Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk – Install Japan’s Kibo Lab Module
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The crews of space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station have completed the first of three spacewalks, attaching a new laboratory to the orbital outpost.
During the excursion, spacewalkers retrieved a shuttle inspection tool, inspected components of a solar alpha rotary joint and prepared the largest component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory for installation on the station.
Mission specialists Karen Nyberg and Akihiko Hoshide used the station’s robotic arm to remove the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM) from the shuttle’s payload bay and install it on Harmony.
On Wednesday, the crews are scheduled to power up the JPM and open the hatches to begin outfitting the lab.
