Spacewalkers Complete Battery Swap to Upgrade Space Station Power, NASA Nixes 1st All Female Spacewalk

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain work to swap batteries in the Port-4 truss structure during March 22, 2019 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Ken Kremer  --SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –25 March 2019

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  A pair of NASA astronauts completed a swap out of batteries during a spacewalk, Friday, March 22, that will enable a power upgrade to the International Space Station (ISS).  

During the six-hour, 39-minute spacewalk conducted by Expedition 59 Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Anne McClain of NASA, the high flying pair successfully replaced nickel-hydrogen batteries with newer, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for the power channel on one pair of the station’s solar arrays.

The March 22 excursion was the first spacewalk by both Hague and McClain and the first of a trio of upcoming spacewalks on the space stations exterior planned over the next 2 weeks by alternating pairs of astronauts - that was to include the first one populated only with women astronauts.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague (top) and Anne McClain work to swap batteries in the Port-4 truss structure during March 22, 2019 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Meanwhile NASA announced today the agency nixed plans to carry out the first all female spacewalk planned for the second EVA of the series trio due to issues with the spacesuits.  

That all female spacewalk was to be carried out next week by McClain and flight engineer Christina Koch – who just arrived at the station in mid-March aboard the most recent Russian Soyuz launch. 

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain work to swap batteries in the Port-4 truss structure during March 22, 2019 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

The new lithium-ion replacement batteries installed March 22 on the Port 4 truss segment were hauled to orbit by the Japanese HTV unmanned resupply vessel last September. 

McClain and Koch “were to work on a second set of battery replacements on a different power channel in the same area of the station.” 

“These new batteries provide an improved power capacity for operations with a lighter mass and a smaller volume than the nickel-hydrogen batteries,” says NASA. 

The second spacewalk slated for March 29 will now be carried out by Hague and Koch essentially because NASA does not have enough spacesuits available on the station.

“After consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station,” NASA announced late today, March 25. 

“McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it.”

“McClain now is tentatively scheduled to perform her next spacewalk – the third in this series – on Monday, April 8 with Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques. Assignments for this spacewalk will be finalized following completion of the second spacewalk.”

During the first spacewalk of the series, on March 22, McClain became the 13th woman to perform a spacewalk. Koch will become the 14th on March 29.

There have been 214 spacewalks at the International Space Station since December 1998.  Credits: NASA

To date space station crew members have conducted 214 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory, according to NASA.

“Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 55 days, 21 hours and 39 minutes working outside the station.”

ISS soars over Titusville, FL hours after completion of March 22, 2019 spacewalk by 2 crew members to upgrade exterior truss batteries.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos launched to the ISS on board the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft at 3:14 p.m. EDT on March 14 and in the middle of the night (12:14 a.m. Friday Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 

Hague, Koch and Ovchinin docked to the space station’s Rassvet module at 9:01 p.m. EST March 14 after a fast track four-orbit, six-hour journey.

The ISS crew instantly doubled in size to a full complement of 6. The multinational crew of six stems from the US, Russia and Canada.

Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will spend six-and-a-half months living and working aboard the International Space Station. 

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.


Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com

Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.

………….

Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events

Ken’s upcoming talks:

Apr 3: “Exploring Mars; The Search for Life & A Journey in 3-D.”  7 PM, Lawton C Johnson Middle School, Summit, NJ:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sef-grant-presents-exploring-mars-and-the-search-for-life-3d-registration-55524445110