MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin will perform a planned six-hour spacewalk on Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the Russian Mission Control Center said.
The two ISS flight engineers will open the hatch to the International Space Station’s (ISS) Pirs docking compartment and float outside at 17:40 Moscow time [1:40 p.m. GMT] on Monday. The spacewalk will be broadcast live by NASA.
"According to the schedule, the spacewalk will end at 23:40 Moscow time [7:40 p.m. GMT],” the spokesman said.
It will be the first spacewalk for Misurkin and sixth for Yurchikhin. Yurchikhin will wear an Orlan-MK spacesuit with red stripes while Misurkin will wear a suit with blue stripes. Both will be equipped with helmet cameras to provide close-up views of their work.
The Russian cosmonauts are to replace a second fluid flow control valve panel on the station's Zarya module (the first one was replaced in 2004) and dismantle the “Photon-Gamma” equipment installed outside the ISS in 2007.
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Spacewalk
“In addition, the cosmonauts will also test the Kurs automated docking system and install clamps to later hold power cables on the Zarya cargo module,” the spokesman said.
These preparations are needed for the future arrival of a new Russian laboratory module later this year.
The spacewalkers are also scheduled to install handholds for future spacewalk activities and retrieve the results of scientific experiments from the space station’s exterior.
It will be the 169th spacewalk in support of station assembly and maintenance and the third outside the station so far this year.
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