Station Crew Ready for Wednesday's Spacewalk
Earth's limb and airglow form part of the background for this scene of solar array panels on the International Space Station that appear to be intersecting. Image credit: NASA
After completing a daily exercise regimen, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani configured cameras for use during their spacewalk. They later participated in a conference with specialists in Mission Control, Houston, for a final review of spacewalk procedures.
To complete the day's preparations, Whitson and Tani are "camping out" overnight in the Quest airlock. This procedure protects against decompression sickness as they go to the even lower pressure of spacesuits on Wednesday.
Most of Wednesday's spacewalk will focus on replacement of a motor, called the Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module, which drives the starboard solar wings as they tilt along their axis to follow the sun for optimal power generation as the station orbits the Earth.
The spacewalk is slated to begin at 5:20 a.m. EST. Live coverage on NASA TV kicks off at 4 a.m.
Also on Tuesday, Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko completed a repress of the station's oxygen from the supply aboard the docked Progress 27 cargo craft. That Progress vehicle will undock from the station Feb. 4 to make way for the arrival of Progress 28 and its cargo of food, supplies and oxygen on Feb. 7.
Source: NASA
Most of Wednesday's spacewalk will focus on replacement of a motor, called the Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module, which drives the starboard solar wings as they tilt along their axis to follow the sun for optimal power generation as the station orbits the Earth.
The spacewalk is slated to begin at 5:20 a.m. EST. Live coverage on NASA TV kicks off at 4 a.m.
Also on Tuesday, Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko completed a repress of the station's oxygen from the supply aboard the docked Progress 27 cargo craft. That Progress vehicle will undock from the station Feb. 4 to make way for the arrival of Progress 28 and its cargo of food, supplies and oxygen on Feb. 7.
Source: NASA
» Next Article in Space & Earth science - Space Exploration: NASA Scientists Get First Images of Earth Flyby Asteroid

Rating: n/a
Bookmark
Save as PDF
Print
Email
Blog It
Stumble It!


PhysOrg Forum
Video
Editorials
Free Magazines
Free White Papers
Newsletter
Advanced Search
Goto Archive
Suggest a story idea
Send feedback