Two astronauts on the International Space Station undertook a spacewalk Friday to continue with the installation work of the new, roll-up solar arrays, to upgrade the energy provide on the ISS.
Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency (ESA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Shane Kimbrough undertook the spacewalk about 410 kilometres above Earth, mentioned the US space agency.
???? How about that view? 255 miles (410 kilometers) above Earth, @Thom_Astro (suit with red stripes) and @Astro_Kimbrough continue producing progress upgrading the @Space_Station‘s energy provide. pic.twitter.com/KLBl4x2Qb9
— NASA (@NASA) June 25, 2021
“How about that view? 255 miles (410 kilometers) above Earth, @Thom_Astro (suit with red stripes) and @Astro_Kimbrough continue making progress upgrading the @Space_Station’s power supply,” NASA tweeted with a video of the spacewalk.
The video caught a glimpse of astronaut Pesquet for the duration of his spacewalk, with the breathtaking view of the Earth in the backdrop. It was streamed live.
The astronauts had been out of the ISS to set up the second of the six roll-out solar arrays, which arrived on a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship on June 5, according to NASA quoted by space.com. The initially one was installed earlier this week.
The solar arrays, installed for the duration of the 2000-2009 period, are “showing signs of degradations”, even though they are “functioning well”, the US space agency had mentioned in January, adding that they are created for 15-year service life. Space.com mentioned the new arrays on ISS will raise its energy levels to 215 kilowatts, compared to current 160 kilowatts.