Astronauts Malenchenko, Williams and Hoshide, touched down in Kazakhstan

Russian space agency helicopters and vehicles stand near the Soyuz capsule after the spacecraft 's landing near the town of Arkalyk in northern Kazakhstan.

Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and two astronauts, Sunita Williams of the US and Akihiko Hoshide of Japan, touched down on the steppes of Kazakhstan in a Russian Soyuz capsule after spending over four months aboard the International Space Station.

Picture: MAXIM SHIPENKOV/AFP/Getty Images

NASA ISS EVA: Russians Outfit the ISS

Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka (top), Expedition 32 commander; and Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer, participate in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) to continue outfitting the International Space Station. 

During the five-hour, 51-minute spacewalk on August 20, 2012, Padalka and Malenchenko moved the Strela-2 cargo boom from the Pirs docking compartment to the Zarya module to prepare Pirs for its eventual replacement with a new Russian multipurpose laboratory module. 

The two spacewalking cosmonauts also installed micrometeoroid debris shields on the exterior of the Zvezda service module and deployed a small science satellite.

Image Credit: NASA

ISS: Suspected Leaky Valve Delays Russian Cosmonaut EVA

This still image from a NASA TV broadcast shows how Russian cosmonauts will move a crane outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Aug. 20, 2012.

CREDIT: NASA TV

A suspected leaky valve on the International Space Station stalled the start of a spacewalk by Russian cosmonauts for nearly an hour today (Aug. 20), forcing them to wait in bulky spacesuits until it was deemed safe to venture outside.

Veteran cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Yuri Malenchenko were preparing to begin their space station spacewalk when the leak was detected during air pressure tests.

Russian flight controllers at the station's Mission Control Center in Moscow asked the cosmonauts to stay put until the leaky valve could be isolated.

Padalka, the space station's commander, agreed.

"We're in no rush," Padalka radioed Mission Control in Russian, which was translated in a NASA broadcast.

Flight controllers spent almost an hour trying to isolate the leaky valve and monitoring air pressure inside the station's airlock and adjoining modules.

Ultimately, they radioed good news to the spacewalkers — the leak was resolved and it was safe to proceed. It was welcome news for the cosmonauts.

"We're just hanging here and it's kind of boring," Padalka said.

At 11:37 a.m. EDT (1337 GMT) — nearly an hour late — the two cosmonauts finally opened the space station's airlock hatch and prepared to get to work.

Russian Cosmonauts stepped out for six-hour space walk around ISS

Cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko donned their Orlan spacesuits Friday, with the help of Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, before stepping outside for a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk.

The Russians spent the weekend preparing for the stroll; the pair will spend most of their time outside fixing up their cosmic home.

The astronauts climbed into their Orlan spacesuits on Friday to do a fit-check ahead of the jaunt, during which they will shift the Strela-2 hand-operated crane from the Pirs docking compartment to the Zarya module.

Strela-2 had to be moved to prepare Pirs for its replacement: a new laboratory and docking module slated to launch to the station next year, according to NASA.

Strela-1 was already taken off Pirs and stuck on the Poisk Mini-Research Module in February.

Since they're out there anyway, the cosmonauts will also deploy a small satellite and install micrometeoroid debris shields on the Zvezda module.

If they still have time after that, Padalka and Malenchenko could be asked to grab two experiment panels strapped to the outside of the station that are being used to assess how different materials react to the vacuum of space.

ISS Russian Astronauts: Living and Working on the ISS

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko donned their Orlan spacesuits Friday, with help from Flight Engineer Sergei Revin. 

They were performing a fit-check in advance of Monday’s scheduled Russian spacewalk, the first of the mission, which is slated to begin at 10:40 a.m. EDT and last about 6.5 hours.

Padalka and Malenchenko will move the Strela-2 hand-operated crane from the Pirs docking compartment to the Zarya module, preparing Pirs for its replacement with a new laboratory and docking module.

Strela-1 was moved from Pirs to the Poisk Mini-Research Module in February.

The pair also will deploy a small satellite and install debris shields on the Zvezda module.

Flight Engineers Joe Acaba, Suni Williams and Aki Hoshide reviewed procedures for a U.S. spacewalk that Williams and Hoshide will perform on Aug. 30 while Acaba choreographs activities from inside the station.

The pair will replace a faulty Main Bus Switching Unit – a distribution hub for the complex’s power system – on the station’s truss.

They also will replace a camera on a robotic arm extension boom and route cables for the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory replacing Pirs.

NASA Soyuz TMA-05M with Expedition 32 Launches

The Soyuz TMA-05M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:40 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 14, 2012, carrying Expedition 32 Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA Flight Engineer Sunita Williams and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide to the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

NASA Soyuz Expedition 32 Trio Launch - Video Gallery

Expedition 32 Flight Engineers Suni Williams, Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft at 10:40 p.m. EDT Saturday (8:40 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Sunday) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.