MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson have begun the first out of the two spacewalks required to upgrade the International Space Station's (ISS) power system, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Friday.
"@Astro_Kimbrough and @AstroPeggy exit the @Space_Station to get started with #spacewalk activities," NASA said in its Twitter.
.@Astro_Kimbrough and @AstroPeggy exit the @Space_Station to get started with #spacewalk activities. Watch live: https://t.co/mzKW5uDsTi pic.twitter.com/iRU3jW1jWV
— NASA (@NASA) January 6, 2017
According to NASA, the astronauts have to install adapter plates and hook up electrical connections for new lithium-ion batteries.
NASA said that robots had already installed three new batteries and removed four old nickel-hydrogen ones.
The spacewalk can be watched live on NASA's website.
