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. Atlantis astronaut becomes a dad
WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (AFP) Nov 22, 2009
An astronaut on the space shuttle Atlantis became a father while in orbit Sunday, when his wife back on Earth gave birth to their baby daughter, NASA announced.

Astronaut Randy Bresnik who ventured out on his first spacewalk Saturday, became a dad when his wife Rebbeca Burgin gave birth to the couple's second child.

"Abigail Mae Bresnik arrived at 12:04 am Sunday, November 22," the US space agency said in a statement posted on its website, adding that mother and child "doing well."

NASA said it is the second time a baby has been born to a US astronaut during a spaceflight. In June 2004, astronaut Mike Fincke's daughter was born while he was aboard the International Space Station.

The happy news came on a relatively quiet day for the crews of both the International Space Station and the Atlantis shuttle, ahead of Monday's third and final spacewalk.

Bresnik and fellow astronaut Mike Foreman on Saturday completed the second of their mission's three spacewalks to maintain and install more high-tech gadgets as they work to complete construction of the International Space Station.

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