Russian cosmonauts make first spacewalk in 2011

Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev works on the exterior of the International Space Station during a spacewalk January 21, 2011 in this still image taken from video. (Reuters Photo)

Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Kondratyev (L) and Oleg Skripochka work to install an experimental Russian radio transmission system, retrieve existing experiments and install a TV camera on the Rassvet mini-research module that will assist in future dockings of vehicles to that port during their spacewalk outside the International Space Station in this still image taken from video January 21, 2011. (Reuters Photo)

Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev works outside the International Space Station in this still image taken from video January 21, 2011. (Reuters Photo)

In this image from NASA TV Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev works to install an experimental Russian radio transmission system, retrieve existing experiments and install a TV camera on the Rassvet mini-research module that will assist in future dockings of vehicles to that port during their spacewalk outside the International Space Station January 21, 2011. (Reuters Photo)

MOSCOW, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Two Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) finished the fist spacewalk this year on Friday, the Russian Mission Control center said.

Oleg Skripochka and Dmitry Kondratyev, both 41, opened the exit hatch of the Russian Pirs Module around 17:30 Moscow time (14:30 GMT) and ended the work in outer space at 22:52 Moscow time (19:52 GMT) , the mission control said.

According to earlier reports, they were expected to install a Russian-made high-speed data transmission equipment on the Zvezda service module, disassembling the impulse plasma injector and installing a camera on the Rassvet module during the spacewalk.

According to web-site of the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, this was Dmitry Kondratyev's first spacewalk and for Oleg Skripochka this was a second "trip" outside the station.

Skripochka completed his first spacewalk with Fyodor Yurchikhin in November 2010.

"Spacesuit systems provide a supply of oxygen and dispose of carbon monoxide, maintain a comfortable temperature for a cosmonaut and also provide a radio connection," Kondratyev wrote in his blog.

During his last communication with the mission control before the spacewalk, Skripochka said he was missing home-made food.

The service life of the ISS, which has been in orbit for 10 years, ends in 2015 but participants of the project - Canada, the European Union, Japan, Russia and the United States - are currently discussing ways to extend its operation until 2020.