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HOUSTON,Texas-Astronauts on Monday installed the European space laboratory Columbus on the orbiting International Space Station, giving Europe an important foothold for the deeper exploration of space."The European Columbus module is officially part of the International Space Station," said French space engineer Leopold Eyharts, as NASA broadcast live images of the installation, which took place at 2144 GMT.The long-delayed move gives European space agencies a presence alongside US and Russian astronauts on the ISS, a preparation point for future human missions to Mars.Two astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis earlier made a seven-hour space walk to prepare Columbus for its hook-up to the station, orbiting 350 kilometers (215 miles) above the Earth.They fixed fittings to Columbus so it could be grabbed and maneuvered into position by a robotic arm, operated from within the ISS, for attachment to the station's Harmony module.The two billion-dollar (1.3 billion-euro), 10-tonne laboratory represents a milestone in Europe's role in space.Paid for mostly by Germany, Italy and France, it is the first ISS addition not made in the United States or Russia.The laboratory will boost the station's research capabilities, being used for biotechnology and medicine experiments involving microgravity.It has room for three astronauts and 10 experimentation units.The spacewalkers also had to install panels to protect it from the impact of micro-meteorites.NASA plans to attach another laboratory, the Japanese module Kibo, to Harmony in March.Clearing up concerns that launch debris may have damaged the shuttle as it took off from Florida, mission chief John Shannon said Sunday that the thermal shield on Atlantis's nose and wing forward edges were in perfect condition.He also said the mission could be prolonged a second day, a decision to be taken on Tuesday.The space walk came a day later than originally scheduled, after German astronaut Hans Schlegel, who was to take part in the walk, fell ill.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has not revealed the cause of his illness. On Sunday, European Space Agency spokesman Markus Bauer said Schlegel, 56, appeared to have recovered and was doing "very well.""We are assuming that he will take part in the second spacewalk," said Bauer.Columbus had been due for delivery in 2004 but this was delayed after the Colombia shuttle disaster in 2003, which caused the fleet to be grounded for safety reviews after seven astronauts died in the flight.A technical setback with the Atlantis shuttle in December delayed Columbus' delivery further.Now it is hooked up to the station, astronauts will be able to go into Columbus from Tuesday to set up its interior and test its equipment, NASA said.A second spacewalk scheduled for Wednesday will be devoted to separate tasks on the ISS, including replacing an old nitrogen tank.On a third walk on Friday astronauts will install equipment on the new laboratory's exterior.Eyharts is to stay on the ISS for several weeks to get Columbus up and running. He replaces US astronaut Daniel Tani, who will ride back to Earth on Atlantis.NASA plans to complete the International Space Station by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is retired.
As in the days of Noah....
