Russian and Italian complete 7-hour spacewalk

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev and Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti have returned safely to the International Space Station (ISS) following a seven-hour spacewalk, German press agency (dpa) reported.

Artemyev and Cristoforetti completed all but one of their major objectives during the spacewalk, which lasted 7 hours and 5 minutes and ended at 2155 GMT, US space agency NASA said.

The spacewalk’s main objective was the relocation of a robotic arm, called ERA, and the launching of 10 nano satellites, designed to collect radio electronics data.

The duo was also meant to install a telescopic boom that could help astronauts on further space-walks, but that task was now to be completed on a future spacewalk, NASA said.