French astronaut Thomas Pesquet went out into space again on Sunday with his American teammate Shane Kimbrough to complete a mission to install new solar panels on the International Space Station.

Wednesday's last outing was disrupted by setbacks.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet began a new spacewalk on Sunday, in order to complete the installation with his American teammate Shane Kimbrough of new solar panels, intended to increase the energy production capacities of the Space Station international (ISS).

This is Thomas Pesquet's fourth spacewalk, and the second during this mission.

At 11:42 a.m. GMT (1:42 p.m. French time), the two men activated the internal battery of their suit, then opened the hatch of the decompression chamber of the ISS.

A mission troubled by setbacks last Wednesday

Thomas Pesquet went out into the void first, followed by his team-mate.

"Spacewalk, episode 2, Another long but incredible day awaits us with Shane Kimbrough", tweeted the French a few hours before the start of this mission.

Spacewalk, episode ✌️ Another long but incredible day awaits us with @astro_kimbrough, and one that would be impossible without teamwork, both outside and inside the @Space_Station and on the ground #MissionAlpha


https: //t.co/wSJXPPo3ESpic.twitter.com/sV6zzjDYjK

- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) June 20, 2021

The latter is intended to install six new generation solar panels, called iROSA, on the ISS.

Wednesday, the two "mechanics" had started installing the first.

But the mission had been troubled by several setbacks, including concerns about Shane Kimbrough's suit.

"We are going to return to the vacuum of space to finish the work of the 1st exit (deployment of the 1st solar panel) and to install the 2nd", detailed Thomas Pesquet on social networks.

The 240th spacewalk in the history of the ISS

This is the fourth time that the two astronauts have floated together in zero gravity, having already carried out two side-by-side spacewalks in 2017, clinging to the Space Station spinning 400 kilometers above the Earth, and one on Wednesday . This is the 240th spacewalk in the history of the ISS.