The Black Vault - Spacewalkers hook up $390 million beam

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Astronauts attached another pricey new piece of latticework to the international space station Tuesday, then floated outside to hook up the power.

It was the first of three spacewalks planned this week to install the $390 million girder. The crews of the space station and the docked shuttle Endeavour used the robot arms of both vehicles to hoist the girder into place.

Once the massive aluminum beam was securely linked to two others on the orbiting outpost, Endeavour astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington -- the first American Indian in space -- got the go-ahead to step outside. They marveled at the view 250 miles below.

"You've got a happy control room down here," Mission Control radioed once the girder was latched into place.

The 14-ton girder, an aluminum beam crammed with wiring and loaded with a rail cart and radiators, increased the mass of the entire space station to almost 200 tons.

With the latest 45-foot addition delivered by Endeavour, the framework stretched 134 feet. By the time eight more girders are connected over the coming year, the backbone of the space station will exceed the length of a football field and support giant solar wings.

The spacewalkers had to connect electrical cables between the new girder and the rest of the space station.

The two spacewalkers will go back out Thursday and again Saturday. Herrington, a 44-year-old Navy commander and space rookie, is a member of the Chickasaw Nation. Lopez-Alegria, a 44-year-old Navy captain and veteran astronaut, was born in Spain but moved to the United States as a toddler.

Endeavour will remain at the space station until next Monday, giving the three new residents of the orbiting complex time to settle in and get briefed by the outgoing crew. The two crews swapped places late Monday following the shuttle's arrival.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/11/26/shuttle.spacewalk.ap/index.html