Article Posted on : - Jul 13, 2011

Expedition 28 Flight Engineers Ron Garan (top) and Mike Fossum exit the International Space Station's Quest airlock to begin their spacewalk. Photo: NASA TV.

WASHINGTON (BNS): The astronauts Tuesday completed a six-hour 31-minute spacewalk, the final excursion of the space shuttle era.

Expedition 28 Flight Engineers Mike Fossum and Ron Garan also accomplished their primary objectives- retrieving a failed pump module for return to Earth, installing two experiments and repairing a new base for the station’s robotic arm.

Tuesday's spacewalk was the 160th devoted to space station assembly and maintenance, the ninth so far this year.

Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle programme, STS-135, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis carries a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station.

Atlantis is due to return on July 21 to the Kennedy Space Centre, where it will go on display at a tourist centre.