This will be the first spacewalk for Glover, who spent a few months on his first space flight at the station.
This will be the third space passage for Hopkins, who previously completed two spacewalks during his first six-month project to the space station between September 25, 2013 and March 10, 2014.
Hopkins, Glover, NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi flew to the station in November aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience. They were joined by NASA astronauts Kate Robins, Russian astronauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Svereshkov, who were already at the station after its launch in October.
On both spacewalks, Hopkins will wear the red striped spacesuit as Crew 1 and Hopkins will wear the striped spacesuit as a member of Crew 2.
Astronauts will focus on completing the installation of Bartolomeo, the newest payload accommodation station outside of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module, on January 27. They will complete the antenna and prepare the cables for the power and data connections.
The Bartolomeo platform, named after Christopher Columbus’ younger brother, is the first example of a European business association to provide a venue for science and technology demonstrations outside the space station, according to the European Space Agency.
The Columbus unit will also be upgraded with a station that provides an independent high-bandwidth communication link for European earth stations.
Astronauts will install the latest lithium-ion battery adapter plate on February 1. This facility is completing work to complete the replacement of old batteries outside the plant, which began in January 2017.
During the two spacewalks, Robins will operate a robotic arm inside the space station to assist astronauts as they work outside.
They will focus on other updates, such as replacing the standard outdoor camera with a new high-resolution camera at Destiny Lab, and will replace the camera and lightweight components needed for the Japanese robotic arm camera system, located outside of the Kibo unit.
“We’ve been talking about these two Extra Vehicle Activities (EVA) for most of the year, so we’re excited to see them take place,” said Kenny Todd, deputy program director for NASA’s International Space Station. Press conference on Friday.
There are several spacewalks planned for the crew near the end of February and the beginning of March.
Glover and Rubins will work in the third round of space shifts to configure the station’s power system to install new solar grids, which will increase the station’s power supply.
During these long walks in space, astronauts go through alternating cycles of day and night every 45 minutes, working against the hot and bright sunlight, as well as the cold darkness of space. This is because the space station is orbiting the Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour.
While astronauts do not feel the direct effects of extreme cold and heat, there is the possibility of chills, so there are heaters fitted to the astronaut’s gloves to keep their hands warm, said Vincent Lacourt, NASA’s director of space flight. , February 1. .
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