NASA flight director discusses curtailed spacewalk

After a bit of a struggle with a balky bolt, space station commander Peggy Whitson replaced a failed external computer during a short, hurriedly planned spacewalk Tuesday while crewmate Jack Fischer installed a pair of antennas to improve wireless communications during future excursions.

Astronauts Drew Morgan and Christina Koch floated back outside the International Space Station Friday and completed work to replace six aging batteries with three more powerful units in one of the lab’s eight solar power circuits. Three more spacewalks are planned over the next two weeks to replace another six batteries in an adjacent circuit.

European Space Agency member states on Thursday committed nearly 12.5 billion euros ($13.8 billion) to fund ESA programs over the next three years, promising money to grow Europe’s fleet of satellites studying Earth’s changing climate, contribute to NASA-led lunar exploration efforts, and continue ESA’s participation in the International Space Station until 2030.