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Astronauts Look to Wednesday’s Spacewalk

A spacewalker’s spacesuit gloves and camera are reflected in the helmet visor in this “space-selfie” taken during a six-hour and seven-minute spacewalk.

NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken will start their second spacewalk together on July 1. The duo will continue upgrading power systems on the International Space Station.

The veteran spacewalkers wrapped up a spacewalk on Friday after six hours and 7 minutes swapping five aging nickel-hydrogen (NiH2) batteries with two new lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries. They will go out again on Wednesday starting at 7:20 a.m. EDT to swap one more NiH2 battery for a Li-Ion battery on the Starboard-6 truss structure worksite. NASA TV will begin its live coverage at 6 a.m.

Flight Engineer Doug Hurley joined his Expedition 63 crewmates today in a review of Wednesday’s spacewalk procedures with ground specialists. Hurley once again will assist Cassidy and Behnken in and out of their spacesuits and monitor the pair during the excursion.

Space station managers also are planning two more spacewalks in July to keep up the battery upgrades. After Cassidy and Behnken complete Wednesday’s spacewalk, mission planners will finalize the future spacewalk tasks along with target dates and times.

Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner spent Monday working on a variety of Russian communications gear and life support hardware. The duo also worked on a pair of Earth science studies exploring how natural and man-made activities on the surface affect the upper and lower atmosphere.