Washington
03 June 2008
Astronauts at the International Space Station have attached a $1 billion Japanese laboratory to the orbiting outpost. During a space walk Tuesday, mission specialists Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan unlocked the new Kibo laboratory from the Space Shuttle Discovery and prepared it for installation. They also helped remove an inspection boom from the station and cleaned debris from a jammed joint on a solar panel.
VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington.During the spacewalk, U.S. mission specialist Karen Nyberg and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide were scheduled to use the station's robotic arm to remove the largest component of the lab from the shuttle's payload bay and install it on the Space Station.
"Kibo" is Japanese for "hope." In the laboratory, astronauts will be able to conduct experiments over several months, far longer than currently possible on the space shuttle, which only stays in space for about two weeks.
The first of about 100 experiments planned for Kibo are expected to start in August, including planned experiments on the influence of zero gravity and cosmic rays on organic cells over an extended period.
The U.S. space agency says the start of Tuesday's spacewalk was delayed by 50 minutes while Fossum repaired a faulty cable on his communications cap.
NASA officials also say the lift-off of Discovery on Saturday caused unprecedented damage to the launch pad, mostly to the flame trench, which helps deflect heat from the shuttle's rockets. Officials say they do not believe the shuttle was damaged by falling debris.
This spacewalk is taking place on the 43rd anniversary of the first U.S. spacewalk, by astronaut Ed White on the Gemini Four mission in 1965.