CHAPTER 2 DAY IN THE LIFE: LIVING AND WORKING IN SPACE AND ON THE GROUND 30 Complex Operations Many days are anything but normal. A vehicle launch and rendezvous, a spacewalk, a failure on board—all these events can rearrange the crew’s working schedule, and require the attention of a lot more specialists on the ground. Most of the time, a separate lead flight director and a team of lead flight controllers and other specialists are assigned to that specific activity. This lead team coordinates with the increment team to make sure it is clear who will do which tasks to prepare for and execute the operation, and how the right team members will coordinate with the on-board ISS crew. Planning an EVA is a complex task for the ISS team and crew. When everyone involved knows far in advance that an increment will include a spacewalk, and the tasks for that spacewalk are well- defined, the crew members can train on those tasks before they launch, and the flight controllers building the EVA plan can account for their specific experiences in training, preferences, etc., as they put together the final plan and procedures for the EVA. Many times, however, one or more spacewalks were added to an increment to deal with failure of critical hardware. Although all EVA-certified astronauts get preflight training on the significant tasks involved in critical hardware replacement or repair, in such cases the flight control team does not have a specific EVA timeline to walk the crew through preflight. Once the failure occurs, the flight control team starts planning the recovery spacewalk(s), and builds the associated procedures and timelines for the crew. This is typically done via Team 4, which is described in more detail in Chapter 20. A flight director is assigned to manage that effort and lead the team that will support the EVA. This team will coordinate with the increment lead flight director to make sure all the preparation and recovery tasks can be integrated into the increment plan, which is then brought to the IMMT for final approval (Figure 9). Figure 9. The Expedition 46 Team 4 flight controllers discuss how to repair the stranded Mobile Transporter in a meeting of the IMMT on December 18, 2015. On the day of the spacewalk, the designated crew members spend several hours getting suited up and ready to go outside. Once in their suits, they execute a sequence of steps to safely depressurize the airlock so they can open the hatch and go outside. An EVA timeline is carefully choreographed ahead of time, and the team on the ground is supporting the crew literally every step of the way up to and during the spacewalk to respond to issues or