repair process in the NBL at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Credit: NASA/NBL Dive Team

Alt text: The NICER training set up.

Image description: In this photograph, the camera focuses on a hollow square structure in a pool. The framework is white, but the side facing the camera is covered in eight rows of black circles. Each row has seven circles, and each circle is segmented internally into six wedges — like a pie. The camera looks straight through the circles into the interior of the box. In the background of the pool are more structures and what looks like some scaffolding.