Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani will replace a motor at the base of one of the International Space Station's solar wings during a 6.5-hour spacewalk scheduled to begin early Wednesday.

Whitson will wear the spacesuit with red stripes as the lead spacewalker, while Tani will wear the spacesuit with broken stripes. They are to leave the station's Quest airlock at about 5:20 a.m. EST, though the spacewalk could begin earlier. NASA Television coverage will begin at 4 a.m.

Most of the spacewalk will focus on replacement of the motor, called the Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module (BMRRM). Called the 'broom," the motor drives the starboard solar wings as they tilt along their axis to follow the sun for optimal power generation as the station orbits the Earth.

HOUSTON - NASA will hold four media briefings next week to discuss International Space Station activities and provide a status of launch preparations for space shuttle mission STS-122. NASA Television also will provide live coverage of a Jan. 30 space station spacewalk, featuring Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani.

The first briefing at 1 p.m. CST on Monday, Jan. 28, will preview the spacewalk. NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 3 a.m. on Jan. 30 and after its completion, a briefing will be held at approximately 1 p.m. During the spacewalk astronauts will replace a motor that enables one of the station's solar arrays to pivot toward the sun. The motor experienced electrical failures in early December 2007.

1. ARISS School Contacts Status Due to crew schedules onboard the ISS, no Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts are planned at this time. The ARISS team expects contacts to resume once STS-122 launches in early February. 2. STS-120 Crew Talks with Italian Students On January 22, STS-120 crewmembers visited "La Sapienza" University in Rome where approximately 600 students from several universities and high schools gathered. Among those in attendance were students from the schools that participated in ARISS contacts with astronauts Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA, and Clay Anderson, KD5PLA. The crew gave a presentation on their mission which included educational activities, and showed videos to their audience. The complete story and photos of the event have been posted on the ARISS Web site. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2008_01_25.htm