First entire ISS crew spacewalk due in small hours of Friday

The first spacewalk of the entire crew of the International Space Station is scheduled for Friday. On February 27, in the period between 00:15 and 05:50, Moscow time, nobody will remain on its board.

During the five and a half hours of extravehicular activities the crew commander Michael Foale of the United States and flight engineer Alexander Kaleri of Russia will fix a mock-up on the surface of the Zvezda module. The electronics-stuffed Mr.Rendo is designed to measure the dozes of radiation got by the ISS crew. Inside the ISS live-in module is comfortably seated the Russian mock-up - Matreshka-R electronic ball, also designed for radiation measurements.

In addition, Foale and Kaleri will fix on the docking port a laser guidance unit and reflectors for the new European space truck ATV, expected to arrive to the ISS in 2005. Special hopes are pinned on the ATV: it will lift from Russia part of the load in maintaining ISS operation because, following the Columbia shuttle catastrophe, only the Russian Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) has been bringing cargoes and crews to the orbit.

The crew will perform extravehicular activities inside the Russian spacesuits Orlan. Michael Foale and Alexander Kaleri will walk out into space from the Pirs docking port.

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