WASHINGTON- ASTRONAUTS from the shuttle Atlantis completed on Thursday the first space walk of their mission, replacing a vital communications antenna on the exterior of the International Space Station.
Mission specialists Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher completed their task with two hours to spare and so began work, intended for a second space walk, on a new system for storing spare parts, Nasa said.
After 'camping out' overnight in the Quest airlock, which purges nitrogen from their bloodstream to prevent decompression sickness, Foreman and Satcher moved out into the vacuum of space at 1424 GMT (10.24 pm Singapore time).
Mr Satcher, on his first space walk, was lifted by the station's robotic arm carrying the antenna equipment that he and Foreman then bolted into place.
Lead spacewalker Mr Foreman, wearing a suit with solid red stripes, and Mr Satcher, in an all-white spacesuit, also re-routed cables and lubricated key moving parts on the space station during their six-hour and 37-minute outing.
Choreographing the space walk and coordinating with Mission Control in Houston was mission specialist Randy Bresnik, who earlier woke the crew up with his choice of song for the day - 'In Wonder' by the Newsboys. -- AFP
