Spacewalkers (from left) Koichi Wakata and Nicole Mann are imagined setting up hardware on the spaceport station preparing the orbiting lab for its next roll-out solar variety. Credit: NASA TV
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata concluded their spacewalk at 3:35 p.m. EST after 7 hours and 21 minutes.
Mann and Wakata completed work left over from a previous spacewalk for a platform on which a set of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) for the stations 1B power channel will be installed later on this year, as well as many of the work to install a comparable installing platform for a set of iROSAs for the 1A power channel. Due to time constraints, prepares to bolt a final strut for the second platform were delayed up until a future spacewalk. There is no effect on spaceport station operations.
The installation is part of a series of spacewalks to augment the International Space Stations power channels with new iROSAs. Four iROSAs have been set up so far, and 2 more will be installed to the platforms installed during this spacewalk in the future.
By NASA
January 20, 2023
It was the 258th spacewalk in assistance of spaceport station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, the very first spacewalk of 2023, and the very first spacewalk for both astronauts.
Mann and Wakata are in the midst of a planned six-month science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance clinical understanding and show new innovations for future human and robotic expedition missions, including lunar objectives through NASAs Artemis program.
