Photographer monitors astronauts as they walk in space outside the International Space Station from Earth

Last week, two astronauts walked outside the International Space Station (ISS) to perform repairs and perform maintenance on the structure. Astrophotographer Dr. Sebastian Voltmer was able to photograph astronauts outside the space station from his backyard.

Seeing astronauts outside the International Space Station from Earth

Dr. Voltmer lives in Sankt Wendel, Germany, which happens to be home to one of the two astronauts doing their spacewalks – Matthias Maurer -. Dr. Voltmer decided to capture the first spacewalk of an ESA astronaut as best he could not only from Earth, but from Maurer’s hometown. With a powerful telescope and robotically controlled stand, he did just that.

“I used the C11 EdgeHD telescope on a 10 Micron GM 2000 HPS stand. The day before I passed the International Space Station, I updated my travel with the last coordinates of the space station” betapixel. “Thanks to my servo motors, I was able to track the ISS really fast.”

Dr. Voltmer explains how he was able to track and photograph the International Space Station in a video he posted a few days before his scheduled space walk.

“I was able to capture these images of the International Space Station (ISS) in the best viewing conditions taken from the hometown of ESA astronaut Dr. Matthias Maurer,” he says. The resolution of the pictures shows details of about 20 cm. The docked SpaceX Dragon capsule, which the current crew flew to the International Space Station, can be clearly seen.”

Says betapixel He took his successful strategy from early morning photography and implemented it when Maurer was scheduled to be on the outer surface of the space station by updating his mount with the latest ISS coordinates before it appeared in the sky on March 23.

He filmed the stunning moment shortly after sunset which appears in enough detail to highlight the Maurer, a robotic arm, and the new outdoor camera positioned on the station’s abutment.

“During the spacewalk of astronauts Raja Chari and Matthias Maurer, the International Space Station appeared shortly after sunset in the bright evening sky over Germany. This image of the passage of the International Space Station was taken on March 23, 2022 under good viewing conditions through the C11 telescope. My EdgeHD is from the birthplace of ESA astronaut Dr. Matthias Maurer,” Dr. Voltmer writes about space climate.

“The docked SpaceX Dragon capsule, in which the crew of 3 astronauts flew to the International Space Station, is clearly visible. Three years ago I was introduced to Matthias Maurer at SpaceStudio (Weltraum-Atelier) in Nohfelden, Germany which is near Matthias’s hometown,” continues.

“I have posted a raw image that highlights where Matthias Maurer appeared on the International Space Station. Due to time constraints, I immediately released this version online, which then went viral, while I continued to work on the final image version with each of the featured astronauts. “

The image below was created by Philip Smith, another ISS photographer, note that Dr. Voltmer’s photo shows both Shari and the “Canadarm2” robot arm as well as Mauer.

Dr. Voltmer is understandably excited about the successful capture.

“I feel like I just made a once-in-a-lifetime picture,” he says. “This will likely be the first Earth image showing two astronauts on the International Space Station at the same time.”

You can find more from Dr. Voltmer on his site FacebookAnd the InstagramAnd the Twitter.

ISS astronauts walk into space for maintenance

According to NASA, the Mission 66 mission of aeronautical engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA) Spacewalking begins To install hoses on the radiator beam valve unit to support temperature regulation on the International Space Station on the morning of March 23, 2022. The duo’s primary task was to install the thermal system and electronics components on the outer surface of the space station.

Maurer and Shari They finished their space walk Six hours and 54 minutes later, the 248th spacewalk to support the assembly of the space station is concluded. This was Shari’s second spaceflight, and Maurer’s first.

In addition to their primary tasks, the two also installed a power cable and data cable on the Bartolomeo science platform for the Columbus unit, replaced the external camera on the station’s truss, and performed other upgrades to the station’s hardware. The pair have postponed some secondary tasks, such as resetting torque and cable routing, to future spacewalks.

Image credits: Dr. Sebastian Voltmer’s head portrait, www.voltmer.photo.