In order to change the batteries on International Space Station (ISS), two National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) astronauts took a spacewalk.
The two Expedition 59 flight engineers were Nick Hague and Anne McClain of Nasa who successfully accomplished their six hour long spacewalk to change the old battering on the ISS.
The Nasa said in a statement on Friday, March 22 that for the duration of the six hour and thirty nine minute spacewalk, Hague and McClain changed nickel hydrogen batteries with the new one, which is more powerful lithium-ion batteries for the power station on one pair of the station’s solar collections.
They also set up an adapter plates and hooked up electrical connections for three of the six new lithium-ion batteries set up on the station’s right-side string.
A couple of space construction workers are working outside today to upgrade the space station’s power storage capacity. #AskNASA | https://t.co/yuOTrZ4Jut pic.twitter.com/nt7HNEC7cK
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) March 22, 2019
A tweet from Intl. Space Station stated, “A couple of space construction workers are working outside today to upgrade the space station’s power storage capacity. #AskNASA | https://www.nasa.gov/live”, they have also posted a short video of the work along with their tweet at 10:22 PM.
These new batteries offer a better-quality power capacity for tasks with a lighter mass and a smaller volume than the nickel-hydrogen batteries.
| The new batteries put on the ISS by two Nasa astronauts provide an improved power capacity for operations with a lighter mass and a smaller volume than the nickel-hydrogen batteries. |
The batteries store power produced by the station’s solar arrays to deliver power to the station when the station is not in the sunlight, as it circles the Earth for the duration of orbital night.
Also, the astronauts also removed debris from exterior of the station, safeguarding a tieback for limitations on the Solar Array Blanket Box, the Nasa said.
Talking about other spacewalks, McClain is going to take a spacewalk on March 29 again along with flight engineer Christina Koch to operate on a second set of battery replacements on a changed power channel in the similar area of the ISS.
The Nasa said that this will be considered as the first-ever spacewalk with all-female spacewalkers.
The third spacewalk will held on April 8 by Hague and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency and they will lay out jumper cables in the middle of the Unity module and the S0 truss, at the centre of the ISS’s mainstay.
This work will create a laid off trail of power to the Canadian-built robotic arm, known as Canadarm2. They will also set up cables to deliver for more extensive wireless communications coverage outside the orbital complex, as well as for improved hardwired computer network ability.
The crew members of Space station have conducted 214 spacewalks until now in backing of assembly and upkeep of the orbiting laboratory.
Till now, Spacewalkers have spent a total number of 55 days, 21 hours and 39 minutes functioning outside the station.
