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A pair of spacewalking astronauts floated into open space at about 11.30 am on Tuesday, to prepare Japan’s new research lab for installation on the orbital outpost as well as to retrieve critical inspection boom needed to check shuttle Discovery for damage. It was veteran spacewalker Michael Fossum and his rookie partner Ronald Garan, who floated into space after camping out in the station’s airlock overnight to prepare their bodies for outing.
The space shuttle Discovery was lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Saturday. The primary aim of Discovery’s mission is to deliver Japan’s $1 billion Kibo laboratory. Space astronauts Fossum and Garan are also expected to inspect a damaged metal ring required to pivot a pair of the station’s solar wing panels to track the sun for power. The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to spend fourteen days in orbit. The Kibo laboratory is the cornerstone of Japan’s 20 year old effort to join in as a permanent player in human space exploration and research.
