CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A trio of tasks that set the stage for future station assembly operations were completed Sunday without incident by a pair of rookie spacewalkers.

STS-111

For complete launch to landing coverage and the most up-to-date news about this assembly mission to the International Space Station click here.

NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz and French Space Agency astronaut Philippe Perrin spent seven hours and 14 minutes floating around Endeavour's cargo bay and dangling on handrails outside the International Space Station.

"I'm really pleased to report we had a tremendous day on orbit," said Rick LaBrode, a NASA space station flight director. "It couldn't have gone better."

The extravehicular activity (EVA) was the first of three spacewalks planned during Endeavour's eight-day stay at the orbiting laboratory.

"We are so proud of (them)," said Tricia Mack, NASA's lead EVA officer for the STS-111 shuttle mission. "These were their first EVA's and they performed truly like veteran crewmembers."

Chores completed Sunday included:

• Installing a grapple fixture on the station's P6 truss structure, which is the girder-like beam that currently holds the station's single U.S.-made, power-generating solar wing high above the outpost.

  The grapple fixture is the target the Canadian-built robot arm attaches itself to so it can move objects around, a job planned later in the station assembly sequence when the P6 segment is relocated to the far end of the truss that is under construction.

• Temporarily stowing a half dozen micrometeoroid debris shields on the side of the station after removing them from a carrier inside Endeavour's cargo bay.

  The shields are to be installed over the surface of the Russian Zvezda service module during a planned July spacewalk by Expedition Five commander Valery Korzun and flight engineer Peggy Whitson.

• Removing six insulating blankets and thermal covers from several sensitive instruments on the Mobile Base System (MBS), a platform to which the station's Canadarm2 eventually will call its home base.

  The MBS is to be installed Monday atop a rail car that is located on the S-Zero truss, which in turn is connected to the Destiny science module. Electrical and other connections between the base and the rail car will be made during the second spacewalk planned for Tuesday.

  The rail car is designed to transport itself along the entire length of the truss, which eventually will stretch longer than a football field.

  With the MBS atop the car, the station's robot arm will be able to travel along the length of the truss as well, a must-have capability for future station assembly missions.

• Inspecting the control moment gyroscope (CMG) that suffered a mechanical failure on Saturday.

  The work was added overnight to the spacewalk timeline. No obvious exterior damage could be seen on video beamed down from a helmet cam on Chang-Diaz's spacesuit.

  Four CMGs are installed on the station to help it stay pointed in the correct direction. The station can maintain its orientation with only two CMGs working.

  LaBrode reported Sunday that managers are putting together a plan to replace the failed CMG, but no decision has been made yet as to what future shuttle mission will take on the job.

  "It's going to take some time," he said.

Despite the busy workload, both Chang-Diaz and Perrin heeded the advice from previous spacewalkers and stole brief moments to enjoy the incredible views of Earth below.

"This is an amazing experience," Chang-Diaz said shortly after exiting the station's Quest airlock. "It's absolutely spectacular."

"It's glorious," Perrin added at one point.

The pair were treated to scenes of deep blue water of the South Pacific, a clear and direct overhead view of Kennedy Space Center and the eerie glow of "Southern Lights" over the south pole.