Three spacewalks from the International Space Station this month and next will affect Amateur Radio activity from the ISS. ISS crew members Barry Wilmore, Terry Virts, and Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, will be working outside the ISS on February 21, February 25, and March 1. During these excursions, Amateur Radio gear on the ISS will be shut down for safety reasons.

The February 21 spacewalk has caused the postponement or cancellation of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) SSTV activity that had been scheduled to start at 1000 UTC and continue until approximately 2130 UTC on Monday, February 23. According to ARISS-EU Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, the SSTV transmissions may still take place on Sunday and Monday, February 22 and 23. If they occur, the SSTV transmissions from RS0ISS will be on 145.800 MHz FM, using SSTV mode PD180, with 3 minutes off periods between transmissions.

In addition, an ARISS school contact with students at Riversink Elementary School in Crawfordville, Florida, scheduled for February 25 will have to be rescheduled.

Over the course of the series of spacewalks, the astronauts will prepare cables and communication gear for new docking ports that will allow future crews launched from Florida on US commercial spacecraft to dock with the space station.