Astronaut, Cosmonaut Take Walk In Space

An American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut walked together in space Tuesday for the first time, collecting samples of cosmic dust and installing new equipment on the shell of the aging Mir space station.

American Jerry Linenger, in the highlight of his four-month stay aboard the troubled Russian space station, spent nearly five hours in space performing a series of scientific tasks with cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev.

“They are both feeling fine,” Russian flight center spokeswoman Vera Medvedkova said during the space walk.

The successful walk followed a string of problems on the space station, including a small fire in February.