NASA Astronauts Anil Menon, Jessica Meir Complete Spacewalk To Upgrade Space Station
NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir completed a six-hour spacewalk to install hardware for future solar array upgrades on the International Space Station. This mission is part of a series of upgrades to improve the station's power capacity.
Why it matters
Ongoing maintenance and power upgrades are essential for the continued operation and safety of the International Space Station as it nears its eventual deorbit.
NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir on Friday concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station to assemble the modification kit for its power channel that would allow addition of solar arrays.The spacewalk - 281st in support of the space station - sixth for Meir and first for Menon began at 8:33 am EDT (6:03 pm IST) on Thursday and concluded at 3:00 pm EDT (12:30 am IST Friday).Menon and Meir exited the Quest airlock and carried out structural upgrades on the exterior of the orbital laboratory during the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk.Their primary objective centred on installing mounting hardware on the station's 3B power channel, located on the Starboard 6 truss segment."This work will enable the future installation of roll-out solar arrays, called IROSA, to provide additional power for the orbiting laboratory, supporting critical systems and the safe, controlled deorbit of the space station," NASA said in a statement.Since…
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