File:STS-116 spacewalk 1.jpg

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English: STS-116 Shuttle Mission Imagery

Backdropped by a colorful Earth, astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, both STS-116 mission specialists, participate in the mission's first of three planned sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction resumes on the International Space Station. The landmasses depicted are the South Island (left) and North Island (right) of New Zealand.

Explanation: The International Space Station (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit the Earth. The station is so large that it could not be launched all at once -- it is being built piecemeal with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle. To function, the ISS needs trusses to keep it rigid and to route electricity and liquid coolants. These trusses are huge, extending over 15 meters long, and with masses over 10,000 kilograms. Pictured above earlier this month, astronauts Robert L. Curbeam (USA) and Christer Fuglesang (Sweden) work to attach a new truss segment to the ISS and begin to upgrade the power grid.
Français : Image de la mission STS-116 de la navette spatiale américaine Discovery.

Les astronautes Robert Curbeam (NASA, à gauche) et Christer Fuglesang (ESA, à droite) participent à la première des trois sorties extravéhiculaires de la mission STS-116 à bord de la Station spatiale internationale. En arrière-plan, les deux îles principales de la Nouvelle-Zélande sont visibles : L'Île du Sud, à gauche, et Île du Nord, à droite.

Explication de la mission : La station spatiale internationale est bien trop grande pour être mise en orbite en une seule fois. Elle est donc bâtie à partir de pièces détachées mises en orbite au cours de missions successives. Sa taille rend aussi nécessaire l'installation de grandes poutrelles métalliques pour la rendre plus rigide et soutenir les réseaux électriques et de fluides. Ici, une nouvelle poutre est fixée au dispositif. Comme les autres, elle mesure 15 mètres de long et pèse dix tonnes.