Astronauts take spacewalk to fix up space station

[August 30, 2012]  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- It's another week and another spacewalk at the International Space Station.

Two astronauts -- an American and Japanese -- ventured out Thursday to replace failed space station equipment.

Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide expect to spend six hours plugging in a new power-switching unit, hooking up power cables, and replacing a bad camera on the space station's big robotic arm.

It's the second spacewalk in less than two weeks. On Aug. 20, two Russians worked outside the orbiting lab.

This latest flurry of spacewalks aside, it's no longer common for astronauts to step into the vacuum of space. That's because after almost 14 years, the space station is virtually complete and running well. Plus NASA's shuttles are retired and now museum pieces.

[Associated Press; By MARCIA DUNN]

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