NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel have completed a spacewalk to set up new equipment for the International Space Station.
The spacewalk performed on Thursday, June 14 aims to prepare for the arrival of the first commercial crew ships that will dock at the space station later this year.
Spacewalk Mission: Successful Installation Of Cameras
Expedition 56 commander Drew Feustel and flight engineer Ricky Arnold left the International Space Station through the Quest airlock and spent around 6 hours and 48 minutes spacewalking, according to NASA.
During the spacewalk, the two astronauts installed new brackets and two new high-definition TV cameras on the front end of the space station's Harmony module.
Initially, the astronauts encountered some technical difficulties as they started off with the spacewalk, but they still managed to complete their assigned tasks for the day.
They also had to close a protective panel that was stuck open. After much effort, Feustel managed to put the panel back in its place.
High-Definition TV Cameras
The astronauts had to set up the cameras to provide sharp views of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner as they approach and dock the space station in August this year.
The new equipment is expected to help the incoming vehicles to line up with the International Docking Adapter, which is a new port that was set up during a spacewalk performed two years ago.
The cameras are also expected to provide wireless communication for the Japanese Exposed Module - Exposed Facility and the European Space Agency or ESA.
There will be no passengers onboard the spacecraft en route to the ISS for the initial flights, but the vehicles will begin transporting astronauts by the year 2020.
This move is part of NASA's decision to rely on U.S. companies, instead of Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, for the transportation of American astronauts to and from the ISS.
Third Spacewalk In 2018
The current spacewalk is the third one for Arnold and Feustel this year. Overall, it is the 211th spacewalk performed in the International Space Station. During Feustel and Arnold's career, it would be the ninth and fifth, respectively.
Feustel's accumulated time spent spacewalking is now at 61 hours and 48 minutes. He managed to overtake Peggy Whitson's record of 60 hours and 21 minutes for 10 spacewalks, and Feustel's rank based on cumulative time spent outside the ISS moved from seventh to third.
