The world became blasé about space exploration until the miracle rescue of the Apollo 13 moon lander crew. In fact major news channels did not even cover that launch. Moreover the subdued reaction to the March 2019 International Space Station (ISS) battery exchange confirms how short memories are. Therefore, we made this post to salute the first, six hour dramatic spacewalk.
A Remarkable Backdrop to a Dramatic Spacewalk
The ISS orbits Earth at a distance ranging between 205 and 270 miles. It circles our planet every 92 minutes at a speed of 17,100 miles per hour. United States, Russian, Japanese, European and Canadian astronauts assembled it gradually since 1998.
The International Space Station uses photovoltaic arrays to capture solar energy and convert it to electricity. Nickel-hydrogen storage batteries provide backup continuous power for around a third of the time when Earth eclipses the station. The batteries have a 6.5 year lifespan (over 37,000 charge/discharge cycles) and have needed replacement several times.
Does This Sound So Simple We Miss the Point?
Each battery swap requires a dramatic spacewalk after the replacement set arrives, and is placed in an outside storage compartment. However, this time the new batteries were lithium-ion ones offering even better performance.
Two experienced NASA engineers, one woman and one man answered the call having done the previous exchange. However, this time they first had to install adapter plates for the new batteries. All the equipment is on the outside of the ISS for safety reasons, where they also needed to remove accumulated debris. Two more intrepid space heroes will take another dramatic spacewalk on March 29, 2019 to do the second replacement.
This time an all-women crew will perform the work. This not because they are women NASA mission control insists. It’s just because ‘they are that good’.
Related
International Space Station Batteries Delayed
Space Station Replacement Batteries: Update
Preview Image: Swapping Batteries in the Port Truss
Video Share Link: https://youtu.be/nZCC-a3bUFg
