Sep 28 2017
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-112 Briefing, NASA Television Coverage Set for Upcoming US Spacewalks
Three American astronauts aboard the International Space Station will embark on a trio of spacewalks in October to perform station maintenance. NASA Television and the agency’s website will provide live coverage of the spacewalks, as well as a briefing to discuss the work to be performed.
The briefing to preview the spacewalks, extravehicular activities (EVAs) 44, 45 and 46, will air at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 2, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The briefing participants are:
- Kenneth Todd, International Space Station Operations Integration Manager
- Judd Frieling, NASA Spacewalk Flight Director
- Tim Braithwaite, International Space Station Program Liaison for the Canadian Space Agency
- Jacklyn Kagey, U.S. Spacewalk 44 EVA officer
- Glenda Brown, U.S. Spacewalk 45 and 46 EVA officer
NASA TV coverage of the spacewalks will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 5, 10 and 18. Each spacewalk is scheduled to start at approximately 8:05 a.m., however, the spacewalks may begin earlier if the crew is running ahead of schedule.
U.S. media may attend the preview briefing at Johnson and other participating NASA centers, and must request credentials in advance. Media interested in participating by telephone must call the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:45 p.m. on the day of the briefing.
Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA will lead all three spacewalks, joined on Oct. 5 and 10 by Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei, also of NASA. Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA will join Bresnik on Oct. 18 for the third spacewalk.
During the first spacewalk, Bresnik and Vande Hei will replace one of two Latching End Effectors (LEE) on the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2. One of the Canadarm2 grappling mechanisms experienced a stall of its motorized latches last month, but the problem has had no effect on planned station operations. A spare LEE is stored outside on the station’s truss. Canadarm2 has two identical Latching End Effectors used to grapple visiting cargo vehicles and payloads, provide data and telemetry to the rest of the Canadian-built Mobile Base System and the unique capability to “walk” from one location on the station’s truss to another.
The second and third spacewalks will be devoted to lubricating the newly installed end effector and replacing cameras on the left side of the station’s truss and the right side of the station’s U.S. Destiny laboratory.
The spacewalks will be the third, fourth and fifth of Bresnik’s career and the third for Acaba. Vande Hei will be conducting his first two spacewalks.
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-111 South Carolina Students to Speak with NASA Astronaut on Space Station
Students at Laing Middle School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, near Charleston, will speak with a NASA astronaut living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station at 11:30 a.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 2. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Expedition 53 Commander Col. Randy Bresnik is a member of The Citadel class of 1989. He will answer questions from students at Laing Middle School. The school is hosting the event with the help of Citadel cadets and The Citadel STEM Center of Excellence. Cadets will lead the younger students as they pose questions to the Citadel astronaut alumnus.
Bresnik launched to the space station July 28 and is expected to return to Earth in December. A Marine Corps veteran, Bresnik is one of the college’s most visible principled leaders. In May of 2004, Bresnik was selected from among 4,000 applicants to become one of the 11 members of NASA’s Astronaut Class 9 and the first graduate of The Citadel to fly in space. Expedition 52/53 is Bresnik’s second mission to the space station; the first was in 2009.
Media interested in covering the event should contact Kim Keelor at kkeelor@citadel.edu. Laing Middle School is at 2705 Bulrush Basket Lane in Mt. Pleasant.
The cadets will lead a two-part event for the eighth-grade students, visiting the class first to teach them about Bresnik, the space station, how the live downlink works and conduct an in-class lesson related to the space station. On Oct. 2, they will lead the conversation with Bresnik, guiding the participating students as they ask questions that are expected to revolve around Bresnik’s work with space station experiments and space fitness. Middle school students across the South Carolina Lowcountry and cadets on The Citadel campus are expected to watch the event on NASA TV.
Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of NASA Education’s STEM on Station activity, which provides a variety of space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators.
