Astronauts embark on hours-long spacewalk to swap out 20-year-old batteries powering the International Space Station
- NASA’s Anne McClain and Nick Hague swapping three nickel-hydrogen batteries
- The outdated batteries will be replaced with more powerful lithium-ion batteries
- NASA is about halfway through replacing 48 original batteries with new ones
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Two American astronauts took a spacewalk Friday to replace aging batteries on the International Space Station.
NASA’s Anne McClain and Nick Hague are scheduled to work in space for several hours to swap out three old nickel-hydrogen batteries with more powerful lithium-ion batteries.
The duo overcame minor struggles in their first task, which involved attaching a tool bag on one of the station’s trusses for possible future use.
Above, astronauts Anne McClain and Nick Hague taking a spacewalk to replace aging batteries on the International Space Station on Friday. Friday’s spacewalk is the first of three planned excursions to replace batteries and perform other maintenance
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fT6mzqBAqmo%3Ffeature%3Doembed
The station’s robotic arm did much of the heavy work already, but the astronauts still have to lug 300-pound adaptors the size of a large coffee table and reconnect attachments.
Even when the chore is complete, there will still be more of the 20-year-old station’s original batteries to replace.
NASA is about halfway through replacing 48 batteries with ones that are expected to last the remainder of the station’s life.
The space station uses solar panels to generate power but the batteries are used when it’s in the dark and not getting power from the sun.
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Friday’s spacewalk is the first of three planned excursions to replace batteries and perform other maintenance.
Next week’s spacewalk will include the first all-female crew, including McClain.
WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION?
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000.
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
The International Space Station (file photo) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, Nasa, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, a level of funding that is endorsed by the Trump administration and Congress.
A U.S. House of Representatives committee that oversees Nasa has begun looking at whether to extend the program beyond 2024.
Alternatively the money could be used to speed up planned human space initiatives to the moon and Mars.
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