NASA astronauts complete ISS spacewalk

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren have completed more than seven hours of maintenance work outside the International Space Station.

The spacewalk, which was the first for both astronauts, successfully routed cables to a docking port, placed a protective cover over a particle physics detector, and lubricated one end of the station's 58-foot robotic arm.

"You guys did a great job," radioed Tracy Caldwell Dyson, an astronaut working with the crew from the flight control center in Houston.

"Thanks, Tracy," Kelly replied. "And thanks to the whole team. We do understand how much work it takes to put this together, and how much you guys are looking out for our safety and well-being, and we really appreciate it."

"You bet, Scott," said Caldwell Dyson.

The work took longer than expected, resulting in a bit of lubrication and a valve's installation being deferred to a later date.

The spacewalk began at 8:03 a.m. Eastern Time and was scheduled to last six-and-a-half hours, but ended up taking seven hours and 16 minutes.

NASA's Scott Kelly sets U.S. spaceflight record

It's not unusual for technical challenges and the difficulty of working in bulky suits in the vacuum of space to stretch timelines.

Kelly, the commander of the station's six-person Expedition 45 crew, and Lindgren plan to build off of today's experience to collaborate on another spacewalk Nov. 6, when Lindgren will take over the lead role.

Their focus next time will be on restoring part of the station's coolant system — always potentially dangerous work dealing with highly toxic ammonia — to its original configuration after previous efforts to stop a leak.

Today's spacewalk was the 189th supporting maintenance and assembly of the outpost, all totaling nearly 1,200 hours of work.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jamesdeanspace.