spacetoday.net: Astronauts install space station airlock

Posted: Sun, Jul 15, 2001, 11:55 AM ET (1555 GMT)
Quest being lifted out of airlock during STS-104 EVA (NASA)

Astronauts successfully attached a new airlock module to the International Space Station during a six hour spacewalk late Saturday night. The Quest airlock module was hauled out of the shuttle Atlantis's cargo bay by ISS astronaut Susan Helms, at the controls of the Canadarm2 robot arm on the station, and moved it into its position on the Unity node of the station. Astronauts Mike Gernhardt and James Reilly, who helped Helms guide Quest into place, then completed the installation of the module by completing electrical connections between Quest and Unity and attaching handholds to the exterior to the new module. The spacewalk started at 11:10 pm EDT Saturday (0310 GMT Sunday), about an hour later than planned as Gernhardt and Reilly took longer than planned to get ready, but ended nearly on schedule at 5:09 am EDT (0909 GMT) because the spacewalkers completed their tasks faster than expected. The two spacewalkers will perform two more EVAs on Tuesday and Thursday nights to attach gas tanks that will store nitrogen and oxygen while the module is being pressurized and depressurized.