Video: Change of command aboard International Space Station

A Soyuz rocket is standing on the launch pad in Kazakhstan used on Yuri Gagarin’s historic first human spaceflight in 1961, ready to send three people toward the International Space Station.

Two NASA astronauts will take part in the first all-female spacewalk this week, a critical outing to restore lost power in the wake of an equipment failure that cropped up after new batteries were installed in the International Space Station’s solar power system during two earlier spacewalks.

The grapple mechanism installed on one end of the space station’s robot arm during a spacewalk Tuesday is experiencing problems. It will be removed during a re-planned spacewalk Monday and the original fitting will be re-installed, NASA said Friday.