Latest Extra-vehicular activity Stories

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Before doing their heavy lifting in space, the astronauts on the shuttle Atlantis did lots of heavy lifting back on Earth. Weight training is essential to help them counter the effects of zero gravity while taking on a herculean construction job - expanding the international space station. "Most of us have spent a lot of time in the gym, doing weights, to build up the forearm strength, to build up upper body strength," said astronaut Heidemarie...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Russian cosmonaut will whack a golf ball from the international space station in a publicity stunt on Thanksgiving Day, NASA officials said Tuesday. Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin will show off his swing to promote a Canadian golf club manufacturer during a spacewalk on Nov. 23. NASA safety officers have cleared the stunt, saying it poses no threat to the space station or the crew since the golf ball weighs only 3 grams and will return to Earth's atmosphere...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two astronauts from the International Space Station floated outside their orbital home for a six-hour spacewalk on Thursday to prepare the $100 billion, half-built complex for future construction.NASA's Jeffrey Williams and the European Space Agency's Thomas Reiter, both experienced spacewalkers, slipped outside the U.S. airlock at 10:04 a.m. EDT (1404 GMT) as the orbiting outpost flew over Australia and southeast Asia.Among a long list of tasks, they replaced broken...

WASHINGTON -- Two spacewalking astronauts did so well at their international space station repairs that they finished up 90 minutes early and got extra jobs from NASA's massive orbital honey-do list.German astronaut Thomas Reiter even had a moment to marvel at the weakening Tropical Storm Chris below."Incredible. It's not as bad out there," he said, noting the same changes as meteorologists on the ground.The primary chore of Reiter and his American partner Jeff Williams during their...

WASHINGTON -- Two astronauts from the International Space Station floated outside their orbital home for a 6-1/2 hour spacewalk on Thursday to prepare the half-built complex for future construction.NASA's Jeffrey Williams and the European Space Agency's Thomas Reiter, both experienced spacewalkers, slipped outside the U.S. airlock at 10:04 a.m. EDT (1404 GMT) as the orbiting outpost flew over Australia and southeast Asia.Their main job was to replace broken equipment in what will become the...

By Deborah Zabarenko and Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. Space shuttle Discovery landed smoothly in Florida on Monday at the end of a 13-day mission meant to show the fleet is fit to fly safely, three years after the fatal Columbia accident. Double sonic booms thundered over central Florida as the shuttle glided through partly cloudy skies heading toward a three-mile-long runway at the Kennedy Space Center. Commander Steve Lindsey gently steered the shuttle through...

By Jeff Franks HOUSTON (Reuters) - Shuttle Discovery departed from the International Space Station on Saturday to end a nine-day visit that included three spacewalks and a repair critical to resuming construction of the half-finished space outpost. After astronauts closed the hatch linking the two spacecraft, Discovery gently undocked from the $100 billion station and moved slowly away in the first steps of the shuttle's planned return to Earth on Monday. "And we have physical...

Corrects number of shuttle flights in paragraph 11 to 16 from 15. By Jeff Franks HOUSTON (Reuters) - Astronauts on shuttle Discovery said on Tuesday they had achieved the key goals of their mission and put NASA on the road to recovery from the 2003 Columbia disaster. Their comments in press interviews from the shuttle came a day after a spacewalk that NASA hailed as a big step toward completing the half-finished, $100 billion International Space Station. "We were all hoping in NASA...

By Jeff Franks HOUSTON (Reuters) - Astronauts on shuttle Discovery said on Tuesday they had achieved the key goals of their mission and put NASA on the road to recovery from the 2003 Columbia disaster. Their comments in press interviews from the shuttle came a day after a spacewalk that NASA hailed as a big step toward completing the half-finished, $100 billion International Space Station. "We were all hoping in NASA for two things to come out of (this flight). The first thing is that...

By Irene Klotz HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two spacewalking astronauts repaired a transport system outside the International Space Station on Monday, paving the way for NASA to resume assembly of the half-built, $100 billion complex later this year. The high-flying repairmen from the space shuttle Discovery wrestled with problems during the nearly seven-hour spacewalk, including the partial disconnection of British-born astronaut Piers Sellers' emergency jet backpack. "What else could happen,...