Nasa Astronauts Start ISS Repair Spacewalk

Nasa astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins have begun the first of three spacewalks to replace a broken cooling pump at the International Space Station.

The spacewalk is set to last six and a half hours, Nasa said.

As the ISS orbits Earth at a speed of five miles per second, veteran spacewalker Mr Mastracchio is leading the way, followed by Mr Hopkins, who is making his first venture outside the global research lab.

From the inside, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will operate the station's 50ft (15m) robotic arm, hoisting Mr Mastracchio and hefty equipment from one section of the lab to another.

"There are quite a bit of arm manoeuvres throughout all of these EVAs so I'm sure Koichi will be getting a workout," said lead spacewalk officer Allison Bolinger, using the Nasa acronym for spacewalk: extravehicular activity (EVA).

Mike Hopkins prepares for his first spacewalk earlier. Pic: Nasa

While flight engineer Mr Mastracchio, 53, soars around with his boots attached to a foot-plate on the robotic arm, Mr Hopkins, 44, will be the designated free-floating astronaut of the day.

The men's first task is to disconnect the ammonia pump, which is about the size of a refrigerator.

On the second spacewalk, set for Monday, the astronauts are to remove the pump so it can be replaced with a spare that was already stowed at the ISS.

A third spacewalk is planned for Christmas Day, when the failed pump will be shuttled away and final installations made on its replacement.

However, there is a chance the astronauts will be able to complete all their work in two spacewalks, Nasa has said.

If not, the Christmas Day outing would be the first since 1974, when a pair of Nasa astronauts "stepped outside the Skylab space station to retrieve film from a telescope and photograph Comet Kohoutek", the US space agency said.

Thanksgiving in space for Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins. Pic: Nasa

The urgent spacewalks were called for this week due to a faulty valve that caused a partial shutdown in the system that regulates equipment temperature at the space station.

Engineers tried to fix the problem from the ground, but eventually decided they needed to replace the ammonia pump.

The six-man crew was never in danger, but Nasa wanted to fix the problem sooner rather than later, agency officials said.

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