Astronauts gear up for 2nd spacewalk
The space shuttle Endeavour’s seven-member crew spent a busy day on the International Space Station (ISS), preparing for the second of five scheduled space walks, NASA said.
The space shuttle Endeavour’s seven-member crew spent a busy day on the International Space Station (ISS), preparing for the second of five scheduled space walks, NASA said.
The crew were awakened at 5:13 am Central Time (1013 GMT) to the sounds of “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a song chosen by one of the crew members.
The bulk of the day’s schedule was taken up with moving equipment from the Endeavour onto the ISS, and with preparations for today’s space walk.
Astronauts Dave Wolf and Tom Marshburn will prepare their space suits and tools for the walk, while four other members of the crew install the Integrated Cargo Carrier, which is loaded with replacement batteries for the ISS.
Later on Sunday, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and flight engineer Bob Thirsk are scheduled to talk with Canadian news media and dignitaries via audiolink, the US space agency said.
Saturday, Tim Kopra and Wolf carried out a five hour and 32 minute spacewalk to complete construction of the Japanese Kibo laboratory.
“The third and final piece of Japan’s Kibo laboratory was assembled on orbit Saturday, a symphony of robotic and spacewalking performances by the 13 member orchestra aboard the International Space Station complex,” NASA said in a statement.