Two astronauts on the International Space Station will conduct a spacewalk Friday, Jan. 20, to install hardware for future power system upgrades. Experts will preview the work during a Tuesday, Jan. 17, news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA will preview the spacewalk and provide live coverage of the power system upgrades on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The news conference will take place at 2 p.m. EST (1 p.m. CST) Jan. 17, with the following participants:

• Dina Contella, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program
• Chloe Mehring, spacewalk flight director
• Keith Johnson, lead spacewalk officer

U.S. media wishing to participate in-person must request news conference credentials from the Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 16, at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media interested in participating by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the briefing.

On Jan. 20, NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata will exit the station’s Quest airlock to complete the installation of two mounting platforms as part of planned solar array augmentation on the starboard side of the International Space Station’s truss.

The duo will complete the installation of a mounting platform on the 1B power channel that was started during a previous spacewalk and begin installing a mounting platform on the 1A power channel.

NASA will provide live coverage beginning at 7 a.m. EST. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m., and last about six and a half hours.

The installation is part of a series of spacewalks to augment the International Space Station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two more will be mounted to the platforms installed during this spacewalk in the future.

Mann will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV 2) and will wear an unmarked suit. Wakata will serve as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV 1) and will wear a suit with red stripes. The spacewalk will be the first for both Mann and Wakata.

Quelle: NASA