Nov 9, 2007 5:50 am US/Eastern
Astronauts Move Space Station Live-In Module
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ―
Two astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk at the international space station on Friday, picking up where the shuttle Discovery crew left off just days ago.
Commander Peggy Whitson and her Russian crewmate, Yuri Malenchenko, floated out the hatch an hour early, well before dawn, and began the long job of getting the space station's newest addition ready for its big move.
They should have conducted the spacewalk during Discovery's visit, but the work was put off after a solar wing ripped and demanded immediate attention.
The two had to clear cables from the spot where the Harmony compartment will be relocated next week, and undo a number of electrical and fluid connections. They struggled to loosen some of the bolts.
Harmony was delivered by Discovery late last month and installed in a temporary location. Before NASA can launch its next shuttle mission, Harmony must be repositioned at the space station, a job that will require three spacewalks and extensive robotic work over the next two weeks.
The pressurized compartment will serve as a docking port for European and Japanese laboratories. The European lab, Columbus, will fly up on Atlantis as early as December.
NASA wants to launch Columbus and the Japanese lab Kibo, or Hope, as soon as possible after so many years of delay. The 2003 Columbia disaster put everything on hold for more than two years, and continued problems with insulating foam falling off the fuel tank further stalled the flights.
If the torn solar wing had not been fixed, the labs would have faced further delay.
Adding to the pressure is the looming 2010 deadline for retiring the remaining three space shuttles and finishing space station construction.
Whitson is the first woman to serve as the space station's commander. Both she and Malenchenko are one month into a six-month stay.
The third resident, Daniel Tani, moved in late last month after riding up on Discovery. He orchestrated Friday's spacewalk from inside.
Discovery undocked from the space station Monday and landed Wednesday. The 15-day mission was highlighted by a dramatic spacewalk to save the torn solar wing, a successful operation that propelled the astronauts into the headlines and space history books. They received a presidential welcome upon their return to Houston on Thursday.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
