Spacewalk From International Space Station Will Air On NASA TV
HOUSTON -- Two Russian cosmonauts will step outside the International
Space Station on Wednesday, Feb. 16. They will install and retrieve
experiments on the Russian segment of the complex and deploy a small
ham radio satellite. NASA Television coverage of the spacewalk will
begin at 6:45 a.m. CST.
Expedition 26 Flight Engineers Dmitry Kondratyev and Oleg Skripochka,
wearing their Russian Orlan spacesuits, will emerge from the Pirs
Docking Compartment airlock for the second time in four weeks at about 7:15 a.m.
During the nearly six-hour spacewalk, they will install two
experiments. One will collect information useful in seismic forecasts
and earthquake predictions, and the second will look at gamma
splashes and optical radiation during terrestrial lightning and
thunderstorms. The spacewalkers also will retrieve a pair of panels
exposed to space as part of an experiment to identify the best
materials for building long-duration spacecraft.
The cosmonauts also will deploy an experiment called ARISSat-1, or
Radioskaf-V, a boxy 57-pound nanosatellite that houses congratulatory
messages commemorating the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's launch
to become the first human in space. The ham radio transmitter will
enable communications with amateur radio operators around the world
for three to six months. It is the first of a series of educational
satellites being developed in a partnership with the Radio Amateur
Satellite Corp.; the NASA Office of Education International Space
Station National Lab Project; the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station working group; and RSC-Energia.
The spacewalk will be the second for Kondratyev, who will wear the
spacesuit marked with red stripes, and the third for Skripochka, who
will wear the suit with blue stripes.
For more information about the International Space Station and its
crew members, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about ham radio on the space station, visit:
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.
Source: NASA
