U.S. astronauts conduct spacewalk to install commercial crew portBy Philippine News Agency/XinhuaWASHINGTON, Aug. 20 — Two U.S. astronauts on Friday ventured out of the International Space Station to install the first of two crucial docking ports that will enable future arrivals of American commercial crew spacecraft. Since NASA retired its space shuttle program in 2011, the only vehicle to ferry humans to the space station is Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. NASA created the commercial crew program in the hope of ending the U.S. reliance on Russia. It’s a ring weighing more than 1,000 pounds (454 kg)that will provide a standardized connection point for Boeing and SpaceX crew spacecraft to automatically dock with the station. It is the 194th spacewalk for the space station.

Source: Manila Bulletin August 20, 2016 16:41 UTC