Two NASA astronauts, Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, did their first spacewalk together outside the International Space Station. They replaced a part to make sure the station’s solar panels keep turning and did some other maintenance work. This was the fourth time in history that two women did a spacewalk together.
The spacewalk ended with both Moghbeli and O’Hara back inside the Quest airlock. The airlock started re-pressurizing at 2:47 p.m. EDT and the whole spacewalk took 6 hours and 42 minutes.
‘I’m really excited about this moment because it’s my first time doing a spacewalk, and I’m doing it with my good friend and someone I admire a lot, Loral,”- Astronaut Moghbeli
As reported by space.comMoghbeli’s first task was to take off a handle-like device making space for a new solar panel on the International Space Station. This new panel along with five others added before will give the station more power for more commercial activities in space.
At the same time, O’Hara started changing one of the 12 wheel-like bearing assemblies on a rotating part of the space station’s left side. She removed the protective covers, checked for any damage and found none
Sadly the wheel-like bearing didn’t come off as smoothly as they hoped. O’Hara and Moghbeli had some trouble with the bolts holding it in place. Eventually, they managed to remove it, but it took longer than planned, putting them about an hour behind schedule.
After getting rid of the old bearing, Moghbeli fixed a data cable for a camera, and O’Hara used a special grease gun to lubricate a part before putting on the new wheel-like bearing.
Further, the two astronauts did what they could with the time they had left. They worked on getting ready to remove an electronics box called the Radio Frequency Group (RFG).
SEE ALSO: Russian Cosmonaut Encounters “Life Or Death Moment” During Spacewalk; Watch The Harrowing Video
On October 18, two NASA astronauts, Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, executed the historic first all-female spacewalk. During this mission, they replaced a malfunctioning battery charge/discharge unit that didn’t activate after a prior spacewalk. For Christina Koch it marked her fourth spacewalk, while for Jessica Meir it was her very first.
