NASA will livestream maintenance work that astronauts Jessica Meir and Sophie Adenot will carry out outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, Sept. 1. During U.S. spacewalk 99, which will last approximately six and a half hours, the retroreflector on the Harmony module will be replaced; cables will be installed for data transmission systems, the radiator of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be prepared for future maintenance, and a high-resolution camera will be replaced.
The mission will be Meir’s seventh and Adenot’s third spacewalk. Meir will rise to third place among women at NASA in terms of total spacewalks, behind Peggy Whitson (10) and Suni Williams (9).
Why it matters
This mission will enable different needs, such as data transmission, imaging and scientific equipment maintenance, to be addressed in a single spacewalk on the International Space Station’s external infrastructure. The preparations for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer show that the current work is not merely an immediate component replacement but also part of the subsequent maintenance process. The livestream will allow the public to follow the technical work required to operate the station and the approximately six-and-a-half-hour work schedule. While Meir’s rise to third place among female astronauts will highlight the accumulation of experience in human spaceflight, the mission’s technical outcome will depend on the extent to which the planned operations are completed.