Spacewalkers test new shuttle repair techniques

March 21, 2008

Two astronauts completed a spacewalk on Friday during which they tested new repair techniques for the space shuttle's heat shield, crucial for a new mission to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. Astronauts Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman spent six hours and 24 minutes outside the International Space Station (ISS). NASA wants to make sure astronauts can fix any potential heat shield damage during the Hubble mission, when the shuttle will be moored too far from the ISS, its only habitable shelter in orbit.