Padalka and Barratt Are Out on a Spacewalk Today

With space shuttle Endeavor's flight to the International Space Station scheduled for June 13, the crew aboard the orbital lab is currently engaged in making the final preparation to receive the flight, and also the two segments of the Japanese Kibo module, the Exposed Facility (JEM EF), and the Exposed Section of the Experiment Logistics Module (ELM-ES). The shuttle will also replace the first long-term JAXA astronaut aboard the ISS Koichi Wakata with NASA flight engineer Timothy Kopra.

 

As part of the preparation to receive the last two module segments, ISS Commander Gennedy Padalka, of RosCosmos, and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt, of NASA, began today a spacewalk to prepare the station for the new additions. The extra-vehicular activity (EVA) began at 2:45 am EDT (0645 GMT), and is currently scheduled to last about five and a half hours. The two have it in their schedule to attach two new antennas on the Russian Pirs module, which will prepare the facility for the arrival of Mini-Research Module 2 later this fall.

 

The Flight Director of Expedition 20, David Korth, said on Thursday in a press briefing that “These [EVAs] are part of a bigger preparation scheme in getting ready for the launch and docking of MRM2, which is the Mini Research Module, scheduled to launch and dock to ISS in November of this year.” The two astronauts are not scheduled to complete all of their work today, and will perform another spacewalk on June 10, just three days before Endeavor launches from the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

 

Today marks the first time Michael Barratt went out in space, but it’s just another one in a long row for Padalka, who is a veteran of this type of actions. With the new EVA, the astronauts will be testing the fresh Russian Orlan MK spacesuit, and even the NASA astronaut will wear one. “They had a good weekend together, got a chance to rest and get used to more people onboard. They're all very excited to be onboard and in very good spirits,” concluded NASA's lead flight director for the Expedition 20 to the ISS, Courtenay McMillan, Space informs.