Live in Orbit: First spacewalk at 11:58 AM

After spending the night in the airlock at reduced air pressure, Mission Specialist David A. Wolf, an experienced spacewalker, and flight engineer Timothy L. Kopra will suit up today for the first of five spacewalks. They are breathing pure oxygen to prevent getting the bends, a condition where nitrogen bubbles form in the blood.

The pair is scheduled to leave the airlock at 11:58 a.m. EDT. They will perform a series of complex tasks and work in conjunction with both the station and shuttle robot arms.

Tune into The Flame Trench for updates on the spacewalk throughout the day. To watch the spacewalk on NASA TV, click the window to the right.

The combined crews of Endeavour and the station met after docking Friday and have settled into a work schedule that includes a spacewalk today.


Setting a record Friday for the most humans in space, the crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station united in orbit while traveling some 17,500 mph at an altitude of 225 miles.

Endeavour set sail on its 23rd mission Wednesday with an unexpected loss of foam from the external tank's midsection during the launch. NASA managers have said they can see little damage to the shuttle's heat shields. They are reviewing video and photographs taken of the heat shield.

STS-127 is the 29th shuttle mission to the International Space Station.