Topic: ISS Expedition 50: US (38) spacewalk (1/6/17)
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-05-2017 11:11 PM
Spacewalkers upgrading station power system
Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station on Friday (Jan. 6) to perform a complex upgrade to the outpost's power system.
The extravehicular activity (EVA) is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. CST (1200 GMT).
Working on the right side of the space station's truss, Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough and flight engineer Peggy Whitson will install adapter plates and hook up electrical connections for six new lithium-ion batteries that were delivered to the station in December.
The new batteries are replacing 12 older nickel-hydrogen batteries. Nine of the older batteries will be stowed in a cargo resupply craft for later disposal, while three will remain on the truss, disconnected from the power grid.
This is the 196th spacewalk in support of space station assembly and maintenance. Kimbrough is designated EV1, wearing the suit bearing red stripes. It is the third spacewalk of his career.
Whitson is making her seventh EVA, matching Suni Williams' record for the most spacewalks by a woman. She is wearing a spacesuit with no stripes.
The work will continue Jan. 13 during a second spacewalk, which will be conducted by Kimbrough and flight engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-06-2017 06:25 AM
Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson began the spacewalk at 6:23 a.m. CST (1203 GMT).
Two astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power this morning at 7:23 a.m. EST aboard the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk planned to last about six-and-a-half hours. Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA will install adapter plates and hook up electrical connections for three of six new lithium-ion batteries installed on the station's starboard truss.
The batteries were delivered to the space station Dec. 13 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). Earlier this week, the Canadian-built "Dextre" Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator installed three new lithium-ion batteries in the space station's 3A power channel Integrated Electronics Assembly (IEA) pallet on the starboard truss. Dextre also removed four old nickel-hydrogen batteries from the IEA.
The robotic work cleared the way for Kimbrough and Whitson's spacewalk today. The duo will install three adapter plates in slots on the IEA to which three of the old batteries will be mounted to remain on station, but will be dormant. In all, nine old nickel-hydrogen batteries will be stowed on the external pallet for disposal when the HTV is deorbited to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere later this month.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-06-2017 12:58 PM
Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson completed their six hour and 32 minute spacewalk at 12:55 p.m. CST (1855 GMT), having completed all their objectives and three get-ahead tasks.
Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson concluded their spacewalk at 1:55 p.m. EST. During the six-hour and 32-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully installed three new adapter plates and hooked up electrical connections for three of the six new lithium-ion batteries on the International Space Station. They also accomplished several get-ahead tasks, including a photo survey of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
The new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates replace the nickel-hydrogen batteries currently used on the station to store electrical energy generated by the station's solar arrays. Robotic work to update the batteries began in January. This was the first of two spacewalks planned to finalize the installation.
Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) will conduct the second spacewalk on Friday, Jan. 13.
posted 01-05-2017 11:11 PM
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