Spacewalk day: Astronauts set for 1st outing

[July 18, 2009]  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- It's spacewalking day at the shuttle-station complex. At high noon Saturday, two astronauts will venture out to help attach a platform for science experiments. It's the third and final piece of Japan's huge billion-dollar lab. And it's the first of five spacewalks planned for the shuttle flight.

Endeavour arrived at the international space station Friday, boosting the population for now to a record 13. Before docking, the shuttle performed a backflip for space station cameras. NASA says the analysis is ongoing, but so far Endeavour looks to be in good shape for re-entry at the end of the month.

An unusually large amount of foam broke off Endeavour's fuel tank at liftoff, and some pieces dinged the shuttle.

[Associated Press; By MARCIA DUNN]

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