Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov successfully completed a 5-hour, 25-minute spacewalk from the Pirs docking compartment airlock Wednesday, installing Service Module Debris Protection (SMDP) panels and rerouting a Global Positioning System antenna cable.

Wednesday's spacewalk, which began at 3:05 p.m. EDT, marks the first spacewalk for both Yurchikhin and Kotov.

http://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/48hour/msg00695.html

On Thursday, NASA senior managers selected June 8 as the official launch date for space shuttle Atlantis. Commander Rick Sturckow and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:38 p.m. EDT on the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station.

During the 11-day mission and three spacewalks, the crew will work with flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, to install a 17-ton segment on the station's girder-like truss and deploy a set of solar arrays. The mission will increase the International Space Station's power capability in preparation for the arrival of new science modules from the European and Japanese space agencies.

On Monday, May 21, Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, was able to restore a few commonly used configurations in the Kenwood radio. One of the modes that was partially restored was the packet system, although the operations will be on 145.825 simplex. Configurations of general voice communications and those used to support school contacts were also saved. A full restoration of the radio is required for a fully functional radio system. This requires access to a computer system and certification of the required software.

http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm

An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with the NASA/Johnson Space Center's Teacher to Teacher Workshop on 31 May 2007. The event is scheduled to begin atapproximately 17:32 UTC.

The contact will be a Telebridge between stations NA1SS and WH6PN. ARISS ground station W6SRJ is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. NA1SS will be operated by US astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

http://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/48hour/msg00689.html

The hypergolic propellants were loaded into the orbiter and solid rocket boosters in the past week.

Spacesuits 1 and 2 were installed in the orbiter airlock for use during spacewalks planned for the mission.

Functional testing of the external fuel tank camera is complete and the lens cover has been installed. Loading of the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen storage tanks, which will provide fuel for the shuttle's external fuel tank, is complete.

http://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/48hour/msg00690.html

Enthusiasm was as strong as ever at the 56th Dayton Hamvention® at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Business was brisk among the hundreds of vendors in the indoor areas, despite generally excellent weather outside, which tends to draw hordes to the outdoor flea market area.

http://www.arrl.org/

Some short term reconfigurations to the Kenwood radio were attempted today with limited success. The preset channels that are used for many of the day to day operations are still inaccessible. The good news is that a few of the more commonly used configurations were able to be stored in the radio. One of the modes that was able to be partially restored was the packet system but the operations will be on 145.825 simplex. General voice communication as well as configurations to support school contacts were also saved.

A full restore of the radio is still required to return full functionality of the radio system and that process will require access to a computer system and certification of the required software. This request is being worked but will take a significant amount of time to get all parties involved satisfied before the actual restoration can occur.

This week, the Expedition 15 crew unpacked new supplies and began preparing for the arrival of the next visiting spacecraft and two upcoming spacewalks at the International Space Station.

The ISS Progress 25 docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 12:10 a.m. CDT Tuesday. During the week, the crew began unloading the more than 5,000 pounds of cargo from the supply ship.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov prepared for their May 30 and June 6 spacewalks by working on the Pirs Airlock. The cosmonauts will wear Russian Orlan spacesuits to install orbital debris protection panels on the Zvezda Service Module and replace experiments on the module's hull. Mission experts at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, will provide an overview of the spacewalks in a news briefing at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, on NASA Television.

An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at Toyon Elementary, San Jose, California USA on 21 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:21 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and K6MFW. The contact should be audible in western portions of North America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Toyon is located in the northeast foothills of San Jose. Our population is approximately 470 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, which includes two special day classes. Our diverse student population celebrates the many cultures and ethnicity of our district. Cultural diversity at Toyon includes African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Filipino, Hispanic or Latino, Pacific Islander, and White. The primary languages spoken at home include: Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Punjabi, Hindi, Samoan, and Tagalog. Toyon is an NASA Explorer School.

HOUSTON - NASA will preview a pair of International Space Station spacewalks during a briefing at 1 p.m. CDT Wednesday, May 23. The briefing from Johnson Space Center, Houston, will air live on NASA Television. Questions will be taken from media at participating NASA sites. Reporters should call their preferred NASA center to confirm its availability.

For the spacewalks on May 30 and June 6, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov will wear Russian Orlan spacesuits. They will install orbital debris protection panels on the Zvezda Service Module and replace experiments on the hull of Zvezda. Flight Engineer Suni Williams remain inside and monitor station systems.