International Space Station Crew to Head Out for Second Spacewalk This Month

The International Space Station (ISS) crew will make a second spacewalk within a month on Thursday, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) informs.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Expedition 50 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will upgrade the station’s hardware during a spacewalk on Thursday, the second to be carried out this month, NASA said.

"The second spacewalk will feature [Expedition 50 Commander Shane] Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA reconnecting cables and electrical connections on PMA-3 [Pressurized Mating Adapter-3] at its new home on top Harmony [module]. They also will install the second of the two upgraded computer relay boxes on the station’s truss and install shields and covers on PMA-3 and the now-vacant common berthing mechanism port on Tranquility [module]," NASA said on its website.

The first spacewalk in the series was conducted on March 24, when Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency (ESA) disconnected cables between PMA-3 and the Tranquility module. The adapter was then relocated to the Harmony module.

The final, third, spacewalk in the series is planned for April 6, according to NASA.