In Photos: Space Station Astronauts Take Spacewalk to Upgrade Power System

Ready for a Spacewalk

ESA/NASA

On Jan. 6, 2017, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson spent more than six hours spacewalking outside the International Space Station to upgrade the outpost's power system. See photos from the spacewalk here. In this image: Kimbrough and Whitson pose for a photio with crewmate Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency during a spacesuit fit check ahead of the spacewalk.

Spacewalk Prep Work: Expedition 50

Thomas Pesquet/ESA via Twitter

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet poses for a photo with NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough as they prebreathe for a Jan. 6, 2017 spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Suited Up for Expedition 50 Spacewalk

Thomas Pesquet/ESA via Twitter

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson, clad in their spacesuits, are ready for the first spacewalk of their Expedition 50 mission at the International Space Station on Jan. 6, 2017. European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped this photo.

Expedition 50 Spacewalk 1: Let's Get Started

NASA TV

The first spacewalk of the Expedition 50 mission aboard the International Space Station began at 7:23 a.m. EST on Jan. 6, 2016. Here, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson are seen exiting the station's Quest airlock to begin their station power system work.

Expedition 50 Spacewalk 1: Teamwork

NASA TV

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough (left in red stripe) and Peggy Whitson work retrieve adapter plates outside the International Space Station during a Jan. 6, 2017 spacewalk to upgrade the orbiting laboratory's power system.

Expedition 50 Spacewalk 1: Peggy at Work

NASA TV

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson works outside the International Space Station during a Jan. 6, 2017 spacewalk to update the outpost's power system.

Expedition 50 Spacewalk 1: Transit the Truss

NASA TV

This view shows astronauts Shane Kimbrough (in red-striped spacesuit) and Peggy Whitson (all-white) work on the main truss of the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Jan. 6, 2017.

Expedition 50 Spacewalk 1: Shane at Work

NASA TV

Astronaut Shane Kimbrough (bottom left) is seen moving across the exterior of the International Space Station during a Jan. 6, 2017 spacewalk to upgrade the station's power system.

Spacewalker at the Door: Peggy Whitson

Thomas Pesquet/ESA via Twitter

After a long spacewalk, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is seen entering the International Space Station's Quest airlock in this photo by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet inside the station on Jan. 6, 2017.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.