Chiao, Sharpiov Finished Ahead Of Schedule

Mission Commander Leroy Chiao and Engineer Salizhan Sharipov wrapped things up early in their second spacewalk in just two months -- leaving the International Space Station unattended so they could install new antennae aimed at enabling European cargo ships to safely dock.

They also tossed overboard -- literally -- a "nano-Sputnik," a small satellite that will gather data on weather and geographic phenomena.

"The hatch has now been closed," a mission control spokesman said on Monday, shortly after the six-hour EVA was completed. The controller was quoted by Reuters as saying, "They managed to do everything -- they finished early because they were very well prepared."

The European Space Agency's Jules Verne robotic cargo ship will start arriving at the ISS next year. During Monday's mission, Chiao and Sharipov installed a series of antennae that will allow the modules to dock safely. When they start flying to the station, they'll carry more food and more supplies than Russian Progress cargo ships. At least until May, those Progress ships and Russian Soyuz manned capsules are all that fly to the ISS. But when NASA returns the space shuttle to flight after a two-year hiatus caused by the Columbia disaster, that should begin to change.

FMI: www.nasa.gov