Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata performed the first spacewalk of his long career on Friday evening, leaving the confines of the International Space Station for a mission to attach a solar panel frame to the vessel's exterior.
Wakata's mission, performed in tandem with an American astronaut, took 7 hours 21 minutes and was completed on Saturday morning.
The 59-year-old Wakata, currently on a long-term stay at the ISS, left the central airlock for outer space shortly after 10:20 p.m. Friday. He and American Nicole Mann moved along the exterior of the ship and the two attached a frame for new solar power-generation panels.
