Human World Space

Watch 2017’s 2nd spacewalk Friday

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January 13, 2017

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson went spacewalking January 6, 2017, to upgrade power systems on the International Space Station. Photo via @Space_Station

Click here to watch the spacewalk on NASA TV

On Friday, January 13, 2017, two International Space Station (ISS) astronauts will perform the second spacewalk of 2017 to continue work on a complex upgrade to the station’s power system. The year’s first spacewalk happened on January 6. This week’s spacewalk will begin at 7 a.m. EST (1200 UTC) and last about six hours. Coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 5:30 a.m. EST (1030 UTC) on NASA TV.

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Click here to watch the spacewalk on NASA TV

Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) will perform Friday’s spacewalk. This will be Kimbrough’s fourth spacewalk. He’ll be be designated extravehicular crew member 1 (EV 1), wearing the suit with red stripes. Pesquet will be making the first spacewalk of his career. He’ll be designated extravehicular crew member 2 (EV 2), wearing the suit with no stripes.

Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson along with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough successfully installed three new adapter plates and hooked up electrical connections for three of the six new lithium-ion batteries on the International Space Station during last week’s spacewalk. Image via NASA.

Here’s what the astronauts will be doing outside the station, according to a NASA statement:

Working on the right side truss of the space station, the crew members will install adapter plates and hook up electrical connections for six new lithium-ion batteries that were delivered to the station in December, 2016.

Prior to each spacewalk, the new batteries will be robotically extracted from a pallet to replace 12 older nickel-hydrogen batteries through a series of robotic operations. Nine of the older batteries will be stowed in a cargo resupply craft for later disposal, while three will remain on the station’s truss, disconnected from the power grid. The robotic operations will not air on NASA TV.

We went outside for a walk today! So honored to be part of the @NASA @Space_Station #spacewalk team. pic.twitter.com/U6dgymuwMj

— Shane Kimbrough (@astro_kimbrough) January 6, 2017

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Bottom line: On Friday, January 13, two ISS astronauts will perform the second spacewalk of 2017.

Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.