CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Spacewalking astronauts started to electrically overhaul the Hubble Space Telescope Monday, a three-day job aimed at giving the observatory enough power to simultaneously train its instruments on planets, stars and the universe at large.

What's Next: Tonight in Space

The Hubble Space Telescope will be equipped with another new solar wing Tuesday as shuttle Columbia's crew continues a bid to electrically overhaul the storied observatory. Crewmates James Newman and Michael Massimino are scheduled to set out on their spacewalking work at 1:27 a.m. EST (0627 GMT). Their aim: To remove and replace the telescope's portside solar array. The new panel and its twin -- which was installed during a spacewalk Monday -- will boost electrical output by 20 percent, enabling astronomers to simultaneously operate all four of Hubble's science instruments. Click here for mission updates and live NASA TV coverage beginning at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) Tuesday.

In a highly choreographed excursion outside shuttle Columbia, John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan first unfastened one of Hubble's distinctive golden solar wings -- nine-year-old roll-up arrays that have been damaged and weakened by cosmic radiation.

The pair then outfitted the observatory with the first of two high-efficiency wings that will provide significantly more power than their predecessors.

Toiling midway up the four-story telescope, the astronauts clamped the new blue panel to the observatory and swung it open like a book before electrically connecting it to Hubble.

An "aliveness test" then assured the new wing was working as advertised, capping the first of five spacewalks to be performed this week as part of a $172 million Hubble servicing call.

"You guys did a superb job today. We enjoyed watching you work," astronaut Mario Runco told the shuttle crew from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston. "You made it look easy once again."

NASA's 14th Hubble spacewalk since 1993 started out at 1:37 a.m. EST (0637 GMT) as Columbia flew 362 miles (579 kilometers) above the Earth, cruising along at 25 times the speed of sound.

Veteran spacewalker Grunsfeld was the first out the door as the winged shuttle, flying upside down with its open cargo bay facing Earth, made a nighttime pass over North Africa.

Down below, the Sahara Desert stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, giving Grunsfeld an unrestricted view of expansive sand seas, stony plains, rock-strewn plateaus and dark, fertile oases.

"Oh, wow!" he said. "Beautiful view."

Rookie spacewalker Linnehan was equally impressed, and then the two turned their attention to the towering telescope, its shiny metallic body reflecting shuttle floodlights.

"Hello Mr. Hubble, the telescope," said Grunsfeld, an accomplished astronomer-turned-astronaut. "We're here to give you more power to see the planets, stars and the universe."

Launched last Friday from Kennedy Space Center, the six-man, one-woman Columbia crew caught up with Hubble Sunday, snatching the telescope out of open space with the shuttle's 50-foot (15-meter) robot arm.

The 13-ton observatory was mounted to a Lazy Susan-like work platform at the rear of Columbia's cargo bay. Like window shades, the telescope's 40-foot (12-meter) solar wings then were rolled up to set the stage for Monday's spacewalk.

Next page: A picture of Hubble's new power wing