spacetoday.net: Astronauts complete final STS-123 EVA

Posted: Sun, Mar 23, 2008, 10:22 AM ET (1422 GMT)
STS-123: EVA #5 (NASA)

Two astronauts spent six hours outside the International Space Station Saturday night, completing a final set of tasks planned for the STS-123 mission. Robert Behnken and Michael Foreman spent six hours and two minutes outside the station on an EVA that ended at 10:36 pm EDT Saturday (0236 GMT Sunday). The primary task of the mission was to stow a boom used to perform shuttle inspections on the station. The boom is normally returned to Earth on each shuttle mission but will be kept on the station because there is no room for it on the next mission, which will carry the rest of the Kibo lab module to the ISS. Astronauts also successfully installed a materials science experiment on the exterior of the Columbus module; that experiment was to be installed on the mission's third EVA but failed to attach properly. The two also inspected a balky joint that helps the station's solar arrays track the Sun and performed some get-ahead tasks. After a rest period today, the STS-123 crew will wrap up its stay on the station. The shuttle is scheduled to undock Monday night and return to Earth on Wednesday.