Mir space station cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Sergei Avdeyev completed a 5h 30min spacewalk on 25 July - probably the last to be made from the Russian craft. The cosmonauts completed the deployment of a prototype unfurlable communications antenna that could not be deployed during a walk on 23 July.
Meanwhile, the Mir crew has installed a new guidance computer, bringing forward work to prepare the station for when the present crew leaves on 28 August.
• French astronaut Claudie Andre-Deshays has become the first non-Russian female to qualify as a Soyuz commander for International Space Station (ISS) support missions. The Soyuz vehicle will ferry crews to and from the ISS and act as an attached Crew Emergency Return Vehicle. Each operational ISS crew will require a qualified Soyuz commander.
Source: Flight International
