Two astronauts and two cosmonauts are preparing for a pair of spacewalks over the next two weeks–and one of them is tomorrow, Wednesday, October 15. You can watch both spacewalks live on NASA TV, and coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 7 a.m. Eastern.
More on the preparations here.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore will conduct the next spacewalk Oct. 15. A week later Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineer Alexander Samokutyaev will work outside the Russian segment of the International Space Station.
Meanwhile, the day before the Oct. 22 Russian spacewalk, Expedition 41 will say goodbye to SpaceX CRS-4. The Dragon private space freighter will depart the Harmony node in the grip of Canadarm2 and be released for retrieval in the Pacific Ocean. The next Dragon private cargo mission, SpaceX CRS-5, is due in early December.
Orbital CRS-3 will occupy the same Harmony port a few days after it launches Oct. 24. Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus commercial cargo craft will replenish the orbital laboratory and its six station crew members then depart at the end of November.
Russia will be delivering new station gear and supplies when it launches the ISS Progress 57 (57P) resupply ship Oct. 29 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will replace the 56P when it undocks from the Pirs docking compartment Oct. 27 for destruction over the Pacific Ocean.
Images, NASA: Astronaut Alexander Gerst takes an out of this world selfie during an Oct. 7 spacewalk. And below, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman works outside the International Space Station Oct. 7 during the first of three October spacewalks for Expedition 41.
