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In this view from NASA TV, U.S.
Science Officer Jeffrey Williams(L)and Commander Pavel Vinogradov of
Russia begin spacewalks June 1, 2006.(Xinhua/Reuters
photo) |
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The two crew
members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) ventured out of the orbital
complex on Thursday night to begin a spacewalk during which they will carry out
nearly six hours of repairs and maintenance.
In the first of two spacewalks scheduled
for the two crewmen since their arrival at the ISS in early April, Russian
commander Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. flight engineer Jeff Williams will
reposition a cable, replace a camera and retrieve materials from acompleted
science experiment for return to earth.
Vinogradov, who was making his sixth
spacewalk, and Williams, who had done a previous spacewalk, had spent more than
two weeks collecting equipment and practicing procedures for their outing.
Plans for Vinogradov to hit a golf ball
into orbit in a bid for the longest drive in history had to be ditched, as the
maintenance tasks left little time for publicity stunts.
A Canadian golf club manufacturer paid
Russia's space agency an undisclosed sum of money to have Vinogradov hit the
gold-plated golf ball into space, but the stunt was postponed until later in the
year. Enditem
