Spacewalking Astronauts Upgrade ISS Power Banks

A pair of NASA astronauts conducted the first spacewalk of 2022, preparing the ISS for additional power upgrades. On Tuesday, the spacewalk was performed by astronaut Kayla Barron and Raja Chari, starting at about 8:12 AM ET. The spacewalk was a long one lasting until 3:06 PM ET spanning six hours and 54 minutes.

NASA said it was the 247th spacewalk supporting the assembly, maintenance, and upgrading of the aging space station. During the spacewalk, the NASA astronauts assembled and installed modification kits that will enable upgrades for solar panels in the future.

They installed new struts and brackets to support more ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The spacewalk was the second for Barron and Chari’s first. When all the new solar arrays are installed, power for the space station will be increased from the current 160 kilowatts to 215 kilowatts.

NASA delivered six of the new solar arrays last year on June 5. Four additional arrays will be delivered to the space station on a future mission.