NASA is about to lead its first spacewalk since March 2022.
The space agency paused extravehicular activities (EVAs) at the station to give it time to investigate an incident during a walk where a thin layer of moisture appeared inside the helmet of astronaut Matthias Maurer.
The German astronaut was OK, but NASA described it as a “close call” and decided to halt NASA-led spacewalks at the station so it could determine what caused the incident. In the meantime, five other spacewalks have taken place at the station, involving mostly cosmonauts and organized by NASA’s Russian counterpart, Roscosmos.
Having completed its work and made the appropriate kit updates, NASA will conduct its next EVA on Tuesday, November 15, with astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio. This will be the first spacewalk for both astronauts.
The pair will exit the station’s Quest airlock at 8 a.m. ET to assemble a mounting bracket for solar arrays on the starboard side of the orbital outpost’s truss assembly as part of ongoing work to upgrade the station’s power system.
How to watch
NASA’s livestream of the event will start at 6:30 a.m. ET, with the spacewalk itself set to begin at 8 a.m. ET. Cassada and Rubio will like spend around seven hours outside the station.
Cassada will serve as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV 1) and will be identifiable by the red stripes on his spacesuit. Rubio will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV 2) and will wear a suit without red stripes.
You can watch the spacewalk via the video player embedded at the top of this page, or by visiting NASA’s YouTube channel, which will carry the same feed.
The livestream will utilize a variety of cameras, including astronaut helmet cams, and include commentary from NASA personnel offering insight into what the astronauts are doing at any given time. The live audio links between the astronauts and Mission Control will also form part of the broadcast.
Following this week’s EVA, the next two NASA-led spacewalks are scheduled for Monday, November 28, and Thursday, December 1.
For a taste of what to expect on Tuesday, check out this gallery of amazing spacewalk images captured over the years.
