Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams – ISS Astronauts take second spacewalk

Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams began a spacewalk on Wednesday in another attempt to install a power unit on the International Space Station (ISS).

Sunita and Akihiko built some improvised tools to assist with their installation tasks. The operation was broadcast live on NASA TV.

Their main job was to done the installation of a extra power unit on the station’s truss, which made problems throughout an Aug 30 spacewalk.

The spacewalk was programmed to previous 6.5 hours and included other jobs adjourned from last week’s tour if the fitting job is finished on time.

Last time, NASA Flight Engineer Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Hoshide spent eight hours and 17 minutes in space, but unsuccessful to fix a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the ISS’s s-zero truss as they had problems driving the bolts to secure the equipment.

Hoshide and Williams’s previous spacewalk was the third longest in history.

The MBSU is a weighty component used to transmit power from the station’s solar arrays to its systems.