Astronauts conduct final spacewalk

US: Astronauts from the US space shuttle Discovery ventured out of the International Space Station on Saturday for a third spacewalk that will be the last of their mission.

NASA astronaut Danny Olivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang left the ISS at 2039 GMT for what is scheduled to be a 6.5 hour spacewalk, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration said. The pair are "working quickly and efficiently moving ahead of their timeline," NASA said.

Their tasks include replacing a failed rate gyro assembly, a device that measures rates for any changes in the station's altitude, with a new one.

Olivas is then to install a Global Positioning System antenna, while Fuglesang's tasks include installing an insulation sleeve on a cable inside the truss and installing a second GPS antenna, NASA said.

Washington, Sunday, AFP