Sunday, April 11, 2010

Discovery Spacewalkers Make "Very Cool" Exit From Space Station

Discovery astronauts Clay Anderson and Rick Mastracchio are making their way out of the U.S. Quest airlock as they embark on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

"Clay, you're coming out over New Zealand," mission specialist Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger said as the joined shuttle-station complex soared 219 miles above the planet.

"Very cool," Anderson said.

"You look great, Clay. Great to see you out there," Metcalf-Lindenburger said.

"Well, thank you, Dottie," Anderson replied.

The spacewalk is the fifth career excursion for both Mastracchio and Anderson.

Mastracchio, the lead spacewalker on the mission, is responding to the radio call sign "EV-1" and is wearing the spacesuit with solid red stripes.

Anderson is "EV-2" and is wearing an all-white spacesuit.

The astronauts are headed toward the starboard side of the station's central truss, the S1 segment, specifically. There, they will remove a spent ammonia coolant tank and then temporarily stow it so a new tank can be put in place.

You can watch the action live here in The Flame Trench. Click the NASA TV box on the right side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer and be sure to refresh this page for periodic updates.

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