Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov,
Expedition 40 flight engineer, attired in a Russian Orlan
spacesuit,
is pictured in this close-up view during a session of extravehicular activity
(EVA) in support of science and maintenance on the International Space
Station. During the five-hour, 11-minute spacewalk, Skvortsov
and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev (out
of frame) deployed a small science satellite, retrieved and installed
experiment packages and inspected components on the exterior of the orbital
laboratory.
Credits: NASA
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NASA Television will
broadcast live coverage of a 5.5-hour spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts
aboard the International Space Station beginning at 7:30 a.m. EST Wednesday,
Feb. 3.
Expedition 46 Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Sergey Volkov
of Roscosmos will don their spacesuits and exit the station's Pirs airlock at
approximately 8:10 a.m. Their objectives are to deploy and retrieve several
experiment packages on the Zvezda and Poisk modules and install devices called
gap spanners, which will be placed on the hull of the station to facilitate the
movement of crew members on future spacewalks.
Malenchenko and Volkov also will install the Vinoslivost
experiment, which will test the effects of the space environment on various
structural material samples, and test a device called the Restavratsiya
experiment, which could be used to glue special coatings to external surfaces
of the station’s Russian segment.
The pair will retrieve the EXPOSE-R Experiment, a collection of
biological and biochemical samples placed in the harsh environment of space.
The EXPOSE program is part of ESA’s (European Space Agency) research into
astrobiology, or the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in
the universe.
The spacewalk will be the 193rd in support of space station
assembly and maintenance, the sixth spacewalk for Malenchenko and the fourth
spacewalk for Volkov. Malenchenko will be designated extravehicular crew member
1 (EV1) and Volkov will be extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2). Both will wear
Russian Orlan spacesuits bearing blue stripes.
For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information,
visit:
For more information about the International Space Station and its
crew, visit: