Ambitious Plans for ISS in 2007

via ScienceDaily.

Busy year ahead for ISS personnel. 24 spacewalks are planned, which will double the station's electrical generation, triple the lab space, and greatly expand the the total area of the station.

"In 2007, NASA and Russia plan to conduct as many as 24 spacewalks, more than has ever been done in a single year. The first spacewalk began at 9:14 a.m. CST Wednesday, Jan. 31 on NASA TV and features Mike Lopez-Alegria, the commander of the current space station mission, known as Expedition 14...By the end of 2007, the station's solar panels will extend to almost three-quarters of an acre of surface area. The extra power and cooling will allow the station's living and working space to expand by more than one-third. The complex will grow from its current size of a two-bedroom apartment to the size of a four-bedroom house by year's end."

October and December shuttle mission will deliver the European space Agency's Columbus lab module and the Japanese Kibo module, which expand the station's interior for the first time in six years. Additionally, a new European supply vehicle, the Automated Tranfer Vehicle, is slated to begin deliveries to the station in July.