spacetoday.net: Spacewalkers complete final STS-122 EVA

Posted: Sat, Feb 16, 2008, 7:02 AM ET (1202 GMT)
STS-122: EVA #3 (NASA)

Two astronauts spent more than seven hours outside the International Space Station on Friday, completing the outfitting of the exterior of the new Columbus lab module. Rex Walheim and Stanley Love spent 7 hours and 25 minutes outside the ISS on Friday, nearly an hour longer than planned, completing several tasks, including the installation of a solar observing instrument and materials exposure experiment to the exterior of the Columbus module. The two also stored a failed ISS gyroscope in the shuttle's cargo bay for return to Earth and inspected a damaged handrail on the Quest airlock module. The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to depart from the ISS on Monday and land on Wednesday. The landing will take place on Wednesday even if weather forces the shuttle to land in California instead of Florida; shuttle managers said they want to get the shuttle out of orbit to clear the way for a planned intercept of a missile with deorbiting spy satellite.