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

    Special Commandos To Guard Sensitive Stations On Vande Bharat Train Route

    The first Vande Bharat Express launched between Delhi and Varanasi earlier this year had faced incidents of stone throwing enroute, damaging its window panes.  

    Special Commandos To Guard Sensitive Stations On Vande Bharat Train Route

    Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP To Finalise Punjab Bypolls Strategy On Saturday

    The meeting, which will be attended by Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab BJP president Shwait Malik, will be held in Jalandhar.

    Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP To Finalise Punjab Bypolls Strategy On Saturday

    Article 370 A Mistake, Pak Reaction Sign Of 'Bankruptcy': Harish Salve

    The judgement was in the favour of the Indian government in connection with funds associated with the Nizam of Hyderabad dating back to Partition in 1947.

    Article 370 A Mistake, Pak Reaction Sign Of 'Bankruptcy': Harish Salve

    Smartphone Industry Defies Slowdown, Record Festive Sales Expected

    Smartphone Industry Defies Slowdown, Record Festive Sales Expected
    Apple is in for a bumper festive season sales and the iPhone 11 series -- starting from Rs 58,900 -- has registered very strong demand from the consumers in the country.

    Smartphone Industry Defies Slowdown, Record Festive Sales Expected

    Deep-rooted Turkey-Pakistan Nuclear Links Behind Erdogan's Anti-India Stance?

    Is there a highly secretive N-connection to the burgeoning relations between Pakistan and Turkey, besides of religion, that is making Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan so sharp in his comments against India?

    Deep-rooted Turkey-Pakistan Nuclear Links Behind Erdogan's Anti-India Stance?

    Amarinder Singh Urges PM Narendra Modi To Build Canals On Sutlej, Ravi And Beas Rivers

    Amarinder Singh Urges PM Narendra Modi To Build Canals On Sutlej, Ravi And Beas Rivers
    In his proposal, presented to PM Narendra Modi, Amarinder Singh also underlined the need to harness the river water which was currently flowing into Pakistan during the monsoon.  

    Amarinder Singh Urges PM Narendra Modi To Build Canals On Sutlej, Ravi And Beas Rivers