NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 3:40 p.m. EDT. During the 7-hour, 20-minute spacewalk, Williams and Meir completed their primary objective to remove and replace a wrist joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
Following the repair by the astronauts, NASA’s Mission Control in Houston powered up Canadarm2 to successfully complete an initial check out the system’s power and data connectivity. Over the coming week, ground controllers also will begin moving the arm as system checkouts continue.
NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) elected to replace the wrist joint after it malfunctioned during normal Canadarm2 operations on May 27 after the arm drew elevated motor current and did not move as expected. Repairs to robotics, like Canadarm2, are normal and expected after more than 25 years of continuous operations, as the system was designed with replaceable components and planned maintenance in mind.
The faulty joint will be returned to Earth to be inspected and refurbished for future use on the robotic arm, if needed.
U.S. Spacewalk 95 was Williams’ second career spacewalk and the fifth for Meir. It also was the 280th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_stationon X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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