Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 21, 2009

Astronauts Take Space Walk, Perform Tasks on Space Station
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Improvements to prepare transition from three to six astronauts living
on station later this year 
      Watch VOA Webcast Interactive with the Astronauts

Astronauts aboard the International Space Stationwere conducting a space
walk Saturday.

       Astronauts Joseph Acaba (left) and Tony Antonelli on the aft
flight deck of space shuttle Discovery during flight day two activities,
17 Mar 2009The walk, which requires Steven Swanson and Joseph Acaba to
float outside the station for nearly seven hours, is one of three that
astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery are conducting during their
13-day mission to the station. Meantime, astronauts inside the station
are working to replace a system designed to recycle urine into water for
use aboard the station. All the improvements will prepare for the
transition from three to six astronauts living on the station later this
year. Japanese Koichi Wakata arrived at the station aboard Discovery, as
part of the mission known as STS-119, and will spend the next few months
in orbit. In an interview with VOA, Wakata said there is a lot of
information to absorb after arriving at the station.      Space shuttle
Discovery crew member Koichi Wakata smiles as he arrives at the Kennedy
Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (file)"We have been very busy in
the assembly task of the STS-119. It is like drinking water from a fire
hose," said Wakata. "I am still learning a lot but I am enjoying every
moment."Wakata replaces Sandy Magnus who has spent the past four months
in space. Magnus told VOA that living in orbit has given her newfound
appreciation for the Earth."It looks very fragile from here and it is
very easy to take it for granted when we live on it, because it seems so
big and massive. But it is not, it is very small and very fragile," said
Magnus. "That is something that really hits home when you see it out the
window from up here."Magnus and the Discovery crew will return to Earth
next week after wrapping up their work on the space station.


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