U.S., Russian Astronauts Successfully Finish Spacewalk

U.S., Russian astronauts successfully finish spacewalk WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station completed a spacewalk on Thursday, successfully retracting a stuck antenna, according to NASA TV.

Station Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria opened the airlock of the Pirs docking compartment at 5:27 a.m. EST (1027 GMT) to begin their spacewalk. The excursion lasted for more than six hours.

They successfully retracted and secured the balky antenna of the ISS Progress 23 cargo craft. The antenna did not fully retract before the spacecraft docked Oct. 26. They also checked navigation systems in preparation for the summer docking of a European cargo craft known as the Automated Transfer Vehicle.

This is the fifth spacewalk for Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin during their term aboard the ISS — a record for station crews.

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