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Space March 1, 2021. Astronauts complete the battery update and camera installation on the International Space Station

Astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS) have begun preparations for a major modernization of the station. Sunday’s march will allow the installation of new photovoltaic panels to power the International Space Station.

Two people in space. NASA broadcast the march live

The American crew – astronaut Kate Robins and astronaut Victor Glover, who are on board the International Space Station as part of Mission 64, went out into space and spent 7 hours and 4 minutes in space, which was the third flight of both of them. . All NASA streams on YouTube in real time.

It is also the first time that a US agency has used high-resolution wide-angle cameras for this. They were installed on the helmets of the astronauts, which allowed accurate tracking of everyone washThat has been done.

The space march was on Sunday The first stage of preparing the structure for retrofitting the photovoltaic panels. Astronauts secured the arches adjacent to the two sets of panels in preparation for replacement on subsequent walking tours.

The oldest set of solar panels currently in operation was installed on the International Space Station in the year 2000 and is still in operation despite its estimated useful life of 15 years. The problem is that the efficiency of solar panels has decreased after many years of operation, so in order to meet the increasing demand for electricity, they must be replaced.

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The new panels Boeing will launch into space will also be smaller than previous panels due to major technological advances. After the upgrade, which will include 6 sets out of 8 sets of PV panels, their total capacity will increase from 160 to 215KW.

Another space march just a few days away

The last march was the third time astronauts entered space this year. The two previous meetings were held on January 27 and February 1 and were attended by American astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover. The next march is scheduled for March 5, when Japanese Soishi Noguchi and American Kate Robbins will leave the space station again.

According to NASA, astronauts on the International Space Station have made a total of 235 space walks since 1998. 180 of them wear US spacesuits and 55 of them wear Russian spacesuits. Most of the rallies, 23, were held in 2007.