Astronauts upgrade station power system in six-hour spacewalk

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Friday for a 6-1/2-hour spacewalk to replace aging batteries for the laboratory's solar power system, an upgrade needed to keep the outpost running into the next decade. NASA via REUTERS

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Friday for a six-hour spacewalk to replace aging batteries for the laboratory's solar power system, an upgrade needed to keep the outpost running into the next decade, NASA said.

U.S. astronaut Shane Kimbrough left the station’s airlock at about 6:30 a.m. EST (1130 GMT) to begin his second spacewalk this month. He was joined minutes later by French crew mate Thomas Pesquet, a rookie astronaut making his first spacewalk.