Space station robot arm in place

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-9  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

ASTRONAUTS aboard the International Space Station maneuvered a new Japanese robot arm for the first time on Saturday while crewmates prepared for the final spacewalk of United States shuttle Discovery's two-week mission.

The 10-meter crane is attached to the front of Japan's newly arrived Kibo research laboratory, the biggest and most elaborate of the US$100-billion space station's nine rooms.

It will be used to tend to science experiments anchored on a platform and exposed to the open environment of space. The platform is scheduled to be launched on another shuttle mission to the space station next year, more than 320 kilometers above Earth.

"We have our own house here now," Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide said. "It's a big milestone."

Installing and outfitting the 311-meter-long Kibo is the primary goal of Discovery's mission, the 26th of 35 planned shuttle flights devoted to space station assembly and servicing. The shuttle arrived at the station last Monday and is scheduled to depart on Wednesday.

While Hoshide and robot arm operator Karen Nyberg unfolded Kibo's crane for the first time, moving it slightly to make room for more work on Kibo's exterior, spacewalkers Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan checked their spacesuits and prepared equipment for a third and final spacewalk.

The astronauts plan to take a protective cover off of Kibo's front window, remove locks that secured the delicate robot arm during launch and replace a nitrogen tank used to pressurize ammonia for the station's cooling system.

Flight directors also added an inspection of a joint that pivots the station's solar wing panels to track the sun for power. One of the two joints is contaminated with metal shavings.