By WKTV Staff

joanne@wktv.org

Wednesday, May 16, two NASA astronauts are scheduled to venture outside the International Space Station for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, all of which area residents will be able to watch on WKTV Government channel 26. The spacewalk begins at 8:10 a.m.

Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold will be conducting maintenance needs and upgrades for the International Space Station. The two will move a component called a Pump Flow Control subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station’s truss “backbone” to the Special Purpose Dexerous Manipulator (Dexter) robotic arm. The PFCS drives controls the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station’s cooling system. Robotics controllers on Earth will use Canadarm2 and Dextre to perform final installation on the port-side truss for checkout. The spacewalkers will remove a failed PFCS and return it to the spare parts depot. They’ll also replace a camera system on the Destiny Laboratory and a communications receiver. 

A second spacewalk has been planned for June 14 in acceptation of the May 24 arrival of the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft. The ninth Cygnus cargo mission is scheduled to launch May 20 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The launch will be aired on WKTV Government channel 26. Coverage begins at 4:30 a.m. with the launch scheduled at 5:04 a.m.

Stay tune for the development of the Solar Arrays on the Pribital/ATK Cygnus Cargo Craft at 6:15 a.m. followed by a Post-Launch News Conference at around 7:30 a.m. 

For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, go to www.nasa.gov.

NASTA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.