In a development freelively. discussed in a previous note, NASA took a spacewalk today. This walk was conducted for the development of the International Space Station whose services have been extended until 2030. Read to reveal more about the spacewalk.
Spacewalk in progress: @NASA_Astronauts Kayla Barron and Raja Chari put their spacesuits on battery power at 8:12 a.m. ET, marking the official start of today’s spacewalk. Then they leave the @Space station‘s Quest airlock and go to the first wharf: pic.twitter.com/qSlSP9Sxi7
— NASA (@NASA) March 15, 2022
Who is Raja Chari?
Indian astronaut Raja Chari was selected as the commander of the Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station in 2020 and was launched to the flying outpost a year later. He had served as a colonel for the United States Air Force. Chari was chosen to become an astronaut in 2017. Chari has accumulated over 2,500 flight hours throughout his career. Chari is also a member of the Artemis team and is eligible to be assigned to a future lunar mission. His father, Srinivas Chari, left Hyderabad for the US at a young age for an engineering degree. This is Chari’s first spacewalk, although it will be his partner Barron’s second.
NASA’s Development Plan for SpaceX
NASA has planned the installation of six ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) that will use the sun’s energy to provide electrical power for the myriad surveys and scientific investigations conducted each day. The new panels will give the aging station a much-needed electrical boost as the demand for experiments and space tourists grows. The new panels will increase the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to a maximum of 215 kilowatts. While Chari and Barron are outside the space station, astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Matthias Maurer will help the spacewalkers put on and take off their suits, check and guide them during exterior maintenance.