[sarex] Station Crew Preps for Wednesday's Spacewalk

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

Station Crew Preps for Wednesday's Spacewalk

ISS014-E-12586 : Michael Lopez-Alegria with pistol grip tool Image 
above: Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria holds a pistol grip 
tool as he floats in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space 
Station. Image credit: NASA

TO VIEW PICTURE GO TO:  
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

The first of three spacewalks in nine days by Commander Michael 
Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Sunita Williams is scheduled to begin 
Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST. Tasks scheduled for the first six-hour, 
30-minute excursion include reconfiguring one of two cooling loops for 
the Destiny module, rearranging electrical connections and securing and 
covering the starboard radiator of the P6 truss after retraction.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams completed preparations for the spacewalk on 
Tuesday, checking out the tools they will use during the spacewalk and 
conducting a final review of procedures with specialists in Mission 
Control, Houston.

The pair are "camping out" in the Quest airlock overnight to minimize 
preparation time Wednesday. The reduced air pressure in the airlock 
protects against decompression sickness as spacewalkers go to the even 
lower pressure in the spacesuits for the spacewalk.

+ Read more about the spacewalks 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_evas.html> 


On Monday, Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, assisted by 
Flight Engineer Suni Williams, swore in 16 sailors aboard the USS Dwight 
D. Eisenhower during a special live link-up from the space station. 
Lopez-Alegria and Williams, both U.S. Naval Academy graduates, conducted 
the long-distance re-enlistment ceremony as the station orbited 220 
miles above the Earth.

+ Read more about this event 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_Navy_swear_in.html> 


+ Expedition 14 Mission Status Briefing Materials, Jan. 26, 2007 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_msb_012607.html>
+ Read more about Expedition 14 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/index.html>
+ Read more about Expedition 15 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html>
+ View crew's daily timelines 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>