Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
India

In First, Spacewalk Conducted By Two Women: NASA TV

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Oct, 2019 09:08 PM

    NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir ventured out of the International Space Station on Friday for the first all-women space walk to replace a failed power controller, also known as a battery charge-discharge unit (BCDU).


    Koch and Meir ventured out into the vacuum of space at 7.38 a.m. EDT (5.08 p.m. India time) for the space walk, according to NASA.


    It is the first time that all space walkers are women and the 43rd space walk to include women.


    This is Koch's fourth space walk and Meir's first.


    The space walk is the 221st in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades and the eighth outside the station this year.



    An all-women space walk, involving Koch and NASA astronaut Anne McClain, was originally scheduled for March.


    But that was scuttled because properly fitted spacesuits could not be readied in time for both astronauts, Space.com reported.


    So far, the 15 women who have conducted a space walk did so with a male companion.


    The first all-women space walk is a milestone worth noting as NASA looks forward to putting the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 with the agency's Artemis lunar exploration programme.


    Space walks are not easy. Astronauts typically describe them as the most physically challenging thing they do.


    "In the end, I do think it's important, and I think it's important because of the historical nature of what we're doing. In the past women haven't always been at the table," Koch was quoted as saying by NASA when asked in an interview about the importance of conducting her mission and the first all-female space walk.


    Koch and Meir went out into the vacuum of space to replace a battery charge/discharge unit that failed to activate after new lithium-ion batteries were installed on the space station's exterior structure on October 11.


    The unit is one of several that regulate the charge put into the batteries collecting energy from the station's solar arrays. Though the unit's failure has not affected station operations or crew safety, it does prevent the new batteries from providing increased station power, NASA said.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Punjab and Maharshtra Co-operative Bank Sam: How Waryam Singh Used His ‘Channels’ To Build The Wadhawan Emprire

    From the biggest fleet of Rolls Royce Phantoms in India to the luxury business jet Falcon 2000, the high-flying Wadhawans, arrested in the multi-crore PMC Bank scam, owned the most fabulous machines the world of hijinks has ever seen.  

    Punjab and Maharshtra Co-operative Bank Sam: How Waryam Singh Used His ‘Channels’ To Build The Wadhawan Emprire

    Books This Weekend: Of Guru Gobind Singh And The Creation Of The Khalsa, The Churning Within A Dalit IFS Officer

    There is much to be gained from the IANS Bookshelf this Weekend. Read on!    

    Books This Weekend: Of Guru Gobind Singh And The Creation Of The Khalsa, The Churning Within A Dalit IFS Officer

    FIR Lodged Against 49 Celebrities Who Wrote Open Letter To PM Modi On Mob Lynching

    The letter was written by 49 personalities, including filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal, veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee and vocalist Shubha Mudgal in July this year.

    FIR Lodged Against 49 Celebrities Who Wrote Open Letter To PM Modi On Mob Lynching

    Air Chief Backs Indigenous 5th Generation Jet, Says No Plan To Import

    Air Chief Backs Indigenous 5th Generation Jet, Says No Plan To Import
    The plan includes induction of more Tejas and Sukhoi aircraft, integrating of indigenous ASTRA beyond visual range missile across platforms and upgrading the Jaguar jet fleet among others, Air Marshal Bhadauria said.  

    Air Chief Backs Indigenous 5th Generation Jet, Says No Plan To Import

    IIT Student Gets Medal From President Kovind For Teaching Kids For Free

    The 22-year-old student, who completed his B.Tech in Production and Industrial Engineering this year, won the prestigious Dr Jai Krishna Gold Medal.  

    IIT Student Gets Medal From President Kovind For Teaching Kids For Free

    Woman Gets 7 Years In Jail For Allegedly Sexually Abusing 5-Year-Old Girl In Maharashtra's Thane

    District Judge D G Murumkar also imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000 on the 33-year-old woman, a resident of Thane district.  

    Woman Gets 7 Years In Jail For Allegedly Sexually Abusing 5-Year-Old Girl In Maharashtra's Thane