In order to change the lithium-ion batteries which powers one of the space station's power channels, two National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts stepped out of the International Space Station for a spacewalk.
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Chris Cassidy began their spacewalk at around 7:13 in the morning (ET) on Wednesday and ended after six hours and one minute at 1:14 PM ET.
According to CNN, both Behnken and Cassidy are veteran spacewalkers and have ventured outside the ISS for at least eight times.
On May 31, Behnken joined Cassidy at the ISS after his launch from the United States along with fellow NASA astronaut, Doug Hurley aboard the Crew Dragon of SpaceX during the Demo-2 mission.
The said spacewalk is part of a series of power upgrades that have been done in the ISS since January 2017. During the upgrades, nickel-hydrogen batteries are replaced with lithium-ion.
Similar to the one that was done last Friday, this spacewalk is mainly focused on changing the batteries which serve as the power source of power channels on the station's far starboard truss. However, due to the fact that some of the supposed tasks for these spacewalks have already been done last week, the astronauts also did some tasks that are pending for the spacewalks to come. These tasks included laying out the groundwork for future upgrades on the power system and routing ethernet and power cables, NASA stated.
Just changing batteries?
The task of changing batteries during the spacewalk may sound easy, however, doing so is not as simple as changing batteries of a remote control as the new batteries have a mass of 428 lbs each.
The newly installed batteries have a life span of 20 years. Moreover, according to the deputy International Space Station program manager, Kenneth Todd the said battery replacements will give a much better configuration for the station in the long run, Space.com reported.
Behnken also discussed the importance of changing the batteries. He said that the batteries collect energy when the space station is in the sun and stores them for use during the dark. He also noted that the batteries are worn down in cycle and need to be replaced time and again.
Moreover, he noted that he is also looking forward to another experience to step out of the ISS and take a spacewalk. According to him, one of the things he looks forward to during these walks is the free moments when they get to see Earth from outer space.
He also said that most astronauts are very focused on trying to get things accomplished and doing a great job during their first spacewalks in order to get a chance to do another one. However, he said that after doing a couple of walks, the astronauts already know what to do, thus, some of them take the free moment they get to look at the planet from the outside and take some mental photographs of the experience.
