Spacewalking astronauts had to pull out a hammer and pry bar while attaching a big, new tank full of ammonia coolant to the International Space Station today, successfully driving in a stiff bolt after two frustrating hours.

Astronauts aboard the shuttle Endeavour and the international space station today prepared for the last spacewalk of their joint mission, an outing that was scaled back because of Hurricane Dean.

An astronaut’s ripped glove forced an early end to a spacewalk and added to Nasa’s headaches as shuttle managers put off a decision on whether to order risky repairs for a deep gouge on Endeavour’s belly.

TWO astronauts began a spacewalk yesterday to replace equipment on the international space station as NASA experts calculated whether the shuttle Endeavour’s crew would need to repair a gouge on the ship’s belly.

Two astronauts began a spacewalk today to replace equipment on the international space station as Nasa experts calculated whether the shuttle Endeavour’s crew would need to repair a gouge on the ship’s belly.

When former US schoolteacher Barbara Morgan leaves Earth on a space shuttle next week, she hopes her students back in Idaho learn a lesson from her 22-year wait to get into orbit: perseverance and patience.