Space station astronauts take a walk

Their mission nearing an end, the two astronauts of the International Space Station took a spacewalk on Monday to instal antennae and release a baby Sputnik amid heightened safety procedures and multiple breakdowns.

Their mission nearing an end, the two astronauts of the International Space Station took a spacewalk on Monday to instal antennae and release a baby Sputnik amid heightened safety procedures and multiple breakdowns.

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American Leroy Chiao and his Russian crewmate Salizhan Sharipov left the International Space Station empty for the second time in just a few months, floating outside to perform the 220-mile-high maintenance work.

NASA and the Russian Space Agency instituted extra safety measures to avoid a repeat of the problem that had occurred during the men’s spacewalk in January.

Chiao had got too close to firing thrusters during that first outing because of miscommunication, and so flight controllers put unambiguous rules in place for Monday’s outing.