Japanese lab attached to International Space Station

Mission specialists Karen Nyberg and Akihiko Hoshide used the station's robotic arm to attach the $1 billion (£500 million) lab

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Wednesday, 04, Jun 2008 01:50

A 16-tonne Japanese laboratory has been successfully installed at the International Space Station (ISS) by the crew of the space shuttle discovery.

Mission specialists Karen Nyberg and Akihiko Hoshide used the station's robotic arm to attach the $1 billion (£500 million) lab.

The laboratory, which is the size of a bus, joins the US Destiny lab and European Columbus lab on the ISS.

Discovery, which docked yesterday, is currently in the second of three flights to launch components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.

Yesterday the mission's first spacewalk took place, with mission specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan spending almost seven hours expanding the Japanese segment of the ISS orbital outpost.

During the spacewalk they also retrieved the shuttle's inspection tool and inspected components of a solar alpha rotary joint.

The STS-124 mission crew are due to return to Earth on June 14th.