Spacewalking Astronauts Prep Station For New Parking Spot
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Astronauts have ventured out on a spacewalk to prep the International Space Station for a new parking spot.
NASA's Shane Kimbrough, a Texas native who joined NASA in 2000, and France's Thomas Pesquet floated out the hatch Friday morning.
Their main job 250 miles up involves disconnecting an old docking port. This port needs to be moved, in order to make room for a docking device compatible with future commercial crew capsules. The new port — the second of two — will fly up late this year or early next.
If all goes well, flight controllers in Houston will relocate the old docking port Sunday. Then next Thursday, the crew will conduct another spacewalk to secure the unit.
NASA wants to cram in two or three spacewalks before Kimbrough returns to Earth on April 10.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)