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Ibadan, 5 December 2022. – The National Space Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that expedition 68 Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio have concluded their spacewalk after 7 hours and 5 minutes.
Cassada and Rubio completed their major objectives: to install an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) and disconnect a cable to ensure the 1B channel reactivation. They also completed an additional task to release several bolts for the upcoming iROSA installation on the 4A power channel on the port truss.
It was the 256th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, and was the second spacewalk for both astronauts. Cassada and Rubio are in the midst of a planned six-month science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.
NASA has scheduled the next U.S. spacewalk for Monday, Dec. 19, to install an iROSA on the 4A power channel on the port truss. This will be the fourth iROSAs out of a total of six that NASA has planned for installation. The iROSAs will increase power generation capability by up to 30%, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.
