Joe Acaba - WKTV Journal

In this May 2017 photo, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer works outside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module of the International Space Station. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

WKTV Government 26 will be featuring two special NASA programs this week.

On Tuesday, Oct. 10, American astronaut Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei, both aboard the International Space Station, will embark on the second of three space walks for October.

Coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m., with the spacewalk scheduled to start at 8:05 a.m. The spacewalks may happen earlier if the crew is running ahead of schedule. The second and third spacewalks will be devoted to lubricating the newly replaced Canadarm2 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 spacewalk is expected to last six and a half hours.

The last of the three spacewalks will take place Oct 18 with Bresnik being joined by Engineer Joe Acaba.

On Thursday, Oct. 12, will be the launch of the ISS Progress 68 Cargo Ship to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Coverage begins at approximately 5 a.m. with the launch scheduled for 5:32 a.m. Coverage of the docking at the ISS Progress 68 Cargo Ship starts at approximately 8 a.m. with the actual docking scheduled for 8:56 a.m.

For more information on both of these launches, go to nasa.gov/station. NASA TV can be seen on WKTV 26 Government Channel and AT&T U-verse Government channel 99.

Expedition 53 crew members: Joe Acaba of NASA, Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, and Mark Vande Hei of NASA pose for a photograph for the press outside the Soyuz simulator ahead of their Soyuz qualification exams, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. The three are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:17 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 (3:17 a.m. on Sept. 13, Baikonur time) aboard the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft. **Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls**

Be sure to tune in to WKTV 26 for our upcoming Special Programming Event from NASA TV!

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, WKTV 26 will be featuring the launch the ISS Expedition 53-54/Soyuz MS-06. Coverage begins at approximately 4:15 p.m. with the launch scheduled t 5:17 p.m. Coverage of the Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony at the ISS starts at approximately 12:40 a.m. NASA TV can be seen on WKTV 26 Government Channel.

Two NASA astronauts are among the three crew members poised to launch for a five-month stay aboard the International Space Station, and NASA Television will provide extensive coverage of their prelaunch activities, launch and their arrival on their orbital outpost.

Expedition 53-54 Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA and Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:17 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 12 aboard the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft. A full complement of video of the crew’s prelaunch activities in Baikonur will air on NASA TV in the days preceding launch.

After their launch, the trio will travel on a fast-track, six-hour path to the space station, where they are expected to dock at 10:57 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12. NASA TV coverage of docking will begin at 10:15 p.m.

Hatches between the Soyuz and the space station will open at about 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13. The arriving crew will be welcomed on board by Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos and Paolo Nespoli of the ESA (European Space Agency). NASA TV coverage of the hatch opening and welcoming ceremonies will begin at 12 a.m. Sept. 13.

For information on the launch, log on to www.nasa.gov.