Spacewalking astronauts style out battery enhance at role put

Two NASA astronauts started an epic battery swap in a spacewalk originate air the Worldwide Space Role Friday (June 26), the first of 4 excursions to enhance the outpost.

NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken, each aged spacewalkers conducting their seventh extravehicular process (EVA), swapped out three getting older nickel-hydrogen batteries for 2 more efficient lithium-ion batteries, winding up the work with out problems ahead of their spacewalk concluded in 6 hours, 7 minutes at 1: 39 p.m. EDT (1739 GMT)

The duo completed the work so swiftly that in their fifth hour, they started win-ahead tasks for his or her next spacewalk, deliberate for Wednesday (July 1), which can encompass one more dwelling of battery replacements. All the map thru Friday’s spacewalk, the duo removed two extra nickel-hydrogen batteries from provider, batteries they were scheduled purchase away on July 1, and dwelling them aside for future disposal.

Linked: Worldwide Space Role at 20: A photo tour 

The newly installed lithium-ion batteries were running well because the crew wrapped up their spacewalking tasks, in accordance to a describe on NASA Tv all over the spacewalk.

Behnken and Cassidy are amongst NASA’s most skilled spacewalkers, having confronted down their share of emergency and intricate scenarios on EVAs. All the map thru Cassidy’s last mission in 2013 (Expedition 35/36), he helped tune down an pressing ammonia coolant break and assisted in rescuing European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano from a potentially deadly spacesuit water leak. Behnken’s last three spacewalks, all over role shuttle mission STS-130 in 2010, saw him attend in inserting in the Tranquility module that properties the cupola wrap-around window, apart from issue tools and a lavatory.

Friday’s spacewalk used to be no much less a have to-beget, as Cassidy and Behnken reasonably removed and changed S6 truss batteries that vitality one pair of role put solar arrays. Orbiting crews require vitality for good about the whole lot they attain in role, ranging from cooking to running experiments. The battery replacements are critical to vitality the role put thru its deliberate mission extension to 2024. (Space put partners are discussing an extension thru 2028 as a minimum because the orbiting laboratory opens up for more commercial opportunities. Some formula of the put are almost 22 years mature.)

The astronauts switched to inside of suit vitality at 7: 32 a.m. EDT (1132 GMT), starting up the spacewalk. Internal minutes, the aged spacewalkers were swiftly shifting originate air and overcoming the same outdated miniature system defects that accompany upkeep work in role. 

Cassidy’s mirror on his left wrist inadvertently floated away as he exited the crew hatch into role, but it undoubtedly posed no grief to the astronauts or to the spacewalk procedures, officers said on NASA Tv. Cassidy had a backup mirror on his upright wrist to behold at switches and actuators on his spacesuit not with out problems visible to him in any other case, officers added. Every mirror is most efficient one tenth of a pound in mass.

Behnken, exiting the hatch cessation in the aid of Cassidy, swiftly struggled with a portable foot restraint (PFR) as he started to achieve his solution to the worksite. “The PFR is sticky,” Behnken commented whereas wrestling the machine into his gloves for transportation.

Quit hand, Behnken made his map first to the S6 truss with Cassidy lingering a miniature little bit of longer at a nearby exterior pallet in the grip of the robotic Canadarm2. The fresh, 428-lb. (194 kilograms) batteries were shipped to role aboard the ninth Japanese H-II Switch Automobile (HTV) in Would possibly presumably maybe maybe fair, and moved to the worksite by potential of robotic operations.

“OK, Bob, [I’m] in the end getting your map,” Cassidy said as he arrived on the truss, about 50 minutes into the spacewalk. 

“That’s upright,” Behnken answered.

Behnken and Cassidy (the latter sporting crimson stripes on his spacesuit designating him as lead spacewalker) labored carefully collectively at a single work space for most of their tour. For hours, the crew reasonably labored aid and forth between the truss and the battery role, shifting the fresh batteries into plight whereas storing the older batteries on a pallet for later disposal. 

Because the astronauts moved the chunky batteries around as a personnel, the duo reasonably reminded every other who used to be controlling the scurry, chanting directions aid and forth. “I’m on prime of issues of the battery,” one would dispute, every few seconds, with the opposite echoing, “You are on prime of issues.” 

The battery replacement used to be completed two hours ahead of agenda, with the astronauts shifting into win-ahead tasks all over the last phase of the spacewalk. Moreover intermittent radio verbal change factors and a sticky digital camera button, the astronauts reported their work went simply. 

“My radio has been squirrelly,” Behnken said at 4.5 hours into the spacewalk.

An hour later, Cassidy reported on struggles with a digital camera shutter. “Bob, I attain not fancy this digital camera,” he said whereas taking closeout photos of their worksite.

The role put orbit periodically brings it out of sunlight, requiring batteries to store and deploy electrical vitality as it flies inside of and out of orbital darkness 16 conditions a day. The nickel-hydrogen batteries most efficient beget about 6.5 years of critical life and require more frequent replacements than lithium-ion batteries, that are rated to last 10 years. The true batteries on the P6 truss, as an instance, were changed with more nickel-hydrogen batteries in 2009 and 2010 ahead of being upgraded to lithium ion a decade later.

The S6 truss plight in all equity removed from the put’s core, inserting it out of the reach of robotic helpers and requiring spacewalkers to achieve lots of the battery-replacement work. Replacements of nearer-in batteries on the S4 and P4 trusses were largely completed thru robotic operations, in accordance to NASASpaceflight.com; in distinction, the further-out P6 truss battery replacements required intensive astronaut work in 2019 and 2020.

Replacing the role put’s outdated dwelling of 48 nickel-hydrogen batteries with 24 lithium-ion ones has been a multi-yr route of for astronauts. The principle dwelling of lithium-ion battery-connected spacewalks took place in 2017 and the subject used to be last tackled all over a series of all-ladies spacewalks that completed in January 2020. If all goes to notion, Cassidy and Behnken will wrap up the battery replacements all over their next spacewalk.

The spacewalkers were assisted by a personnel at mission control in Houston, including capcom (spacecraft communicator) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques, and Ground IV (communicator to the spacewalking astronauts) NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. In role, NASA astronaut Doug Hurley used to be the suit-up lead, prompting a fond memory from his wife and retired NASA astronaut, Karen Nyberg.

“The last time @Astro_SEAL [Chris Cassidy] did a spacewalk all over Expedition 36, I was there to attend him with suit-up and operations in the airlock,” Nyberg said on Twitter on Thursday (June 25). “The following day, this would possibly possibly be my husband’s turn to win him and @AstroBehnken safely out the door!”

Cassidy, a outdated Navy SEAL, launched to role on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on April 9 as phase of Expedition 62. He is for the time being the role put commander for Expedition 63. Ragged U.S. Air Power test pilot Behnken flew into orbit on Would possibly presumably maybe maybe fair 30, 2020 on the the Demo-2 mission, the first-ever SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with astronauts on board. The Demo-2 open from Florida used to be the first astronaut mission from the dwelling for the reason that last role shuttle mission, in 2011, and began NASA’s prolonged-awaited commercial crew program to vary the shuttle.

Friday’s spacewalk used to be the 65th U.S. spacewalk and the 228th spacewalk overall in strengthen of role-put assembly, upkeep and upgrades, in accordance to NASA.

•  In photos: The amazing spacewalks of Expedition 61 
•  In photos: SpaceX’s ancient Demo-2 test flight with astronauts 
•  Here is what SpaceX’s 1st astronaut open seemed fancy from role (photo) 

Agree to Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Agree to us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Fb.