Washington - Two space shuttle Endeavour astronauts on Saturday conducted a seven-hour spacewalk, completing a third mission outside the International Space Station to get a solar panel on the in working order. Astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen left the ISS at 1801 GMT on a spacewalk that they spent cleaning and lubricating a joint that allows the panel to rotate, following the sun. The repairs were nearly completed Saturday.
Work on the panel joint has occupied much of the previous two spacewalks during the current shuttle Endeavour mission, which began a week ago and has eight days left. A fourth spacewalk to work on a separate joint and do other work is planned Monday.
The US space agency NASA could extend Endeavour's 15-day mission by one day to deal with problems that have cropped up with a urine recycling system, which is designed to turn waste into drinkable water.
There appeared to be a problem with a centrifuge on a distillation component of the urine processor assembly, flight director Courtenay McMillan said Friday. It could be as simple as a sensor was causing the system to shut off, as astronauts tried to run tests on the system.
NASA was still trying to troubleshoot the problem. McMillan said that no decision about an extension had yet been made.
