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Derek Richardson
February 1st, 2021
NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins works on the P4 truss in the course of the first spacewalk of 2021. Throughout their second spacewalk, he and astronaut Victor Glover labored to complete a battery improve mission that was began 4 years in the past. Credit score: NASA
Within the second spacewalk in less than a week, two NASA astronauts ventured outdoors the Worldwide Area Station to wrap up a battery improve mission began 4 years in the past, and accomplished numerous different small duties.
NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover, each members of the seven-person Expedition 64 crew, ventured outdoors the house station’s Quest airlock at 7:56 a.m. EST (12:56 UTC) Feb. 1, 2021, for U.S. Extravehicular Exercise 70. Their duties included putting in a closing lithium-ion battery and an adapter plate on the P4 truss section, changing three exterior high-definition cameras and performing a number of get-ahead duties.
Hopkins was the lead spacewalker, EV 1, and wore the swimsuit with purple stripes and Glover wore the swimsuit with no stripes and was designated EV 2. The spacewalking duo made fast work of all of their duties with the outing lasting 5 hours and 20 minutes.
The ultimate battery put in concluded a four-year-long technique of changing the 48 nickel-hydrogen batteries launched with the unique truss segments throughout house station meeting. Solely 24 more-efficient lithium-ion batteries had been wanted. As such, every new unit wanted an adapter plate to finish the unique two-battery collection circuit.
Six batteries and adapter plates had been delivered to the ISS over 4 autonomous Japanese Kounotori missions beginning with Kounotori 6 on the finish of 2016. These batteries had been put in by way of spacewalking astronauts the next month. Many of the previous nickel-hydrogen models had been disposed of by the Japanese cargo ship as properly.
When the batteries on the P4 truss had been changed in March 2019, one of many batteries on the 4A channel failed not lengthy after being put in. The battery was eliminated in a later spacewalk and an previous nickel-hydrogen battery was re-installed till a alternative might be despatched into orbit.
That alternative was flown to the ISS throughout SpaceX’s CRS-19 cargo mission in December 2019.
As soon as that work was completed, Hopkins moved onto his subsequent process, which was to take away one other H-fixtured to make approach for the eventual set up of upgraded photo voltaic arrays to enhance the present growing older arrays.
NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, proper, and Victor Glover, proper, seen of their spacesuits earlier than the primary spacewalk of 2021. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, within the black shirt, labored with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, within the purple shirt, assisted the spacewalking duo from contained in the ISS throughout each EVAs. Credit score: NASA
These new photo voltaic arrays are set to be launched as quickly as Might 2021 aboard SpaceX’s CRS-22 cargo Dragon.
Subsequent, Glover, with the assistance of the robotic Canadarm2, started putting in three high-definition cameras.
The primary was situated on the S1 truss. With the assistance of Hopkins, the 2 labored to exchange a failed unit, which was positioned within the airlock after the duty was accomplished.
The second digital camera set up was situated on a increase on the Future laboratory module. Glover put in a brand new high-definition digital camera alongside present exterior cameras.
The third digital camera set up didn’t require the robotic arm. As such, Glover acquired off the machine and proceeded to make his approach to the Japanese Kibo module the place he labored to exchange a digital camera mounted on the wrist section of the Japanese Experiment Module robotic arm.
As soon as these duties had been accomplished, the duo moved on to get ahead-tasks. That included seeing Hopkins eradicating one other H-fixture on the S4 truss whereas Glover pre-positioned a number of foot-restraints to help spacewalks specializing in future photo voltaic array upgrades.
Hopkins and Glover returned to Quest and started repressurizing the airlock at 1:16 p.m. EST (18:16 UTC), officially ending U.S. EVA-70.
General, this was the 234th spacewalk in help of ISS meeting and upkeep and the second in 2021. The whole time spent outdoors the ISS by astronauts and cosmonauts since 1998 now totals 61 days, 7 hours and seven minutes.
This was Hopkins’ fourth outing bringing his cumulative profession time outdoors to 25 hours, 14 minutes. Glover was on his second (his first was final week), bringing his complete time to 12 hours 16 minutes.
A NASA animation showcasing the deliberate collection of occasions for U.S. EVA-70. Finally the astronauts accomplished this work in addition to a number of get-ahead duties earlier than wrapping up the outing. Video courtesy of NASA
Derek Richardson
Derek Richardson has a level in mass media, with an emphasis in up to date journalism, from Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas. Whereas at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the scholar run newspaper, the Washburn Evaluation. He additionally has a weblog in regards to the Worldwide Area Station, referred to as Orbital Velocity.
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