NASA astronauts to undertake critical repair of ISS robotic arm
A six-and-a-half-hour extravehicular activity will see Chris Williams and Jessica Meir restore functionality to the station’s primary robotic system following a May malfunction.
NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir are scheduled to conduct US Spacewalk 95 on Tuesday, June 30, to replace a malfunctioning wrist joint on the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. The six-and-a-half-hour operation follows a May 27 malfunction. A preview news conference will be held on Thursday, June 25, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with live coverage available on NASA+ and other platforms.
The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 8 a.m. EDT, with Williams and Meir exiting the station’s Quest airlock to perform the repair. Williams will serve as spacewalk crew member 1, wearing a suit with red stripes, while Meir will serve as crew member 2, wearing an unmarked suit. This will be Williams’ second spacewalk and Meir’s fifth.
The malfunction occurred on May 27, when the Canadarm2 drew elevated motor current and failed to move as expected during normal operations. NASA worked alongside the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to understand the issue and determined a spacewalk was required to replace the joint using a spare already aboard the space station.
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. This spacewalk will be the 280th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Experts from NASA and CSA will preview the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, on the agency’s YouTube channel. The briefing will take place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 24.
Media joining by phone should request dial-in details by the same deadline. To ask a question, media must dial in no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference. Watch NASA’s live U.S. spacewalk 95 coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. EDT on NASA+, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and the agency’s YouTube channel.
