NASA is making final preparations for the seventh spacewalk to take place on the International Space Station (ISS) this year.
On Friday, June 9, American astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg will step outside the station as it orbits about 250 miles above Earth.
NASA will live stream the entire spacewalk. See below for full details on how to watch.
Bowen and Hoburg will leave the station’s Quest airlock Friday morning to install an upgraded IROSA (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array) on the 1A power channel of the station’s starboard truss.
The new arrays are 60 feet long by 20 feet wide (18.2 meters by 6 meters) and will shade just over half of the original arrays. Once all of the new deployment solar arrays have been installed, the orbital outpost will see a 30% increase in power output over the station’s current arrays.
Friday’s spacewalk at the ISS will be Bowen’s ninth, following his first in 2008, and the first for Hoburg, who is on his first trip into orbit.
What can you expect
NASA’s coverage of the spacewalk will feature views from multiple cameras, including those attached to the astronauts’ space helmets for a detailed look at what they’re doing. Live audio from Bowen, Hoburg, Mission Control and a NASA commentator will also be part of the stream.
For easy identification, Bowen will wear a suit with red stripes, while Hoburg will wear an unmarked suit.
That’s how you see
NASA will live stream the spacewalk on Friday, June 9. While the walk itself is expected to begin at 9:15 a.m. ET, NASA’s coverage will begin at 7:45 ET.
You can watch the spacewalk via the player embedded at the top of this page, or at on the way to the NASA website.
After Friday’s excursion, NASA’s next spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, and will involve the same two astronauts.
To learn more about life on the International Space Station, watch these videos made by some of its inhabitants over the years.
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