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Spacewalk scheduled for tonight from ISS
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Santa Claus may be making his list and checking it twice for Christmas delivery, but aboard the International Space Station (ISS) the Expedition 18 team is getting ready for tonight's science-oriented spacewalk.
As astronaut Sandy Magnus goes through her checklist, Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov have been checking out their Russian Orlan spacesuits and practicing for tonight's spacewalk. Magnus, who arrived on Endeavour via the STS-126 mission, will stay onboard as spacewalk coordinator while her Fincke and Lonchakov work outside.
The six-hour spacewalk has two goals: install and retrieve science experiments, including a German-developed set, from the station's outer hull. They'll also install a new probe designed to measure electromagentic potential around a Russian segment of the orbiting outpost.
NASA explains the concern about the segment, which is
... suspected by Russian specialists to have contributed to the failure of Soyuz module separation bolts. Improper firing of these bolts resulted in steeper than expected re-entries for the Soyuz spacecrafts carrying the Expedition 15 and 16 crews back to Earth.
Lead spacewalker Lonchakov will wear the spacesuit with the blue stripes on the legs, while Fincke will wear the suit with the red stripes.
The spacewalk will begin at about 7:15 p.m. EST. NASA TV will begin coverage at 6:30 p.m. EST.
Image credit: NASA
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