ASTRONAUTS from the US space shuttle Discovery concluded the third and final space walk of their mission yesterday, installing new equipment on the International Space Station, but failing to connect some of the cables.

ASTRONAUTS on the shuttle Columbia were trying to regain control of their craft before it broke apart in 2003, but there was no chance of surviving the accident, says a Nasa report.

ASTRONAUTS completed flight control checks aboard space shuttle Discovery and practiced landing on a computer simulator as they made final preparations to return to Earth.