Spacewalkers Launch Nanosatellite to Observe Earth

Spacewalking astronauts launched a tiny Peruvian research satellite Monday off the International Space Station, setting it loose on a mission to observe Earth.

Expedition 40 Flight spacewalkers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev marked the official start of their planned 6.5-hour spacewalk when they stepped out of the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:02 a.m. EDT on Monday.

NASA Television is providing live coverage of the spacewalk.

The four-inch, two-pound nanosatellite - named Chasqui after Incan messengers - sailed 260 miles above Earth and as planned, cleared the vicinity of the ISS.

"One, two, three," someone called out in Russian as Artemiev let go of the satellite, The Associated Press (AP) reported.