Spacewalk a success as astronauts upgrade batteries on the ISS

By Georgina Torbet Published March 23, 2019

NASA astronauts Nick Hague (top) and Anne McClain work to swap batteries in the Port-4 truss structure during the spacewalk. NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) was treated to some new batteries on Friday, thanks to the NASA astronauts who took a spacewalk for nearly seven hours in order to complete the upgrades.

Recommended Videos

This was the first spacewalk for both of the two astronauts, Nick Hague and Anne McClain, who are members of the Expedition 59 crew. They spent a total of six hours and 39 minutes on their mission to replace the older nickel-hydrogen batteries used for the ISS’s power system, starting at 8:01 a.m. EDT.

The batteries were replaced with newer lithium-ion batteries which have improved power capacity as well as a smaller size and lighter mass. In order to perform the upgrade, adapter plates had to be installed and electrical connections for three of the six new batteries had to be hooked up. In addition to upgrading the power system, the astronauts also took the opportunity to spruce up the exterior of the space station by removing debris, securing fabric restraints, and documenting the tools available for contingency repairs.

The batteries on the ISS get plenty of use as they store the power collected by the station’s solar arrays. They are recharged when the station is in direct sunlight, then they are used to power the station’s systems when it orbits the Earth and is out of view of the Sun during “orbital night.”

This spacewalk was just one step in upgrading the batteries. It was part of a large-scale upgrade to many of the power systems in the station which astronauts have been working on since 2017. Next week two astronauts will take a spacewalk to the same area of the station to install a second set of new batteries, and in the future more batteries will be added or swapped out as they arrive at the station.

Next week’s spacewalk, scheduled for March 29, has the distinction of being the first ever spacewalk with an all-female team. Anne McClain will be joined by flight engineer Christina Koch for a spacewalk which fortuitously coincides with Women’s History Month.

Georgina Torbet

Former Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Topics

Emerging Tech

Anti-surveillance clothing is getting cheaper, but don’t expect an invisibility cloak

Affordable shirts now claim to confuse facial recognition, although their protection depends heavily on the camera and software watching you

Chart, Plot, Adult

Anti-surveillance clothing is starting to look less like an art-school experiment and more like something you could actually wear outside. Shirts designed to confuse facial recognition systems now cost about as much as ordinary streetwear, although buying one won’t make you disappear.

The Guardian reports that designers are using face-like prints, unusual cuts and infrared lights to interfere with computer vision. These techniques target specific weaknesses, so their success depends on what happens to be watching you.

Emerging Tech

This spinning drone hides in plain sight using a visual illusion

This drone doesn't turn invisible. It tricks your brain into thinking it has.

Phantom Twist

For decades, engineers have chased the dream of an invisible drone. The usual approaches have involved transparent materials, camouflage coatings, or complex optical systems that bend light around an object. Researchers at Northwestern University decided to take a completely different route. Instead of hiding the drone itself, they chose to fool the human eye.

The result is Phantom Twist, an experimental drone that spins so rapidly it almost disappears into the background. It's not technically invisible, but to anyone watching, it looks more like a faint blur than a flying machine.

Emerging Tech

This smart knitted fabric can flip switches, count your steps, and even change shape

Grandma's knitting just entered its Iron Man era

Representative Image

For most of us, knitting brings to mind sweaters, scarves, and perhaps an ambitious grandmother determined to make winter more fashionable. Researchers at Harvard University, however, have a far more futuristic vision. They've transformed ordinary knitted fabric into a programmable material capable of changing shape, acting as an electrical switch, sensing movement, and potentially forming the foundation of tomorrow's wearable technology.

The research, published in Advanced Functional Materials by scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), demonstrates how machine-knitted textiles can "snap" between multiple stable shapes without relying on motors or rigid mechanical parts.