Spacewalkers install new station truss

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Slipping outside the International Space Station's airlock, two guest astronauts completed the first of three planned spacewalks Tuesday to install and outfit the station's newest addition: a $390 million exterior truss segment that will be used to hold solar arrays, radiator panels and other crucial gear.

"It's a beautiful night for a spacewalk, huh?" Michael Lopez-Alegria said to his rookie partner, John Herrington.

"The weather's always nice up here," he replied.

The spacewalkers sailed through their high-flying construction jobs, hooking up power, data and fluid lines to bring the new truss to life.

"All the hardware is working," said mission operations representative Bob Castle, with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We've now completed the central part of the truss segment. The AC (air conditioning) system is fully constructed and ready to be turned on."

The truss, called P1, was installed on the port or left side of the station. It is identical to the S1, for starboard or right side, truss segment which was installed by a shuttle crew in October.

The astronauts also prepared a small rail cart for service, releasing locks that had secured it during launch. The cart is designed to tote spacewalkers' equipment along the station's truss, which eventually will span the length of a football field.

The last task on the spacewalkers' to-do list was to install a new video antenna on the outside of the Unity connecting node. The new wireless system will allow station crew members to watch video from spacewalkers' helmet cameras without the shuttle being present.

Lopez-Alegria and Herrington are scheduled to return to the airlock for a second spacewalk on Thursday.

The shuttle arrived at the outpost on Monday for a week-long mission to rotate the station's crew, set up the station's truss and deliver fresh food, supplies and other equipment.