Two Russian crew members ventured out from the International Space Station yesterday to install metal shields for protecting the research outpost from orbital debris.
Station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov floated out of an airlock on the Russian side of the station at 8.05pm Irish time, about an hour later than planned due to a glitch with communications equipment.
They were back inside about five-and-a-half hours later.
The cosmonauts fitted five aluminium debris impact shields to the forward part of the crew's living quarters, the Russian-built module Zvezdathat has been in orbit seven years. The shields are about two feet by three feet and weigh between 15 and 20 pounds.
The 12 remaining shields that have to be fitted will be installed during a spacewalk slated for June 6th.
The crew members also rerouted cables for satellite navigation equipment that will be needed when Europe's unmanned cargo ship makes its debut flight to the station later this year.