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<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. &#8212; Astronauts hustled through the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station on Sunday.</p><p>Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan removed three old batteries and installed two new ones delivered just a week ago, getting a jump on future work. These new lithium-ion batteries are so powerful that only one is needed for every two old ones, which are original to the orbiting lab.</p><p>&#8220;Awesome work today. We have made great progress,&#8221; Mission Control radioed. Koch replied: &#8220;It has been a wonderful day &#8230; we look forward to the rest of the series.&#8221;</p><p>Koch and Morgan will venture back out Friday for more battery work 250 miles (400 kilometers) up.</p><p>The 400-pound (180-kilogram) batteries &#8212; half the size of a refrigerator &#8212; are part of the space station&#8217;s solar power network. Astronauts have been upgrading them since 2017 and are now more than halfway done. The old batteries are 10 years old; the new ones are expected to last until the end of the space station&#8217;s life, providing vital power on the night side of the Earth. These new batteries are so powerful that only one is needed for every two old ones.</p><p>These latest battery swaps are especially difficult given the extreme location on the station&#8217;s sprawling frame. It&#8217;s too far for the 58-foot (17-meter) robot arm to reach, forcing astronauts to lug the batteries back and forth themselves. That&#8217;s why so many spacewalks are needed this time to replace 12 old nickel-hydrogen batteries with six new lithium-ion versions.</p><p>Koch and Morgan took turns holding each battery as they made their way, inchworm style, along the structure. The batteries were so bulky that it blocked the spacewalkers&#8217; views of one another, prompting constant updates. &#8220;I am right next to you,&#8221; Koch said at one point. &#8220;I have the battery,&#8221; Morgan replied. Then Koch had the battery, and so it went until the job was complete.</p><p>They ended up plugging in two new batteries, one more than anticipated, and removing an extra old one.</p><p>The seven-hour spacewalk ended on another high note, at least for Koch. As she headed back inside, Mission Control gave her a National Football League update: &#8220;Good news, Eagles are ahead 14-0 in the second quarter.&#8221; She replied, &#8220;Go birds! &#8230; It might still be on when I get in.&#8221;</p><p>NASA plans to wrap up the five battery spacewalks this month, followed by a Russian spacewalk. Then five more U.S.-Italian spacewalks will be conducted in November and December to fix a key science instrument. NASA is calling it a &#8220;spacewalk bonanza.&#8221;</p><p>This unusual crush of spacewalks will feature the first all-female spacewalk &#8212; by Koch and Jessica Meir &#8212; later this month.</p><p>Koch is two-thirds of the way through a more than 300-day mission. It will be the longest single spaceflight by a woman.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">In this image made from video provided by NASA, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan work outside the International Space Station, Sunday, Oct. 6 2019.  The astronauts kicked off the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station on Sunday. (NASA via AP)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_123715046-c7942cd3cab544029fb0ca6edcd0ce42.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this image made from video provided by NASA, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan work outside the International Space Station, Sunday, Oct. 6 2019.  The astronauts kicked off the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station on Sunday. (NASA via AP)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcia Dunn</p><p>AP Aerospace Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Astronauts replace old batteries in 1st of 5 spacewalks