Article Posted on : - Jul 25, 2010

An astronaut during a spacewalk and a video grab of Tracy Caldwell Dyson, speaking directly to the deaf community in sign language (inset). Photo: NASA.

WASHINGTON (BNS): For the first time, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson has sent a message in American Sign Language (ASL) from the International Space Station (ISS) to the deaf community.

In the almost six-minute video, the American astronaut spoke directly to the deaf community about what she does on the space station and how she became interested in ASL. She even offered several words of encouragement for young deaf students.

"I am truly grateful for this opportunity on behalf of the deaf community and the multitudes of students who will benefit from seeing their language spoken in space. It is my hope that this video will help inspire our next generation of scientists and explorers," Caldwell Dyson was quoted as saying in a NASA news report.

As NASA's missions advance beyond Earth's orbit, the agency will continue its efforts to highlight its diverse workforce.

NASA astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker continued their science and maintenance activities throughout the station. The three flight engineers also participated in a review and conducted a conference to discuss future shuttle and station spacewalks.

On Friday, Yurchikhin and Kornienko put on their Orlan spacesuits and performed a dry run of the spacewalk activities. From inside the Pirs docking compartment they checked out the Orlan systems, practiced translation movements and tested their mobility.

Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko will exit the ISS Monday night for a six-hour spacewalk. The pair will exit the Pirs docking compartment and work outside the Zarya and Zvezda modules. This will be the first Expedition 24 spacewalk.

The next spacewalk will take place Aug. 5 with Flight Engineers Caldwell Dyson and Wheelock. The astronauts will exit the Quest airlock and install a Portable Data Grapple Fixture on the Zarya module extending the reach of Canadarm2, the station’s robotic arm, and increasing a spacewalker’s capabilities. They also will jettison old multi-layer insulation removed for the PDGF install and mate power connectors to Zarya.