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Tim Peake set for first spacewalk by British citizen | |
(35 minutes later) | |
UK astronaut Tim Peake is to carry out the first ever spacewalk by a British citizen, Nasa has confirmed. | |
Mr Peake and Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra will venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 January to replace a failed voltage regulator. | |
Mr Peake launched on a Russian rocket on 15 December to begin a six-month stay on the orbiting outpost. | |
This will be the second spacewalk in under three weeks for Mr Kopra, who has flown into space once before, in 2009. | |
The two Tims will don their spacesuits and exit the US Quest airlock to replace an electrical box known as a Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU). | |
The failure of this voltage regulator on 13 November last year compromised one of the station's eight power channels. | |
Mr Peake supported a spacewalk on 21 December last year, in which Mr Kopra and station commander Scott Kelly moved a stalled component known as the "mobile transporter" on the outside of the ISS. | |
The Briton stayed inside the ISS, helping the Americans don their spacesuits and monitor their progress for mission control. | |
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