Spacewalking astronauts are about midway through a back-and-forth effort to outfit the International Space Station with new batteries that will keep outpost systems working while the complex is on the dark side of the planet.Atlantis mission specialists are moving new and old batteries between a cargo pallet and slots on the far left end of the station's 335-foot-long central truss.
The process involves handing to batteries back and forth, from one astronaut to the other, in a fashion that makes it appear as if the spacewalkers inch-worming their way between the pallet and the truss. Anchored on the end of the station's robot arm, the pallet is positioned as close as possible to the port end of the truss to shorten the moves.
The astronauts will swap out three of the batteries during a planned 6.5-hour excursion. Good and crewmate Garrett Reisman will change on three more on a third and final spacewalk on Friday.
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