Astronauts prepare for the arrival of SpaceX

A French and an American astronaut floated outside the International Space Station Friday on a successful spacewalk to upgrade the orbiting outpost for the arrival of future space crews. Outfitted in bulky white spacesuits, helmets and gloves, France's Thomas Pesquet, 39, and American Shane Kimbrough, 49, completed their work right on schedule, after six hours and 34 minutes in the vacuum of space. "Another great example of international collaboration and the work that we can do when we get a great team like this together," said Jessica Meir, a NASA astronaut who coordinated the spacewalk from mission control in Houston. The goal for Friday's outing was to prepare for the installation of the second of two parking spots for space taxis, known as the International Docking Adapters. New crew spaceships, being designed by SpaceX and Boeing, will use them when they begin flying astronauts to the station in the coming years, as early as 2018.