This is the second space walk for the duo in a few days. It is expected to launch around 07:00 ET, with live coverage on NASA’s website at 05:30 ET. The space walk is expected to take six and a half hours.
This is the second spaceflight experience for Glover, which is a few months into its first spaceflight at the station.
“What a beautiful view,” Glover said after starting his spacewalk last Wednesday.
This is the fourth space step for Hopkins, who previously completed two space steps during his first six-month stay at the space station from September 2013 to March 2014.
This is the 234th space step to support the assembly, maintenance and upgrading of the space station.
Hopkins will wear the space suit with red stripes as crew member 1 and Glover will be in the space suit without stripes as crew member 2.
The astronauts will install the final lithium-ion adapter plate on Monday. They will connect it to the battery installed in front of the spacewalk robot. This installation is being completed to complete the replacement of aging nickel-hydrogen batteries outside the station, which began in January 2017.
Glover and Hopkins will then move to the other side of the station to focus on other upgrades. Their work includes replacing an external standard camera with a new high-definition camera in the Destiny laboratory, and replacing camera and light component components required for the Japanese robot arm’s camera system, located outside the Kibo module . They will also run some Ethernet cables.
Rubins has the task of operating the robot arm from inside the space station to help the astronauts while working outside.
More spaces are planned for the crew by the end of February and the beginning of March.
Glover and Rubins will join forces for the third space street to prepare the station’s power system for the installation of new solar power plants, which will increase the station’s power supply.
Rubins and Noguchi will take the fourth space step to continue upgrading the space station.
During these long spacewalks, the astronauts alternately go through cycles of day and night every 45 minutes, working against the warm, bright light of the sun as well as the cold darkness of space. This happens because the space station orbits the earth 17,500 miles per hour.
While the astronauts do not experience the immediate effects of extreme cold and heat, there is the possibility of a chill, so heaters have been installed in the astronauts’ gloves to keep their hands warm, said Vincent LaCourt, flight director at NASA. , said. the spacewalk on February 1st.