A Japanese and an American astronaut floated outside the International Space Station Friday on a spacewalk to repair the orbiting outpost’s robotic arm and move some equipment into storage.
WASHINGTON: A Japanese and an American astronaut floated for hours outside the International Space Station on Friday (Feb 16) on a spacewalk to repair the orbiting outpost’s robotic arm and move some equipment into storage.
The spacewalk, broadcast live on NASA TV, was the first for Japanese Aerospace Agency (JAXA) astronaut Norishige Kanai, and the fourth for his US counterpart Mark Vande Hei.
„You have been doing a great job today,“ a ground controller told Kanai before he returned to an airlock after more than five hours in the vacuum of space.
His US colleague remained outside the space station for several minutes to finish some other tasks, but a NASA commentator said both astronauts „have completed all of their primary tasks,“ ahead of schedule.
The astronauts were about 250 miles (404 kilometres) above Africa as the spacewalk neared its conclusion.
The outing began at 1200 GMT when the duo switched their spacesuits to battery power before venturing into space.
