NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio are conducting a spacewalk on Thursday, Dec. 22, to install new rollout solar arrays to upgrade the station's power system. This spacewalk is the second of a pair this month to install the solar arrays and is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 UTC), when the astronauts switch on their spacesuit battery packs. The spacewalk is expected to last about seven hours. Rubio (wearing the suit with red stripes) and Cassada (wearing the unmarked suit) are part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which arrived at the station on Oct. 6, 2022. This is the third spacewalk for both astronauts.
The spacewalk originally scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 21, was postponed when the International Space Station conducted a Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver at 8:42 a.m. EST. The decision to conduct the maneuver was based on tracking data that showed a close approach to station of a fragment of Russian Fregat-SB upper stage debris. The crew was never in any immediate danger.
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