posted 01-14-2020 10:52 PM               

ISS Expedition 61: U.S. Spacewalk 62

Expedition 61 flight engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will begin a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Wednesday (Jan. 15) at 6:50 a.m. EST (1150 GMT).

Meir and Koch will replace nickel-hydrogen batteries with newer, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for the power channel on one pair of the space station's solar arrays. The batteries were transported to the station in September aboard Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7).

The spacewalking work continues the overall upgrade of the station's power system that began with similar battery replacement during spacewalks in January 2017. In October, Koch and Meir replaced a failed power charging component, also known as a battery charge-discharge unit (BCDU). The BCDU regulates the charge to the batteries that collect and distribute solar power to the orbiting lab's systems.

posted 01-14-2020 10:54 PM               

On Wednesday, Jan. 15, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch will step outside of the International Space Station into the vacuum of space together. The duo will replace old nickel-hydrogen batteries with newer, more powerful lithium-ion batteries to continue upgrading station power systems on the Port-6 truss structure.

The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 6:50 a.m. EST and last about six and a half hours.

posted 01-15-2020 04:19 PM               

Astronauts Wrap Up First Spacewalk of 2020

At 2:04 p.m. EST [on Wednesday, Jan. 15], Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir of NASA concluded their spacewalk. During the 7-hour, 29-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully replaced nickel-hydrogen batteries with newer, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for the power channel on one pair of the station's solar arrays. Meir and Koch are scheduled to venture outside the station again Monday, Jan. 20, for a second battery replacement spacewalk.

The astronauts were also able to accomplish a get-ahead task of relocating the an additional nickel-hydrogen battery to the external pallet in preparation for next week's spacewalk.

This was the first spacewalk outside the station this year. Space station crew members have now conducted 225 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have spent a total of 58 days, 23 hours, and 12 minutes working outside the station. It is the second time all spacewalkers have been women and the 44th spacewalk to include women.

It was the second spacewalk for Meir, who now has spent a total of 14 hours and 46 minutes spacewalking, and the fifth for Koch for a total of 35 hours and 17 minutes.