Astronauts make light work of battery swap

Astronauts have hustled through the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station.

Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan work on the ISS on Sunday. Picture: NASA via AP

Astronauts hustled through the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station on Sunday.

In a seven-hour space walk Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan removed three old batteries and installed two new ones ­delivered just a week ago, getting a jump on future work. These new lithium-ion batteries are so powerful that only one is needed for every two old ones.

These latest battery swaps are especially difficult given the ­extreme location on the station’s sprawling frame. It’s too far for the 17m robot arm to reach, forcing ­astronauts to lug the batteries back and forth themselves. That’s why so many spacewalks are needed to replace 12 old nickel- hydrogen batteries with six lithium-ion versions. “Awesome work today. We have made great progress,” Mission Control radioed. Ms Koch ­replied: “It has been a wonderful day … we look forward to the rest of the series.” The pair will venture back out Friday for more battery work 400km up.

The 180kg batteries — half the size of a refrigerator — are part of the station’s solar power network. Astronauts have been upgrading them since 2017 and are more than halfway done. The old ones are 10 years old; the new ones are expected to last until the end of the space station’s life, providing power on the night side of Earth.

Ms Koch and Colonel Morgan took turns holding each battery as they made their way, inchworm style, along the structure. The batteries were so bulky they blocked the spacewalkers’ views of one another, prompting constant updates. “I am right next to you,” Ms Koch said at one point. “I have the battery,” Colonel Morgan replied. Then Ms Koch had the battery, and so it went until the job was done.

AP