Two NASA astronauts traveling in the US space shuttle Discovery Tuesday took the first steps in a space walk at the International Space Station at 1622 GMT, dpa reported.
During a six and a half hour excursion, specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan will retrieve a shuttle inspection tool, service and inspect solar components and prepare the largest module of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys Kibo laboratory for installation on the International Space Station.
The first task for the duo is 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, according to NASA.
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.