Endeavour astronauts Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough, completed the second spacewalk at 00:43 GMT. The spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 45 minutes, and started 45 minutes ahead of schedule. The Endeavour arrived at the ISS on Sunday on a 15-day 'home improvement' mission. It delivered 6,538 kg of supplies and equipment to upgrade the space station's living space and prepare it for more residents on longer-term assignments. To everyone's relief, the astronauts stepped through their work without any mishaps.

They had double- and triple-checked their equipment before venturing out to make certain everything was tied down. A $100,000 tool bag was lost during the first spacewalk of the mission two days ago. The spacewalk, the second of four planned during the Endeavour's visit - fell on the 10th anniversary of the space station. Before the action got under way outside, wishes of

"Happy Birthday!" and "Happy Anniversary!" flew back and forth between flight controllers around the world and the space station's skipper, Mike Fincke. The spacewalker's primary job, 220 miles up, was to clean and lubricate the massive joint that controls the solar wings on the right side of the space station, and to replace its bearings. Other chores that the spacewalkers polished off,: were, moving a pair of rail carts to clear a path for construction work, planned on the next shuttle flight in

February, and lubricating the bearings for the snares on the end of the space station's robot arm. The additions will allow NASA to double the size of the space station crew from three to six by June. As part of an experiment by schoolchildren from Florida, Texas and Colorado, two orb-weaving spiders also flew up on Endeavour. A comparison will be studied between the webs created in weightlessness with that on Earth.