But It's Hardly A Leisurely Stroll

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.08.06 1300 EDT: Just under four hours ago, STS-121 spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum exited the airlock in the payload bay of the space shuttle Discovery, and set about on their first of three planned spacewalks on this mission.

NASA reports the two men have just completed the first major task of their spacewalk, and have turned their attention to the second.

Sellers and Fossum installed a device to block the cutter blade on the International Space Station’s mobile transporter. The device will prevent the blade from cutting a power and data cable that links the mobile transporter to the rest of the station. After the installation was complete, they reattached the cable.

Their work will allow the mobile transporter to move the robotic arm along the station’s integrated truss structure, once a reel assembly that plays out the cable is replaced during a second spacewalk Monday.

The orbital duo are now involved in a test of the ability to use the shuttle robotic arm and extension as a platform for astronauts making heat shield repairs.

Sellers and Fossum stepped outside the International Space Station’s Quest Airlock at 9:17 am EDT to begin a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk.

Sellers is the lead spacewalker and is wearing a spacesuit with red stripes. Fossum is wearing an all white suit. They are being assisted from inside the shuttle/station complex by Pilot Mark Kelly, who is the spacewalk coordinator.

Mission Specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson are operating the shuttle's robotic arm, which was extended to 100-feet -- double its original length -- to allow better movement around the shuttle to check for possible damage to the orbiter.

Meanwhile, Thomas Reiter, the European Space Agency astronaut from Germany who became part of the Expedition 13 crew shortly after docking, is working with station commander Pavel Vinogradov to transfer cargo and equipment from the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module.

The STS-121 crew will conduct a third spacewalk on Wednesday.

FMI: www.nasa.gov