NASA Moves Space Station Repair Spacewalk To Saturday
HOUSTON -- The first of two spacewalks by NASA astronauts to replace a
failed ammonia pump on the International Space Station has been moved
to Saturday, Aug. 7. A second spacewalk is planned for Wednesday,
Aug. 11, to complete the repairs.
Teams of flight controllers, engineers, and spacewalk experts have
made significant progress in preparing for the first spacewalk, but
need an additional day to get ready. The additional time allows for
final procedures to be sent late Thursday to the station, giving the
crew a full day to review the plans developed by Mission Control.
Managers also moved the second spacewalk to Wednesday to give the
crew more time to rest and prepare.
Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson
are scheduled to perform the spacewalks, which will air on NASA
Television. Coverage will begin at 5 a.m. CDT. The spacewalks are
scheduled to begin at 5:55 a.m. Saturday's spacewalk will be the
fourth for Wheelock and the first for Caldwell Dyson.
Approximately two hours after the conclusion of each spacewalk, NASA
TV will broadcast a briefing from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The
briefing participants will be Mike Suffredini, International Space
Station program manager; Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 24 spacewalk
flight director; and David Beaver, Expedition 24 spacewalk officer.
Johnson's newsroom will be open for credentialed reporters to attend
the briefing. Johnson also will operate a telephone bridge for
reporters with valid media credentials issued by a NASA center.
Journalists planning to use the service must contact the Johnson
newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start
of a briefing. Phone bridge capacity is limited and will be available
on a first-come, first-served basis.
Engineers and flight controllers continue to review data on the July
31 pump failure, which caused the loss of one of two cooling loops
aboard the station. This failure resulted in a power down and
required adjustments to maintain as much redundancy as possible for
the station systems. The systems are stable, and the station's six
crew members are not in any danger.
For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the station and the Expedition 24 crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
Source: NASA
