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Two US astronauts will make the first all-female space event on March 29, if all goes according to plan: the end of Women's History Month is a good idea.
Anne McClain, who arrived at the International Space Station on December 3rd, will float in space with her American teammate Christina Koch to work on "upgrades outside" the station, said McClain in a televised conversation with US Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday, March 6th.
McClain said that she and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques were preparing for the release in space for a few weeks pending the arrival of Koch, the astronaut American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. The trio Expedition 59 should start the "Pi Day" (March 14) at, believe it or not, at 3:14 pm. EDT (19:14 GMT).
Related: Record of women in the history of spaceflight
"[We’re] prepare the combinations and systems, prepare the procedures and prepare the team, "McClain said. As you know, the other half of our team will not arrive until about a week before the release in space. [there are] a lot of technical preparations [to do] to make sure everything is ready. But the space station, here for 20 years, and it is time to make some improvements on the outside, and we are ready. "
The key step of the spacewalk was not part of the initial mission plan, although a NASA spokesperson expressed his delight that this is going on as well.
"This is really the lucky draw," said Stephanie Schierholz, of NASA, at the agency's headquarters in Washington, DC.
The spacewalks intended to replace the stacks of the space station's solar panels originally had to call on another crew in the fall of 2018, Schierholz said. However, they were postponed until the station resumed its full complement of six people in mid-March, after the unsuccessful abort launch in October Soyuz carrying Hague and Ovchinine.
"We feel lucky that it [the all-female spacewalk] in some way in Women's History Month, "said Schierholz.
And there are more milestones for women in space than the two space walkers. To the director of the mission, the principal director of flights, Mary Lawrence, will supervise the crew of the station and Jackie Kagey will be the principal officer of the exit in the space, said Schierholz.
When Koch arrives at the station, it will only be the fourth time that two women will serve together in an expedition team, said Schierholz (not to mention the visiting shuttle teams). The space station has hosted many milestones for women over the last two decades, including simultaneous hosting of the largest number of women in space (four, in April 2010), the longest space flight made by a woman (289 days, by Peggy Whitson in 2016-2017) and time the most cumulative in space done by a woman (Peggy Whitson, who spent most of her 665 days in space station space).
The all-female spacewalk is part of a trio of extravehicular activities scheduled for March and April. On March 22, McClain and Hague will wear their spacesuit and head out, while April 8, The Hague and St. James will turn around. The four participating astronauts are all novice astronauts and novices, but they practiced the procedures for many hours on the ground. All dates are subject to change.
Space.com editor Tariq Malik contributed to this report.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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