New Italian Observation Deck Opened On Station

The International Space Station is sporting a new owl's nest -- a perch where astronauts and cosmonauts can get a 360-degree view outside the outpost; a place where they can control robot arm operations, monitor the arrivals and departures of visiting vehicles and enjoy unmatched panoramic views of Earth.

"Great job raising the curtains on the bay window to the world," Endeavour mission specialist Kay Hire said after spacewalking crewmates prepped an Italian observation deck dubbed Cupola for a grand opening of sorts.

"I don't think space station is ever going to be the same after this," shuttle mission specialist Steve Robinson said.

Benhken and Patrick carried out a third and final spacewalk during Endeavour's stay at the station, an excursion aimed primarily at finishing the external outfitting of the U.S. Tranquility module and the Cupola, which sports seven windows and is now located on the Earth-facing port of Tranquility.

The spacewalkers removed thermal blankets and released launch locks so crewmates inside the outpost could open shutters covering the Cupola's seven windows.

Check out the spacewalk by the numbers:
The five-hour, 48-minute spacewalk was the 140th performed in the assembly and maintenance of the station, the construction of which began when the first two building blocks were linked in low Earth orbit in late 1998.

Astronauts and cosmonauts have tallied 873 hours and 16 minutes of spacewalking time during the course of the construction of the station, which now weighs more than 800,000 pounds and is 98 percent complete.

Behnken and Patrick tallied three spacewalks in the past week, totally 18 hours and 14 minutes working in the vacuum. Patrick now has three spacewalks to his credit. Lead spacewalker Behnken now has chalked up 37 hours and 33 minutes of spacewalking work on six excursions. He now ranks 32nd on the all-time spacewalking list..