NASA Updates Spacewalk Assignments, Announces Final Preview Briefing

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Mar 25, 2019, 17:54 ET

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With the first in a series of three spacewalks successfully completed at the International Space Station, NASA has updated astronaut assignments for the remaining two spacewalks and will preview the third in an upcoming news conference on NASA Television and the agency's website.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch (center) assists fellow astronauts Nick Hague (left) and Anne McClain in their U.S. spacesuits shortly before they begin the first spacewalk of their careers. Hague and McClain worked outside, in the vacuum of space, for six hours and 39 minutes on March 22, 2019, to upgrade the International Space Station's power storage capacity. Image credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain conducted the first spacewalk in this series on March 22. Hague and fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch now are preparing to conduct the second spacewalk Friday, March 29, during which they will continue work started on the first spacewalk to install powerful lithium-ion batteries for one pair of the station's solar arrays.

Koch had been scheduled to conduct this spacewalk with astronaut McClain, in what would have been the first all-female spacewalk. However, after consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station. McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it.

Mission experts previewed the tasks for the first two spacewalks during a March 19 news conference.

McClain now is tentatively scheduled to perform her next spacewalk – the third in this series – on Monday, April 8 with Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques. Assignments for this spacewalk will be finalized following completion of the second spacewalk.

Experts will discuss the work to be performed on the April 8 spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, April 2, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Live coverage of the briefing and spacewalks will air on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Media wishing to attend the briefing in person must request credentials from the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 4 p.m. Monday, April 1. Media interested in participating by phone must contact the newsroom by 1:45 p.m. April 2.

Participants in the briefing will be:

Kenny Todd, International Space Station manager for Operations and Integration
Rick Henfling, spacewalk flight director
John Mularski, lead spacewalk officer

McClain and Saint-Jacques will lay out jumper cables between the Unity module and the S0 truss, at the midpoint of the station's backbone, during their April 8 spacewalk. This work will establish a redundant path of power to the Canadian-built robotic arm, known as Canadarm2. They also will install cables to provide for more expansive wireless communications coverage outside the orbital complex, as well as for enhanced hardwired computer network capability.

Live coverage of both spacewalks will begin at 6:30 a.m., and each is expected to last about 6.5 hours. The March 29 spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8:20 a.m., while the April 8 spacewalk is set to start at 8:05 a.m.

These will be the 215th and 216th spacewalks in the history of International Space Station assembly and maintenance. During the first spacewalk of the series, on March 22, McClain became the 13th woman to perform a spacewalk. Koch will become the 14th on March 29.

Learn more about the spacewalks and the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

SOURCE NASA