NASA Astronauts Prepare For Spacewalk

NASA astronauts prepare for International Space Station spacewalk

On Sunday, February 28, three astronauts will undertake the dangerous endeavour of performing a spacewalk outside the International Space Station to get it ready for some solar upgrades. NASA flight engineers Kate Rubins and Victor Glover, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguvhi will exit the space station’s Quest airlock and being installing equipment needed for the upgrades, set to be completed during another spacewalk on March 5.

According to a NASA statement:

“The current solar arrays are functioning well, but have begun to show signs of degradation, as expected, as they were designed for a 15-year service life. The first pair of solar arrays were deployed in December 2000 and have been powering the station for more than 20 years. Later this year, the new solar arrays will be positioned in front of six of the current arrays, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.”

The second spacewalk will involve astronauts working on the Early Ammonia System and completing the job, according to NASA.

“The pair will install a “stiffener” on the Quest airlock thermal cover to prevent it from blowing out when residual atmosphere escapes as the hatch is opened. Glover began addressing this issue on a previous spacewalk by installing a stronger magnet to keep the cover closed. The crew also will remove and replace a wireless video transceiver assembly.”

The daring feat will be shown live on NASA TV from 4:30am EST.

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