
Astronaut Norishige Kanai, currently on a long-term mission at the International Space Station, conducted a spacewalk outside the ISS on Friday in which he replaced parts, among other tasks.
The 41-year-old exited the ISS around 9:10 p.m. Friday, Japan time, to become the fourth Japanese astronaut to perform tasks outside the station, following Akihiko Hoshide, now 49, in 2012.
Together with American astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Kanai removed two hand-like contraptions called Latching End Effectors (LEE), which are attached to the ends of robotic arms connected to the ISS for the purpose of grabbing objects. Kanai replaced one LEE with a new unit brought from an onboard storage location.
Kanai walked in space with the help of a cable tethered to the ISS exterior.
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