Space shuttle Endeavour astronaut Andrew Feustel inside the hatch of the Qwest a …
The tail of the space shuttle Endeavour is visible on the right as the Soyuz spacecraft …
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Shuttle Endeavour's most experienced spacewalkers returned to the outside of the International Space Station on Wednesday to extend the reach of the station's robotic crane and bolster the power lines.
"Wow, it's great to be back outside," astronaut Mike Fincke said as he left the space station's airlock shortly before 2 a.m. to begin his eighth spacewalk.
"The most beautiful planet in the universe," he added, admiring the blue Earth 220 miles below.
"Nice view, isn't it?" replied lead spacewalker Drew Feustel, making his sixth outing.
The primary goals of the spacewalk, the third of four planned during shuttle Endeavour's mission, is to hook up a fixture so the station's robotic crane can be moved over to the Russian side of the $100 billion complex.
The astronauts also plan to install wiring to give the Russian modules backup access to power from the U.S. solar array wings.
To prepare for the spacewalk, scheduled to last 6 1/2 hours, Feustel and Fincke tried an alternative method for purging nitrogen from their bloodstreams, necessary to prevent the bends.
They spent 50 minutes doing light exercises to speed up their metabolism, which cut the amount of time they needed to breathe pure oxygen before venturing out to work in the vacuum of space. The new protocol also eliminates the need for the spacewalkers to camp out in the reduced pressure environment of the airlock the night before the spacewalk.
The trial run of the new procedure went well, said NASA mission commentator Kyle Herring.
Endeavour and its six-man crew arrived at the station on May 18 for a 12-day servicing call, the next-to-last mission before NASA ends the space shuttle program.
The agency on Tuesday reaffirmed plans to build a new spaceship, called Orion, that can travel beyond the station's orbit where the shuttles cannot go. A decision on what type of rocket will launch it is expected next month.
NASA is retiring its three-ship shuttle fleet due to high operating costs and to free up funds for new exploration initiatives to asteroids, the moon and eventually to Mars.
Russia already has picked up station crew taxi flights, and NASA hopes U.S. commercial companies will be offering similar services within about four years.
Endeavour is due back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 1.
NASA's final shuttle mission, a cargo run to the station aboard shuttle Atlantis, is slated to lift off on July 8.
"Wow, it's great to be back outside," astronaut Mike Fincke said as he left the space station's airlock shortly before 2 a.m. to begin his eighth spacewalk.
"The most beautiful planet in the universe," he added, admiring the blue Earth 220 miles below.
"Nice view, isn't it?" replied lead spacewalker Drew Feustel, making his sixth outing.
The primary goals of the spacewalk, the third of four planned during shuttle Endeavour's mission, is to hook up a fixture so the station's robotic crane can be moved over to the Russian side of the $100 billion complex.
The astronauts also plan to install wiring to give the Russian modules backup access to power from the U.S. solar array wings.
To prepare for the spacewalk, scheduled to last 6 1/2 hours, Feustel and Fincke tried an alternative method for purging nitrogen from their bloodstreams, necessary to prevent the bends.
They spent 50 minutes doing light exercises to speed up their metabolism, which cut the amount of time they needed to breathe pure oxygen before venturing out to work in the vacuum of space. The new protocol also eliminates the need for the spacewalkers to camp out in the reduced pressure environment of the airlock the night before the spacewalk.
The trial run of the new procedure went well, said NASA mission commentator Kyle Herring.
Endeavour and its six-man crew arrived at the station on May 18 for a 12-day servicing call, the next-to-last mission before NASA ends the space shuttle program.
The agency on Tuesday reaffirmed plans to build a new spaceship, called Orion, that can travel beyond the station's orbit where the shuttles cannot go. A decision on what type of rocket will launch it is expected next month.
NASA is retiring its three-ship shuttle fleet due to high operating costs and to free up funds for new exploration initiatives to asteroids, the moon and eventually to Mars.
Russia already has picked up station crew taxi flights, and NASA hopes U.S. commercial companies will be offering similar services within about four years.
Endeavour is due back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 1.
NASA's final shuttle mission, a cargo run to the station aboard shuttle Atlantis, is slated to lift off on July 8.
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