Four astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station this month for what is set to be NASA’s second and third all-female spacewalks.
Flight engineers Jessica Meir and Christina Koch are scheduled to perform spacewalks on Wednesday, Jan. 15 and Monday, Jan. 20.
The pair, who made history in October by completing the first all-female walk outside the ISS, will finish replacing nickel-hydrogen batteries with new lithium-ion units that store power generated by the station’s solar arrays.
These will be the second and third spacewalks for Meir and the fifth and sixth of Koch’s career.
Assuming the swap goes to plan, NASA’s Andrew Morgan and Space Station Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency will follow suit on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Their mission is to complete installation of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s new cooling apparatus and lines (begun in November and December) and verify they are ready for use.
Morgan performed three previous spacewalks to repair the spectrometer—searching for dark matter and antimatter in the universe by tapping into the station’s unique location and capabilities for scientific research.
Live coverage of all three events begins at 5:30 a.m. ET on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
“In the past women haven’t always been at the table,” Koch said last year, after her historic spacewalk was delayed due to ill-fitting spacesuits. “It’s wonderful to be contributing to the space program at a time when all contributions are being accepted, when everyone has a role.”
More on Geek.com:
- NASA’s Christina Koch Sets Female Spaceflight Record
- ISS Astronauts Grow First Beef Steak in Space
- ‘SNL’ Parodies NASA’s Suit Dilemma With All-Female Spacewalk Sketch
from Geek.com https://ift.tt/2N9urmO
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment