Flight Engineers Suni Williams and Aki Hoshide worked inside the Quest Joint Airlock configuring their spacesuits and tools for a spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. EDT Thursday. Flight Engineer Joe Acaba reviewed robotics procedures. He will assist the spacewalkers from inside the station as the Canadarm2 operator.
All three astronauts also spent time reviewing procedures with experts on the ground. NASA TV coverage starts at 7 a.m.
The main tasks for Thursday's 6.5 hour spacewalk include replacing a main bus switching unit, routing power cables and replacing a Canadarm2 camera.
If time allows the two spacewalkers may also install protective covers on a pressurized mating adapter, remove and replace more cameras and check on the Zarya module's power data grapple fixture.
On the Russian side of the International Space Station, the other three Expedition 32 crew members stayed busy with science and maintenance.
Commander Gennady Padalka started his morning measuring his body mass. Then he moved on and replaced batteries in the Zvezda service module.
Padalka also assisted Flight Engineer Sergei Revin with the Typologia experiment. The Russian experiment observes how a crew member adapts and works in microgravity. Revin earlier measured his body mass then worked on the Cascad experiment.
Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko worked on a couple of ongoing Russian science experiments and updated the inventory management system. He also measured his body mass, audited medical kits and checked sensors.
