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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- Two rookie spacewalkers took their first stroll in space Monday.
Space shuttle Endeavour astronauts Leroy Chiao and Daniel Barry tried out new tools and construction techniques that will be used to help build an international space station.
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Some 200 miles above the earth, the two worked together to unfold and mount a 17 1/2-foot beam designed to mimic a cable tray planned for the station. ( 655K QuickTime movie)
"Easy. No problem at all," said Chiao as he mounted the hinged aluminum beam across the shuttle's cargo bay.
Chiao's next task was to unreel 20 feet of cable from a spool and attach it to the beam. The cable rolled off easily, but winding it back up proved more difficult. "It's flopping in every direction," he said.
Early in the 6 1/2-hour space jaunt, the astronauts fell behind schedule because of a misalignment between Endeavour's 50-foot robot arm and a work platform that had to be attached to it. Within two hours, however, they were back on track, with enough time to glance admiringly at their unsurpassed view.
"Aw, man, what a sunrise," Barry said. "Oh, yeah, it's beautiful. Woo. Beautiful."
Barry and Chiao also used the time to evaluate their upgraded spacesuits. Barry said his feet got frosty at one point. But he turned up the heat in his suit and they "warmed right up."
NASA wants its astronauts to get in all the spacewalking experience they can before construction of the international space station begins. It's scheduled to start in late 1997, but doesn't really get into full swing until 1999, when American astronauts will have to start completing up to 250 hours of spacewalks a year. The space station is set to be completed around 2002.
The second spacewalk of this mission will take place early Wednesday. Chiao will go back outside with crewmate Winston Scott, who's also making his first spacewalk.
Wednesday's spacewalk will be similar to Monday's. The spacewalkers will practice with more tools, using a utility box containing mock electrical and fluid line connectors. They'll also further evaluate their spacesuits.
Before that spacewalk, the crew has other big tasks to accomplish. Tuesday, Endeavour's crew members are scheduled to retrieve a $10 million NASA satellite released early Sunday by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. The satellite, which was orbiting more than 100 miles ahead of the shuttle early Monday, contains experiments on spacecraft contamination, lasers and amateur radio.
Endeavour and its six-man crew are scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Saturday.
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