NASA will hold a media briefing Dec. 18 to discuss an upcoming International Space Station spacewalk. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the Dec. 22 spacewalk of Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov.

The briefing from NASA's Johnson Space Center will air live on NASA TV Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. CST. Questions will be taken from journalists at participating NASA locations. The briefers are:
- Kirk Shireman, International Space Station deputy program manager
- David Korth, Expedition 18 spacewalk flight director

During the spacewalk, Fincke and Lonchakov will deploy and retrieve several Russian experiments on the space station's exterior. They also will install a device to measure electromagnetic forces imparted on space station hardware as the complex moves through low Earth orbit. Russian space specialists believe electromagnetic interference may have contributed to past problems on the Soyuz spacecraft's pyrotechnic bolts, which allow sections of the vehicle to separate properly during its return to Earth.

NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. The spacewalk will start at approximately 6:15 p.m. and last six hours. It will be the fifth spacewalk of Fincke's career and the first for Lonchakov. Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus will monitor the spacewalk from inside the space station.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules, and downlink information, visit:

For more information about the space station and the Expedition 18 crew, visit: