The extravehicular activity is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:30 a.m. EDT, following live coverage starting at 7 a.m. EDT, and is expected to last roughly six and a half hours.
Maintenance and Navigation Upgrades on the Horizon
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot will focus their efforts on the forward port of the station’s Harmony module. Their primary objective involves replacing a retroreflector, a component used to support spacecraft navigation during rendezvous and docking. In addition to the retroreflector replacement, the pair also plan to install jumper cables for the station’s data-relay systems, prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s radiator for future maintenance, and replace a high-definition camera on the station’s truss.
Power System Augmentation and Spacewalk Assignments
The upcoming September maintenance follows a separate series of extravehicular activities dedicated to power system upgrades. Two astronauts on the International Space Station previously conducted a spacewalk Friday, Jan. 20, to install hardware for future power system upgrades, specifically mounting platforms as part of planned solar array augmentation on the starboard side of the International Space Station’s truss.
That power-focused effort involved exiting the station’s Quest airlock to complete the installation of two mounting platforms as part of a series of spacewalks to augment the space station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two more will be mounted to the platforms installed during this spacewalk in the future. During that mission, U.S. media wishing to participate in-person were required to request news conference credentials from the Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 16, at 281-483-5111 or [email protected].
Crew Designations and Experience Milestones
For the Sept. 1 excursion, crew roles and suit configurations are clearly delineated. Adenot will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and wear a suit with red stripes, while Meir will serve as crew member 2 in an unmarked suit, according to NASA. For the January spacewalk, NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata completed the installation, where Mann served as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV 2) and wore an unmarked suit, while Wakata served as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV 1) and wore a suit with red stripes. That January outing was noted as the first spacewalk for both Mann and Wakata.
The Sept. 1 outing marks a significant career milestone for Meir. The mission will be her seventh spacewalk, moving her into third place among women at NASA for total spacewalks, behind Peggy Whitson (10) and Suni Williams (9). For Adenot, the event represents her third spacewalk, according to NASA. Furthermore, the excursion will be the 284th spacewalk in support of ISS assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Pre-Flight Briefings and Operational Planning
Ahead of complex orbital operations, mission managers routinely host detailed media previews. Experts previewed the January spacewalk work during a Tuesday, Jan. 17, news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, which took place at 2 p.m. EST (1 p.m. CST). The briefing included participants Dina Contella, operations integration manager for the International Space Station Program; Chloe Mehring, spacewalk flight director; and Keith Johnson, lead spacewalk officer.
These briefings provide journalists and the public with technical breakdowns of timeline constraints and operations. Media interested in participating by phone for the briefing were instructed to contact the Johnson newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event. NASA provided live coverage beginning at 7 a.m. EST on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with the spacewalk itself starting at 8:15 a.m. and lasting about six and a half hours. More information on ISS operations remains available at https://www.nasa.gov/station, alongside updates on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
