NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a briefing at 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. CDT), Thursday, Oct. 22 to preview the tasks and preparation for two upcoming spacewalks by U.S. astronauts living aboard the International Space Station.
The briefing and spacewalks will air on NASA Television, and will be streamed live on NASA’s website.
Two U.S. astronauts will venture outside the space station’s Quest airlock on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Friday, Nov. 6, to perform a pair of spacewalks in support of space station assembly and maintenance. Expedition 45 commander Scott Kelly and flight engineer Kjell Lindgren of NASA will conduct both spacewalks, the first of their careers, and the 189th and 190th of the space station.
The spacewalks flank the 15th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the space station, which is Nov. 2.
The participants for the Oct. 22 briefing will include:
Kenneth Todd, International Space Station operations integration manager
Michael Lammers, lead Expedition 45 flight director
Grant Slusser, lead U.S. 32 spacewalk officer
Arthur Thomason, lead U.S. 33 spacewalk officer
Reporters may attend the briefing at Johnson and other participating NASA centers, or ask questions by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:45 p.m.
The first spacewalk on Oct. 28 is the 32nd U.S. spacewalk, and will focus on station upgrades and maintenance tasks, including installing a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector that has been attached to the station since 2011. NASA TV coverage will begin at 6:45 a.m., with the spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8:10 a.m.
The second spacewalk on Nov. 6 is the 33rd U.S. spacewalk, and will attempt to restore the port truss ammonia cooling system to its original configuration. A spacewalk conducted in November 2012 tried to isolate a leak in the truss’ cooling supply, but the leak was subsequently traced to a different component. NASA TV coverage will begin at 5:45 a.m., with the spacewalk scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and to view the news briefing, visit:
For more information about the International Space Station, its research and crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
