This
story was updated at 4:13 a.m. EDT.
HOUSTON -
Two spacewalking astronauts added a tool kit and camera eyes to the
International Space Station's (ISS) new mechanical handyman late Monday,
priming the two-armed robot for its big move to orbiting laboratory's hull.
Endeavour
shuttle astronauts Rick Linnehan and Robert Behnken attached the new tools to
Dextre, a massive
Canadian-built robot designed to replace flesh-and-blood spacewalkers on more
routine maintenance work outside the ISS.
"Happy St.
Patrick's Day guys and have a great EVA," said astronaut Mike Foreman, using
NASA's term for a spacewalk as he choreographed the excursion from inside
Endeavour.
"I forgot
it was St. Paddy's day," said Linnehan. "We should have worn our green
[spacesuits]."
Monday
night's spacewalk began at 6:51 p.m. EDT (2251 GMT) and ran six hours and 53
minutes in duration. The outing marked the sixth career excursion for Linnehan and
the first for Behnken, who will also participate in two more spacewalks later
this week.
"Go get 'em
Bam Bam," Linnehan said, using a nickname for Behnken. "You've got an
appointment with Mr. Dextre."
Linnehan
and Behnken outfitted
Dextre with a three-tool kit designed to allow the $209-million robot to
release latches and locks, remove bolts and grasp broken station batteries and
other hardware outside the ISS. They also gave the 12-foot (3.7-meter) tall
robot a set of camera eyes and lights, as well as a 6-foot (almost 2-meter)
long boom to hold spare parts and tools during trips to and from work sites.
The
spacewalk marked the third in a series to complete the 3,440-pound
(1,560-kilogram) robot's construction after astronauts attached its hand-like
grippers and 11-foot (3.4-meter) arms in two
earlier excursions. Built by the Canadian Space Agency, the Dextre launched
to the ISS in nine separate pieces attached to a cargo pallet in Endeavour's
cargo bay. The fully assembled automaton is due to be moved to the exterior of
the station's U.S. Destiny laboratory late Tuesday.
In addition
to their Dextre work, Linnehan and Behnken delivered
spare parts for the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm and electrical power
grid to an exterior storage platform. But a stubborn materials exposure
experiment resisted repeated attempts by Behnken to secure it in place outside
the space station's European-built Columbus lab.
Zebulon
Scoville, lead spacewalk officer for Endeavour's flight, said the
experiment's anchoring pins appeared to be too fat for their allotted slots.
Engineers
are studying potential fixes for the suitcase-sized experiment, which may include simply tying
it down with tethers during one of the next two spacewalks, scheduled for Thursday
and Saturday, respectively. Aside from the balky pins, the spacewalk went
extremely well, mission managers said.
"This really
was the kind of spacewalk that, when it's all done, you just want to put your
hands up in the air and howl at the moon," Scoville said. "It really was a
great day for us."
While the
two spacewalkers toiled outside the ISS, their crewmates inside the station
were hard at work in the station's new Japanese
Logistics Pressurized module. Endeavour astronauts delivered the small, attic-like
room - the first piece of Japan's massive Kibo laboratory - last week.
"Tell Takao
his module looks beautiful," said Behnken, referring to Japanese astronaut Takao Doi in charge of
outfitting the new module.
"Don't make
too much noise," Foreman added. "Takao's working hard in there."
By the end
of Monday's overnight excursion, Behnken racked up six hours and 53 minutes of
spacewalking time as he makes his first spaceflight. Linnehan, now on his
fourth spaceflight, ended with a grand total of 42 hours and 24 minutes of
spacewalking time across four spaceflights. Linnehan, who performed three of
his six spacewalks during Endeavour's current STS-123 mission, now ranks 11th
on the list of the world's most experienced spacewalkers.
By
coincidence, the spacewalkers ended their orbital work on the 43rd anniversary
of the first spacewalk in history; a 12-minute excursion by cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov on March 18, 1965.
"I think I
just maybe saw the Southern Cross, and definitely a satellite flying over,"
said Linnehan as he gazed out into space from the tip of the station's robot
arm. "Two satellites, three satellites, wow."
NASA is
broadcasting Endeavour's STS-123 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for SPACE.com's
shuttle mission coverage and NASA TV feed.
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