Astronauts have left the International Space Station (ISS) for the third time in two weeks to supplement the spacecraft's power system with new solar panels.
NASA spokesman Shane Kimbrough and FrenchEuropean Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tom Pesce made a 6 hour 45 minute spacewalk, during which they installed the second of six new solar arrays on the International Space Station (ISS). The pair previously worked together during the spacewalks on June 16 and 20 to install the first part of the battery.
On Friday, during extravehicular activity, a second device was installed opposite the first on the far left side of the space station's support truss.
The researchers tried to convey the speed of the ISS using photographs
New, more powerful, but smallerbatteries are installed in front of old station arrays in such a way that they partially overlap them. Researchers are doing this on purpose - aging batteries are starting to show signs of declining energy production as they have more than 15 years of design life. The P6 arrays - the first pair installed in December 2000 - have been generating power for the station for over 20 years.
When used together, the old and new arrays will be able to increase the power supply of the station by 20-30%. In total, it is planned to install six such panels to generate more electricity.The first of the two new panels was installed and connected during two previous spacewalks last week.
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