Skip to main content

Astronauts set for Friday spacewalk — here’s how to watch

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency are preparing for their next spacewalk at the International Space Station.

Recommended Videos

The extravehicular activity (EVA), as spacewalks are officially called, will take place on Friday, June 25.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Kimbrough and Pesquet, both experienced spacewalkers, will continue to work on upgrading the space station’s power systems, with tasks including the installation of a second solar array following the installation of the first one last weekend. Four additional solar arrays will be installed during future spacewalks.

“During the spacewalk, Pesquet will secure himself to the end of the station’s robotic Canadarm2 then grasp the [solar array],” NASA said on its website, adding, “Operating from inside the station, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei serving as backup, will command the robotic arm to maneuver Pesquet and the array as close as possible to the installation location.”

Friday’s EVA will be ninth for Kimbrough and the fifth for Pesquet, and the fifth they’ve conducted as a team after two spacewalks during the current mission and two earlier ones in 2017.

The space agency explained that although the current solar arrays continue to work well, they’re starting to show their age. The new solar arrays are being placed in front of six of the current arrays in a move that will boost the satellite’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to as much as 215 kilowatts. NASA said the same kind of solar array will provide power to part of the Gateway, a habitable satellite planned for lunar orbit as part of the agency’s plan to create a long-term, sustainable presence on the moon.

How to watch

NASA will begin its livestream at 6:30 a.m. ET (3:30 a.m. PT) on Friday, June 25. Kimbrough and Pesquet are expected to depart the space station at about 8 a.m. ET (5 a.m. PT). The spacewalk will likely last for between six and seven hours. Pesquet will be identifiable by red stripes on his spacesuit, while Kimbrough will be working in an unmarked suit.

Coverage, which can be viewed via the player at the top of this page, will include footage from multiple cameras attached to both the ISS and the astronauts themselves. You’ll also have access to the live audio feed between the astronauts and Mission Control, while a NASA commentator will explain what’s happening as Kimbrough and Pesquet perform their various tasks.

EVAs can produce some spectacular imagery — check out these incredible photos captured during spacewalks from over the years.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Astronaut’s photos from ISS make clouds look otherworldly
Clouds as seen from the space station.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has posted another set of stunning shots, this time showing clouds as you’ve never seen them before.

Captured from the International Space Station (ISS) some 250 miles above the surface of Earth, the clouds’ unique look is due to the the station’s alignment with our planet’s day/night shadow.

Read more
Check out astronaut’s stunning ‘science and art’ photo from the ISS
Earth, space, and the ISS as seen from the space station.

“So full of techno-cool and art-cool,” American astronaut Don Pettit wrote in a social media post describing his latest image from the International Space Station (ISS).

The remarkable photo is filled with light from stars and cities, with the trails created by keeping the camera shutter open for an extended period. We can also see the airglow on Earth's horizon, sunlight glinting off the SpaceX’s distant Starlink satellites, several spacecraft docked at the ISS, and parts of the station itself, too.

Read more
Astronaut’s photo shows Earth as you’ve never seen it before
Earth as seen from the space station.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit already has a long-held reputation for creating stunning space photography, and his latest effort will only bolster it.

Shared on social media on Thursday, the image (top) shows Earth as a blaze of streaking light, an effect created by using long and multiple exposures to capture cities at night across several continents.

Read more