NATIONAL (KRQE) – NASA reports that two of its astronauts are taking part in a pair of spacewalks outside of the International Space Station to complete the installation of a European science platform and to finish long-term battery upgrade work. The walks will take place on Wednesday, January 27 starting at 5 a.m. MST and on Monday, February, and will last around six and a half hours.
The spacewalk on Wednesday will center around the completion of cable and antenna rigging for the “Bartolomeo” science playloads platform outside of the European Space Agency Columbus module. NASA Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover will participate in both spacewalks.
According to NASA, Hopkins and Glover will also be configuring a Ka-band terminal which will enable an independent, high-bandwidth communication link to European ground stations. Once the upgrades are complete on the Columbus module, the pair will remove a grapple fixture bracket to prepare for future power system upgrades.
