CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 16 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Atlantis's elder spacemen floated out the International Space Station's airlock Tuesday for a final space walk to install a ladder, lights and other gear to help future orbiting workers, concluding a successful construction mission aboard the station.
Affectionately nicknamed the "Silver Team" by virtue of their age -- Jerry Ross is 54 and Lee Morin is 49 -- and status as grandfathers, the astronauts wrapped up a handful of tasks left over from three previous space walks and a few jobs to help future space walkers.
The men anchored a 14-foot ladder between the station's U.S. airlock and the newly installed central truss segment. The ladder, which looks like a pole with handrails, is a shortcut for space walking astronauts to get to the truss, which eventually will span the length of a football field.
The first segment of truss -- a 44-foot-long, 27,000-pound beam that contains electrical cabling, coolant lines, communications links, navigational sensors, antennas, computers and hundreds of other components -- was installed by Atlantis's two teams of space walkers last week.
The truss also includes a rail line for a mobile transporter for the station's crane. The system was tested for the first time Monday. Engineers will need to tweak sensors and settings to smooth its operation in weightlessness.
Tuesday's work also included the installation of halogen lights on the Unity and Destiny modules, tests of a pressure-sensing system needed for future truss installations, and the setup of radiation-monitoring equipment to help protect future space walkers.
The outing was a record ninth for Ross and the second for Morin. Both men basked in the view from 240 miles above Earth.
"This is what I call a room with a view," commented Ross to his crewmates. "We couldn't pay them enough money for what we're getting to do."
The shuttle crew is scheduled to depart the station on Wednesday, leaving behind three men who have been aboard since December.
Next, shuttle Endeavour will bring a replacement crew to the station and ferry the current crew home. Launch is currently scheduled for May 31.
Atlantis and its seven astronauts, meanwhile, are on schedule for a Friday landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
