SUBMITED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

* Spacewalkers Getting Ready for Spacewalk*

Image above: Commander Scott Kelly (center) assists Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio (right) and Flight Engineer Clay Anderson with donning their spacesuits. Image: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Final preparations are under way for STS-118’s third spacewalk. Spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Clay Anderson will set the stage for future International Space Station assembly during the excursion, which is scheduled to begin at 11:01 a.m. EDT.

The spacewalking duo will prepare the Port 6 (P6) truss and its solar arrays for relocation from atop of the station to the end of the Port 5 truss when STS-120 visits later this year. Their tasks include the relocation of an antenna from the P6 to the Port 1 (P1) truss, retrieval a transponder for return to Earth and the relocation of two rail carts on the station’s Integrated Truss Structure. They will install a new transponder on the P1, which along with the relocated antenna will upgrade the station’s communications capability.

Mastracchio and Anderson will also retrieve two material experiments from the station’s exterior. The experiments will be analyzed by scientists on Earth.

Today’s spacewalk will be Mastracchio’s third of the mission. Anderson, who arrived at the station in June, conducted his first spacewalk on July 23 with Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin.

Mission Specialist Tracy Caldwell will resume her role as STS-118’s spacewalk coordinator and Pilot Charles Hobaugh will be at the controls of the station’s robotic arm.

The spacewalk is slated to last 6.5 hours.