1025dv_space_station Two spacewalking astronauts floated out of a hatch on the international space station on Friday to help install a new live-in compartment on the orbiting lab.
Astronauts Scott Parazynski and Douglas Wheelock got started about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, as the space station passed over South America.
"Like kids on Christmas morning getting up early," one of the spacewalkers said just before he ventured outside.
Parazynski and Wheelock will help astronauts inside the station use a robotic arm to transfer the compartment _ called Harmony _ from Discovery's payload bay to its position on the space station.
Their first task, however, involved removing a broken antenna from the station and packing it aboard Discovery so it can be refurbished back on Earth.
Wheelock rode on the end of the space station's robotic arm to remove the antenna and carry it to Discovery's payload bay.
"Thanks for the ride," he said to astronauts Daniel Tani and Stephanie Wilson, who were operating the arm inside the station.
"No problem, man, you look great out there," Tani responded.
"Yeah, you guys look great," Wilson added.
Harmony will serve as the docking port for European and Japanese laboratories that will be delivered on the next three shuttle flights. The Italian-made module is about the size of a school bus, weighing nearly 16 tons.
Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli joined Discovery's crew to personally deliver the pressurized chamber. He was coordinating the 6.5-hour spacewalk from inside the station.
A veteran spacewalker, Parazynski is set to participate in four of the record-tying five spacewalks scheduled for this jam-packed mission. This is Wheelock's first trip to space.
