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HOUSTON - The 2-ton, $11 million addition astronauts have delivered to the international space station may be one of the smaller pieces of the structure, but even supporting actors are vital. The addition will act both as a spacer between a pair of the station's power-generating solar arrays and as a channel through which lines of electricity, data and cooling liquid will run, NASA said. Two astronauts were scheduled to install the addition on Tuesday, in the first of three harrowing spacewalks during the 12-day mission that left Earth on Saturday. The space shuttle Discovery crew are continuing the assembly...

Russian Golf Event Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin tees off from the space station during the Expedition 14 spacewalk. Click 'View this Video' at the link.

Two members of the International Space Station's crew will venture outside the complex around 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) to begin a six-hour spacewalk. The Russian-controlled EVA includes several maintenance chores but the highlight will be a golfing stunt to be filmed for a Canadian company.

July 21, 2006 -- Hey! You with the extra change! Want a chance to walk in space? It'll only cost you, say, $15 million! Plus airfare, of course. Space Adventures Ltd., the Virginia-based firm that brokered the privately paid for space flights of Dennis Tito and two other multimillionaires, today announced that it's expanding its offerings. For $20 million, Space Adventures will get you a ride to the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. For an extra $15 million, you can now go on a 90-minute spacewalk. Just imagine. You climb into a Russian-made Orlan spacesuit, slowly depressurize...

On June 3, 1965, Edward H. White stepped outside his spacecraft and let go. Twenty-three minutes later, when he was ordered to reenter his Gemini capsule, he said, “It’s the saddest moment of my life.” After paying a small fortune to reach one of the most spectacular places in creation, with the experience that enthralled astronaut Edward White at arms’ length, few will be content to look through a small window and stay inside! It is no surprise that NASA and other serious space agencies don’t focus on or facilitate extra vehicular activity (EVA) work (or play!) Many sailors can’t...

http://www.nasa.gov/ram/35037main_portal.ram

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 May 17 Dark Sky, Bright Sun Credit: STS-82 Crew, NASA Explanation: In low Earth orbit there is not enough atmosphere to diffuse and scatter sunlight, so shadows are black and the sky is dark - even when the Sun shines. The harsh lighting produced this dramatic effect as mission specialist Gregory Harbaugh photographed colleague Joseph Tanner during their second spacewalk to service the Hubble Space Telescope in...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 24 To Fly Free in Space Credit: STS 41-B Crew, NASA Explanation: What would it be like to fly free over the seas and clouds of Earth? The first to experience such an "untethered space walk" were NASA astronauts Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart during Space Shuttle mission 41-B in 1984. McCandless, pictured above, used a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) to move in and around the...

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20020304/spacesuit.html NASA Drops Women's Spacesuit Plans By Irene Brown, Discovery News March 8 #151; For five days now, veteran astronaut Nancy Currie has diligently driven around her spacewalking crewmates as they worked on the Hubble Space Telescope while anchored to a platform on the shuttle's robot arm. She's not complaining, but Currie, who also operated the crane for the first International Space Station construction mission certainly could be forgiven a case of spacewalk envy. The 5-foot-tall, 110-pound helicopter pilot doesn't even have a chance at an orbital outing because NASA has no suit to fit her. The agency suspended plans...