spacetoday.net: ISS crew completes spacewalk

Posted: Fri, Jun 2, 2006, 8:55 AM ET (1255 GMT)
ISS Expedition 13 EVA 1 (NASA)

The two-man crew of the International Space Station completed an over six-hour EVA Thursday evening outside the station, performing repairs and replacing experiments. Jeff Williams and Pavel Vinogradov started the spacewalk at 6:48 pm EDT (2248 GMT) Thursday, spending six hours and 31 minutes outside the ISS. The two completed their primary tasks, including replacing an external ventilation valve used by the station's Elektron oxygen generator, repositioning a cable, and retrieving experiment packages mounted on the station's exterior. Because the two were running behind schedule, controllers considered dropping the last task on their schedule, the replacement of a camera on the US segment of the station, but instead extended the six-hour EVA by a half-hour, allowing the two to complete that task. The only significant glitch encountered during the EVA was a foothold on a telescoping boom that came loose and floated away, despite being locked in place.