Astronauts Take 2nd Spacewalk For Cable, Lube Job

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA astronauts have ventured back outside the International Space Station for more cable work and a lube job.

Wednesday's spacewalk is the second in five days for Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts. In all, three spacewalks are planned in just over a week to prepare the orbiting lab for future American crew capsules.

Virts will spend half of Wednesday's spacewalk lubricating latches and brackets on the station's giant robot arm. He and Wilmore will also install more power and data cables, for a two-day total of 364 feet. By the end of their third spacewalk Sunday, they will have routed 764 feet of cable.

The extensive rewiring is needed to accommodate commercial crew capsules still in development. NASA expects the SpaceX and Boeing capsules to start flying astronauts in 2017.