Spacewalkers prepare module for dumping

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - A pair of Russian cosmonauts floated outside the International Space Station on Thursday to prepare for the removal of a Russian docking module, which is due to be flown into the atmosphere for incineration next year.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Anton Shkaplerov worked outside the station during a six-hour and 15-minute outing, the first of three spacewalks scheduled this year.

Their first task was to move one of two 14-meter Stela cargo booms from the outside of Pirs, a Russian docking module that has been part of the $100 billion space station since 2001.