Feb 22, 2007, 20:46 GMT
Moscow/Washington - US astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria set a US record Thursday for completing the most spacewalks, as he joined Russian colleague Mikhail Tyurin to retract an antenna on a cargo spacecraft as part of a Russian-led spacewalk.
Lopez-Alegria became the first US astronaut to complete 10 spacewalks, breaking a record previously held by Jerry Ross.
The astronauts completed the six-hour, 18-minute-long walk outside the International Space Station (ISS) at 1645 GMT. The mission was to have been completed earlier, but the astronauts left the Russian 'Pirs' segment of the ISS later than expected.
The astronauts repaired an antenna that did not detract automatically when an unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft docked with the ISS in autumn 2006.
The unmanned spacecraft is to be filled with waste from the ISS and burn up upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere in April.
The third member of the ISS's 14th permanent crew, US astronaut Sunita Williams, directed her colleagues' mission with a video camera on board the ISS.
Lopez-Alegria had already broken the record for the most time on spacewalks - 61 hours and 22 minutes - on February 8.
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