Astronauts begin spacewalk to add docking port

Astronauts work on the exterior of the space station Monday

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas -- Crew members of the space shuttle Atlantis began a crucial spacewalk Monday morning to outfit the new science laboratory of the international space station.

The shuttle astronauts, who opened the door from the $1.4 billion lab to space station Alpha the day before, will also attempt to place a docking port on the end of the new module.

The docking port will serve as the primary shuttle connection point for most missions in the future. If the Atlantis crew cannot attach it, construction on the orbiting outpost would cease until a future shuttle crew finishes the job, NASA said.

GALLERY Images from the installation    VIDEO CNN's Miles O'Brien explains the spacewalk Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) The space shuttle Atlantis carries the Destiny laboratory to the International Space Station Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     MISSION GUIDE All about STS-98     INTERACTIVE A 360° stroll through the international space station Cult3D models of the international space station, space shuttle Columbia, and Soyuz     RESOURCE NASA animation of the installation of the Destiny Laboratory Module     ALSO Space Shuttle Central $1.4 bill space lab sparks fierce science debate     MESSAGE BOARD Do we need the international space station?

On Monday spacewalkers Thomas Jones and Robert Curbeam Jr. plan to attach equipment and fixtures to the outside of the U.S.-built Destiny lab.

Inside Atlantis, astronaut Marsha Ivins was to use the shuttle's robotic arm to move the docking port to its new position. The shuttle crew had moved it to a temporary location on Saturday to attach the lab to Alpha.

The complex mission has so far proceeded with only one minor mishap. As Curbeam was connecting a coolant hose during the first spacewalk on Saturday, he was sprayed with about two pounds (0.9 kg) of ammonia. His spacesuit protected him but he had to undergo a thorough decontamination to make sure he did not bring the noxious irritant back into Atlantis.

A total of three spacewalks will take place during the weeklong docking to mount and outfit Destiny, a long cylinder the size of a school bus.

On Sunday, the crews of Atlantis and Alpha installed fire extinguishers and emergency masks and lights in the laboratory. They also hooked up the air-circulation system, cameras and computers.

Destiny's computers and systems will allow NASA to take control of the space station in a month or two. Up until now, the two Russian pieces of Alpha provided the life support and commanding capability.

The lab also gives station commander Bill Shepherd and his two Russian crewmates more room to work in and live. They have been aboard Alpha since November 2.

With the addition of Destiny, the fourth habitable module, Alpha surpasses the Russian space station Mir as the roomiest spacecraft ever to fly.

Because of Destiny's weight, 16 tons, Atlantis could not bring any lab equipment in its cargo bay. The first experiments should arrive in a month on the next shuttle flight. However, the lab will not be fully operational for several years.

The $95 billion space-station project is a joint effort of the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada.

The Destiny lab docks with the space station

When finished in 2006, the station should be a fully functional laboratory in space, with rotating teams of astronauts conducting experiments in the life sciences, astronomy and Earth observations.

Many of NASA's experiments over the past 20 years, such as protein-crystal growth and fetal brain development, have been limited by a space shuttle's ability to remain aloft no more than two weeks. On the space station, studies can go on for months or even years.

But NASA's primary goal is to study the long-term effects of spaceflight on the human body, which include the loss of bone and muscle mass. Those effects will have to be reversed if interplanetary travel is to become safe and routine.

Atlantis is scheduled to return from its 11-day flight on February 18.

Space station meets Destiny
February 10, 2001
Shuttle brings science lab, gifts to space station
February 9, 2001
Shuttle set for rendezvous with space station
February 8, 2001
Shuttle lifts off on 'high-pressure' mission
February 7, 2001
$1.4 bill space lab sparks fierce science debate
February 6, 2001
Countdown under way for Wednesday shuttle launch
February 5, 2001

NASA Human SpaceFlight
 • STS-98
Space Station Science Operation News

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.