(Photo: AP)

(Photo: Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Russian/US crew of the International Space Station have completed a planned spacewalk an hour and a half ahead of schedule and returned to the station.

    The crew successfully completed the scheduled operations in four and a half hours when six hours had been allocated for the tasks, reported Wednesday's CRI online.

    They installed the Russian module Zvezda with three upgraded laser deflectors and a video meter target to be used for the docking with the first European cargo spacecraft to be launched in October 2005.

    Russian spaceships have been the only links with the 16-nation orbiting space station since the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 which killed all seven crew members.

    Mission control official Vladimir Solovyov said the crew is expected to make the next spacewalk on September 3, continuing preparations for the docking of the ATV cargo spaceship.

    (CRIENGLISH.com)