Discovery astronauts begin spacewalk to extend ISS (AFP)
13.12.2006 04:30 Space - Source: Yahoo space
Robert Curbeam and Sweeden's first astronaut Christer Fuglesang are expected to spend about six hours in space, a NASA spokesman said.
The two will bolt the two-tonne truss segment, called P5 spacer, to the ISS, bringing its total length to 120 meters (394 feet).
In a delicate maneuver, the truss is to be guided by the ISS robotic arm, operated by US astronaut Joan Higginbotham in coordination with Curbeam and Fuglesang, who will bolt the structure in place.
The two astronauts will also hook up six cables on the ISS for electricity, commmunications and climate control.
Discovery co-pilot Bill Oefelein will direct the heavy construction work in space.
Two other spacewalks, scheduled on Thursday and Saturday, are expected to be highly complex because the astronauts will rewire the electricity and climate control of the US-made portion of the ISS from its present, temporary set-up.
The work, during which power to half of the ISS will be switched off, includes activating the solar arrays installed by an Atlantis mission in September that will double the present electrical output of the ISS.
The Discovery blasted off late Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida -- the first nighttime liftoff in four years -- on a 12-day construction mission to the ISS, which NASA expects will be finished by 2010, after another 13 shuttle missions.
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