![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/spacestation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/240\/2023\/06\/blog_iss069e014347.jpg\")
<\/a>Four Expedition 69<\/a> astronauts are making final preparations ahead of Friday\u2019s spacewalk to continue upgrading the International Space Station<\/a>\u2019s power generation system. Meanwhile, the orbital outpost\u2019s three cosmonauts focused on heart research and plasma physics while ensuring station systems remain in tip-top shape.<\/p>\n NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen<\/a> and Woody Hoburg<\/a> are scheduled to set their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, to battery power at 9:15 a.m. EDT on Friday<\/a> officially beginning a spacewalk to install roll-out solar arrays on the station\u2019s starboard truss structure. Ahead of the spacewalk, the duo staged their EMUs and spacewalking tools inside the Quest airlock<\/a> where they will exit the station into the vacuum of space. The two astronauts were also joined by Flight Engineers Frank Rubio<\/a> of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi<\/a> of UAE (United Arab Emirates) for a final review of their spacewalking tasks and robotic support procedures. Rubio and Alneyadi will assist Bowen and Hoburg from inside the station on Friday.<\/p>\n The roll-out solar arrays arrived on Tuesday<\/a> after the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle docked to the orbital lab following its Monday launch<\/a>. Ground engineers on Wednesday remotely-commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm to remove the solar arrays from Dragon\u2019s unpressurized trunk and attach them to a pallet on the starboard truss in preparation for Friday\u2019s installation spacewalk. This will be the station\u2019s fifth roll-out solar array improving its power-generating capability by 30%.<\/p>\n On the Roscosmos side of the space station, Commander Sergey Prokopyev<\/a> and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin<\/a> partnered together for a long-running study into the effects of weightlessness on the human heart. Prokopyev later disconnected hardware that supported a plasma study that explores electrically-charged micro-particles such as electrons, ions, and neutral gases. Petelin investigated ways to improve communications with international crews and mission controllers from around the world. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev<\/a> worked throughout the day on computer and power systems maintenance.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following the\u00a0space station blog<\/a>,\u00a0@space_station<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0@ISS_Research<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter, as well as the\u00a0ISS Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0ISS Instagram<\/a>\u00a0accounts.<\/p>\n Get weekly video highlights at:\u00a0https:\/\/roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov\/videoupdate\/<\/a><\/p>\n Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:\u00a0www.nasa.gov\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Garcia <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Four Expedition 69 astronauts are making final preparations ahead of Friday\u2019s spacewalk to continue upgrading the International Space Station\u2019s power generation system. Meanwhile, the orbital outpost\u2019s three cosmonauts focused on heart research and plasma physics while ensuring station systems remain in tip-top shape. NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are scheduled to set \u2026 Continue reading
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