Washington - Two NASA astronauts on Tuesday installed the Japanese module, Kibo, on the International Space Station in a nearly seven-hour spacewalk. During a six-hour, 48-minute excursion, space shuttle Discovery specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan attached the laboratory to the ISS, retrieved a shuttle inspection tool, and serviced and inspected solar components.
The first task for the duo was to transfer the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) from the station to Discovery. The OBSS, which is typically attached to the shuttles robotic arm for inspection of the shuttles heat shield, was left at the space station at the end of a previous shuttle mission to provide room for the enormous Kibo module in Discoverys payload bay, NASA said.
Discovery docked Monday at the space station after the day-and- half journey from Earth, carrying a seven-member crew including Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, who will help install the Kibo - or "hope" - capsule during two of three spacewalks planned for the 14-day mission. The crew also delivered spare parts for a malfunctioning lavatory.
