Recently astronauts of international space station went on several spacewalk. One of the aim is to replace station Storage batteries.
Astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn replaced the first of four 375-pound batteries in a spacewalk that could take nearly eight hours, NASA said.
Photo provided by NASA
The replacement mission was cut short Wednesday after carbon dioxide levels rose in Cassidy’s suit. The lithium hydroxide canister that scrubs carbon dioxide from the suit was replaced for Friday’s walk, NASA officials said in a release.
The astronauts are replacing four Port 6 truss batteries with batteries designed to last more than six years and 38,000 charges. Each new battery measures 40 inches by 36 inches by 18 inches and weighs 375 pounds.
The International Space Station is powered by a photovoltaic system that gathers solar power and stores it in the Port 6 batteries.
The image obtained from NASA
That made for a long, hand-over-hand trek for the spacewalkers, taking them about as far as they could get from the hatch leading back into the orbiting outpost, about 150 feet. “Take your time,” the astronauts urged each other.
These batteries are critical, storing the power collected by the space station’s solar wings. The old batteries were launched in 2000. NASA is uncertain how long those original batteries might last and wants new ones installed before the old ones die.
