1a 12/23 Update: Spacewalkers wrap up tedious EVA; one experiment returned to airlock

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CBS NEWS Coverage of Breaking Space News
Posted: 01:00 AM, 12/23/08

By William Harwood
CBS News Space Consultant

Changes and additions:

12/22/08 (10:45 AM): Station astronauts gear up for spacewalk
12/22/08 (07:55 PM): Spacewalk begins
12/23/08 (01:00 AM): Spacewalkers install probe, one of two experiment packages

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01:00 AM, 12/23/08, Update: Spacewalkers install probe, one of two experiment packages

Five hours into a planned six-hour 10-minute spacewalk, Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov have successfully installed an electrical probe on the Russian Pirs airlock module, retrieved a space exposure experiment and mounted instrumentation on the Zvezda command module that will monitor disturbances in the ionosphere.

But the spacewalkers ran into problems getting a second experiment package, designed to expose biological samples to the space environment, properly plugged into the station's power and data system. After extensive troubleshooting, Russian flight controllers ordered Fincke and Lonchakov to disconnect the EXPOSE-R experiment and return it to the airlock, foregoing a few minor maintenance chores.

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