Two Spacewalks Complete, Station Crew Prepares for Visitors

Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt have completed two Russian spacewalks. The first spacewalk took place on June 5 outside the Zvezda service module. The second took place on June 10 inside Zvezda. Both excursions were dedicated to readying the space station for the arrival of the Russian Mini-Research Module 2 in November.

The crew is recharging the Russian Orlan spacesuits and debriefed spacewalk specialists in Russia. In addition, the crew will dry the suits, take radiation measurements and prepare them for stowage.

Image above: The six-member Expedition 20 crew shares a meal inside the Unity node. Credit: NASA

The six station residents will welcome the STS-127 crew when it arrives Monday, June 15, aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Mission Specialist Tim Kopra will trade places with Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata. Kopra will remain with Expedition 20 while Wakata will return to Earth with STS-127 on Sunday, June 28.