NASA astronaut Jessica Meir is pictured during a spacewalk she conducted with NASA astronaut Christina Koch (out of frame) in October 2019 to install new lithium-ion batteries that store and distribute power collected from solar arrays on the station’s Port-6 truss structure. Image via NASA.
On Friday, June 26, 2020, two astronauts will perform the first of a pair of International Space Station (ISS) spacewalks, to replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries. NASA TV’s live coverage of the spacewalk will begin on Friday at 10:00 UTC (6:00 a.m. EDT). The spacewalk itself will begin at around 11:35 UTC (7:35 a.m. EDT), and will last as long as seven hours.Translate UTC to your time. The second in the pair of spacewalks is scheduled for July 1. Watch here.
On Friday’s spacewalk, NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy, the commander of Expedition 63, and Robert Behnken, who joined the crew May 31 after arriving aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, will begin the replacement of batteries for one of the power channels on the orbiting laboratory.
Two @NASA_Astronauts checked spacesuits and tools today as the rest of the Exp 63 crew worked fluid and combustion physics. More… https://t.co/5zP7Ar9jV5 pic.twitter.com/zRNjWkayOl
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) June 22, 2020
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According to a statement from NASA:
The spacewalking astronauts will replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for one of two power channels on the far starboard truss (S6 Truss) of the station with new lithium-ion batteries that arrived to the station on a Japanese cargo ship last month. The battery replacement work is the culmination of power upgrade spacewalks that began in January 2017.
The spacewalkers are following up on the battery swap work that begun last year and continued into January. It’s a complex repair job has been taking place on both the starboard and port sides of the station’s truss structure, where the basketball court-sized solar arrays are located. The solar arrays slowly rotate around the truss structure and track the sun, but are locked into place during the spacewalks.
Cassidy will be extravehicular crew member 1, wearing the spacesuit with red stripes. Behnken will be extravehicular crew member 2, wearing the spacesuit without stripes.
Bottom line: On June 26, 2020, 2 astronauts will perform the first of a pair of International Space Station (ISS) spacewalks, to replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries. How to watch.
Via NASA and NASA Space Station blog
Source:
https://earthsky.org/space/watch-iss-spacewalks-june2020