Two astronauts are gearing up for some orbital maintenance work outside the International Space Station (ISS) during a rare all-woman spacewalk.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers are set to begin their spacewalk on Thursday at 8 a.m. ET, exiting the space station for a planned six hours and 35 minutes. NASA will broadcast the spacewalk live on NASA+ and the agency’s YouTube channel. You can also tune in through the live feed below.
During their spacewalk, the astronauts will work to relocate a space station communications antenna and install a mounting bracket ahead of the installation of an additional set of ISS Rollout Solar Arrays, also called IROSA. The arrays will be installed during another upcoming spacewalk. IROSA is designed to boost power generation capability on the ISS by up to 30%, which would increase the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts, according to NASA. The pair will also work to upgrade the station’s power systems while tethered to the ISS.
So far, astronauts have conducted five all-women spacewalks outside the ISS. The first took place nearly six years ago after several delays due to a poorly fitting spacesuit. Finally, on October 18, 2019, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir stepped outside of the ISS for a historic spacewalk that cemented the role of women in spaceflight. Earlier this year, NASA astronaut Suni Williams broke the women’s record for total spacewalking time after completing a 5.5-hour spacewalk outside the ISS, bringing her total spacewalking time to 62 hours and six minutes.
Thursday’s spacewalk will be the first time astronaut Ayers has stepped outside the ISS for extravehicular activity and McClain’s third spacewalk.
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