Spacewalking assembly workers are installing a second docking system antenna outside the Russian segment of the International Space Station this morning after spacesuit trouble stalled the start of a planned 5.5-hour excursion outside the outpost.Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and American astronaut Michael Barratt are working outside the Pirs docking compartment near the forward end of the Zvezda Service module, a command-and-control center that doubles as crew quarters.
The spacewalk started an hour late because of concerns over the carbon dioxide levels in the upgraded Orlan spacesuits. The new spacesuits have electronic control displays that are designed to give spacewalkers more insight into suit systems. The displays showed elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the suits.
Now 2.5 hours into the excursion, Padalka and Barratt nonetheless are about on the same place in their timeline as if they had exited Pirs on time at 2:45 a.m. They now are installing the second of two antenna packages that will enable a new Russian docking compartment to automatically berth itself to the station after it arrives in November.
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Padalka is answering to the radio call sign EV-1 and wearing a Russian Orlan MK spacesuit with red stripes. Barratt is EV-2 and wear an Orlan MK with blue stripes.
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