Astronauts Rest Up After Six-Hour Spacewalk

March 23, 2008 -- With their fifth and final spacewalk under their belt, Endeavour's astronauts planned to take some well-deserved time off on Sunday before starting the journey home.

Astronauts Michael Foreman and Robert Behnken sailed through their six-hour spacewalk on Saturday, attaching a 50-foot inspection pole to the International Space Station and completing other chores.

"You were just fabulous out there today," astronaut Richard Linnehan told the pair as they floated back into the station about a half hour ahead of schedule. "I can't say enough. Thanks for making everyone look good."

The shuttle crew used the laser-tipped inspection boom at the beginning of their 16-day mission and again Friday night to check for any damage to their spaceship. It's become a routine safety procedure ever since the 2003 Columbia accident.

Discovery won't have room for a boom when it flies in May because the Japanese Kibo lab is so big it will take up the entire payload bay. So Endeavour's astronauts left theirs behind.

Foreman and Behnken hooked an extra-long power cord to the inspection pole, to keep its lasers and cameras warm for the next two months, then secured the boom to the outside of the space station.