NASA astronaut Bob Behnken’s spacesuit gloves and camera are reflected in his helmet’s visor in this “space-selfie” taken during a spacewalk on June 26, 2020.
The spacewalkers switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:12 a.m. EDT to begin the spacewalk, which is expected to last between six and seven hours.
The pair will be working on several tasks to upgrade systems and prepare for future station upgrades. Behnken and Cassidy will remove handling aids from two locations at the base of station solar arrays, prepare the outside of the Tranquility module for the arrival later this year of the Nanoracks commercial airlock, route ethernet cables, and remove a lens filter cover from an external camera.
For full coverage of today’s spacewalk and all other station activities, visit the agency’s Space Station blog.
NASA astronaut pictured tethered on the space station’s truss structure during a spacewalk to swap batteries and route cables.
NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken concluded their spacewalk at 1:10 p.m. EDT, after six hours. The two NASA astronauts completed all the work to replace batteries that provide power for the International Space Station’s solar arrays on the starboard truss of the complex. The new batteries provide an improved and more efficient power capacity for operations.
The spacewalkers removed six aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for the second of two power channels for the starboard 6 (S6) truss, installed three new lithium-ion batteries, and installed the three associated adapter plates that are used to complete the power circuit to the new batteries. Mission control reports that all three new batteries are working.
Behnken and Cassidy are scheduled to conduct one more spacewalk Tuesday, July 21, during which they will remove two lifting fixtures used for ground processing of the station’s solar arrays prior to their launch. They’ll also begin preparing the Tranquility module for the installation of a commercial airlock provided by NanoRacks and scheduled to arrive on a SpaceX cargo flight later this year. The airlock will be used to deploy commercial and government-sponsored experiments into space.
To read a full recap of today’s spacewalk, visit the agency’s Space Station blog.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster that will launch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission arrived in Florida on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. The rocket was shipped from the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, and will now undergo prelaunch processing in the company’s facility on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: SpaceX
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will launch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program has arrived in Florida. NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the company’s first operational flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket after certification, carrying NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the International Space Station for a full duration mission.
The mission will be the second time SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will ferry astronauts to the space station, but the first in a series of regular, rotational missions. The company successfully flew NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the space station in May on another Crew Dragon – Endeavour – on a test flight known as Demo-2. Behnken and Hurley will continue to perform science, maintenance and spacewalks onboard station until their return to Earth.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon for Crew-1 will launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket was shipped from the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, and will now undergo prelaunch processing in the company’s facility on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 63 Flight Engineer Bob Behnken works during a spacewalk to swap an aging nickel-hydrogen battery for a new lithium-ion battery on the International Space Station’s Starboard-6 truss structure.
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Chris Cassidy have begun the first of two final spacewalks to finish a 3.5-year effort to upgrade the International Space Station’s power system. They will replace batteries on one of two power channels on the station’s far starboard truss (S6 Truss).
The spacewalkers switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:10 a.m. EDT to begin the spacewalk, which is expected to last between six and seven hours. Watch the spacewalk live on NASA TV and on the agency’s website.
Behnken and crewmate Douglas Hurley arrived at the space station in May as part of the Demo-2 mission under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission is designed to test SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket – including all launch, in-orbit, docking and landing operations – ahead of NASA certifying SpaceX’s crew transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.
For full coverage of today’s spacewalk and all other station activities, visit the agency’s Space Station blog.
An artist’s illustration of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in orbit. Photo credit: Boeing
NASA and Boeing have completed reviews of the company’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT) that flew in December 2019 and are working toward a plan to refly the mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The joint NASA-Boeing Independent Review team completed their final assessments of issues that were detected during the first test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Following this conclusion, the team identified a total of 80 recommendations that Boeing, in collaboration with NASA, is addressing. A launch date has not been set yet for the second flight test, dubbed OFT-2.
NASA astronaut Bob Behnken is pictured tethered to the space station’s truss structure during a spacewalk to swap batteries and route cables.
NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken concluded their spacewalk at 12:14 p.m. EDT. During the six hour and one-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts completed half the work to upgrade the batteries that provide power for one channel on one pair of the station’s solar arrays. The new batteries provide an improved and more efficient power capacity for operations.
They successfully moved and connected one new, powerful lithium-ion battery and its adapter place to complete the circuit to the new battery and relocated one aging nickel-hydrogen battery to an external platform for future disposal.
They also loosened the bolts on nickel-hydrogen batteries that will be replaced to complete the power capability upgrade on the far starboard truss and complete the station’s battery replacement work that began in January 2017 with the first series of power upgrade spacewalks. Behnken and Cassidy will complete the work during the final two spacewalks later this month.
Cassidy and Behnken also will route power and ethernet cables in preparation for the installation of a new external wireless communications system with an enhanced HD camera and to increase helmet camera coverage for future spacewalks. To support future power system upgrades, they also will remove a device called an “H-Fixture” that was installed before the solar arrays were launched to the space station.
This was the eighth spacewalk for both each astronaut. Cassidy now has spent a total of 43 hours and 22 minutes spacewalking. Behnken has now spent a total of 49 hours and 41 minutes spacewalking.
Behnken and NASA astronaut Doug Hurley arrived at the space station in May aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program’s Demo-2 mission. The end-to-end test flight is designed to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including launch, in-orbit, docking and landing operations, paving the way for its certification for regular crew flights to the station.
Space station crew members have conducted 229 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 60 days and 34 minutes working outside the station.
At 4 p.m. today, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will discuss her upcoming second mission to the International Space Station, along with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, during a news conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston that will be broadcast live on NASA Television and on the agency’s website.
NASA astronauts (from top) Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken work on U.S. spacesuits inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock.
NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken have begun the second of two scheduled spacewalks to replace batteries on one of two power channels on the far starboard truss (S6 Truss) of the International Space Station.
The spacewalkers switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:13 a.m. EDT to begin the spacewalk, which may last as long as seven hours. Watch the spacewalk on NASA TV and on the agency’s website.
Behnken and NASA astronaut Doug Hurley arrived at the space station in May aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program’s Demo-2 mission. The end-to-end test flight is designed to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including launch, in-orbit, docking and landing operations, paving the way for its certification for regular crew flights to the station.
For full coverage of today’s spacewalk and other station activities, visit the agency’s Space Station blog.
