International Space Station Status Report - February 16, 2007 (Forwarded)

John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington Feb. 16, 2007
202-358-0602

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-4934

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS07-09

HOUSTON -- This week, the Expedition 14 crew continued to focus on
preparation for their final planned spacewalk ahead of the space
shuttle Atlantis' arrival in March. This comes following Sunday's
unexpected circuit breaker trip on the International Space Station
and subsequent resetting of affected equipment.

As Atlantis was moved to the launch pad this week, station Commander
Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin conducted leak
checks of the Russian Orlan spacesuits they will wear for their Feb.
22 venture outside the station. They installed some additional
equipment on the suits, including lights that will assist in their
tasks.

Friday, the crew verified the suits' readiness by conducting telemetry
and communications checks with flight controllers in Russia at the
Mission Control Center in Korolev.

The spacewalk will be the fifth by the Expedition 14 crew, a record
for a station crew. It will be the fourth spacewalk conducted from
the space station in the past three weeks. The spacewalk, scheduled
to begin at approximately 4 a.m. CST, is expected to last six hours.
NASA Television and www.nasa.gov will broadcast the event live,
beginning at 3 a.m.

The spacewalkers will attempt to free a stuck antenna on the Progress
23 cargo craft that is docked at the aft end of the station. The
antenna did not properly retract when the supply vessel docked in
October. Securing or removing the antenna is necessary to allow the
Progress to undock in April.

Additionally, they will survey docking navigation systems for the
European Automated Transfer Vehicle, a cargo spacecraft scheduled to
make its maiden voyage this summer.

The spacewalk will be the 10th for Lopez-Alegria, a record for a U.S.
astronaut.

Also this week, robotics ground controllers in Houston commanded the
station's mobile transporter rail car to move to the starboard side
of the station's truss in preparation for the arrival of Atlantis,
which will bring a new, school bus-sized truss segment with a third
set of U.S. solar arrays for the complex, and batteries and other
electronics.

The crew will spend Monday inside the Destiny laboratory training on
the operation of the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

For more about the crew's activities and station sighting
opportunities, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station