Two spacewalking cosmonauts ( see spacewalk live here) are now preparing the outside of the International Space Station for the addition of a new Russian lab. <\/p>\n
Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin began what is scheduled to be a 6-hour spacewalk at 9:32 a.m. EDT today. The cosmonauts are equipped with NASA helmet cameras to provide close-up views of their work. <\/p>\n
The pair today are taking the first of what is expected to be many spacewalks to prepare the station for a planned replacing an older airlock with a new multipurpose laboratory module later this year. <\/p>\n
The Russian Federal Space Agency plans to send the combination research facility, airlock and docking port to the station on a Proton rocket later this year, according to NASA. <\/p>\n
During Monday's spacewalk, Yurchikhin and Misurkin are slated to replace a fluid flow control panel and install clamps so power cables can be installed on a future spacewalk. They also will retrieve several science experiments that have been attached on the outside orbiting station. <\/p>\n
Today's spacewalk is the 169th in support of space station assembly and maintenance. It is the sixth spacewalk for Yurchikhin and the first for Misurkin, NASA noted. <\/p>\n
This is the second of up to six Russian spacewalks planned for this year. <\/p>\n
Two spacewalks by NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency are scheduled for July. <\/p>\n
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n Read more about government\/industries in Computerworld's Government\/Industries Topic Center. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n More here: <\/p>\n Cosmonauts on spacewalk to add lab to space station, NASA reports<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two spacewalking cosmonauts ( see spacewalk live here) are now preparing the outside of the International Space Station for the addition of a new Russian lab. Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin began what is scheduled to be a 6-hour spacewalk at 9:32 a.m. EDT today Continue reading