Space

Astronauts complete successful spacewalk

CAPE CANAVERAL - Leaving their orbiting outpost unmanned, the international space station's two astronauts floated outside on a spacewalk Friday.

Gennady Padalka and Mike Fincke quickly stepped through the fourth and final spacewalk of their six-month mission.

Their job: install three antennas for a new type of cargo carrier to be launched by the European Space Agency to the space station late next year and replace a 2-foot-square pump panel, part of a critical system for cooling equipment.

Because no one was left inside the 225-mile-high complex, flight controllers in both Moscow and Houston kept close watch over the two men and all systems. The spacewalk lasted 51/2 hours, and everything was accomplished.

NASA prefers having a crew member inside during spacewalks but has had to settle for one less person on board for more than a year because of the grounding of the shuttle fleet. This was the fifth spacewalk with an empty outpost.

Russian spacecraft have made deliveries since Columbia broke apart over Texas during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003.

Padalka and Fincke have 11/2 months before they return to Earth. They will be replaced by another Russian and American.

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