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Welcome to Space to Ground, I'm Isidro
Reyna. This week, space walks and science on station.

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NASA flight engineer Jessica
Meir partnered for a second time with

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fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch for
a spacewalk on January 15. This was the

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first of two battery replacement
spacewalks this month.

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Meir and Koch replaced nickel hydrogen
batteries with newer, more powerful

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lithium-ion batteries for the power
channel on one pair of the station solar

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arrays. The spacewalking work continues
the overall upgrade of the station's

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power system that began with similar
battery replacement during spacewalks in

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January of 2017. A second spacewalk is
scheduled for January 20th.

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NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch the final,
major test before the astronauts fly

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aboard the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9
rocket is part of the Commercial Crew Program.

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The test, known as In-Flight
Abort, will demonstrate the spacecraft's

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escape capabilities showing that the
crew system can protect astronauts even

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in the unlikely event of an emergency
during launch. The uncrewed flight test

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is targeted for Saturday January 
18th from launch complex 39A in Florida.

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After liftoff, Falcon 9 ascent will
follow a trajectory that will mimic a

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Crew Dragon mission to the International
Space Station, matching the physical

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environments the rocket and spacecraft
well encounter during a normal ascent.

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SpaceX will configure Crew Dragon to
intentionally trigger a launch escape

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prior to 1 minute and 30 seconds into
flight, to demonstrate Crew Dragons

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capability to safely separate from the
Falcon 9 rocket during ascent. This test

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is designed to provide valuable data
toward NASA certifying SpaceX's crew

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transportation system for carrying
astronauts to and from the International

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Space Station. NASA flight engineer
Andrew Morgan and Commander Luca

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Parmitano of the European Space Agency
were on science duty this week.

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The astronauts took turn safely burning
fabric and acrylic samples to help

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scientists understand how flames spread
in space.

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Understanding how flames spread in
microgravity in confined spaces of

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different shapes, enables the development
of numerical models that allow designers

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and planners to anticipate fire behavior
and create plans for preventing or