Spacewalk Goes On Despite Robot Trouble

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts are back inside the international space station after seven-hours of work.

They began assembling a Canadian robot that will be used in future construction work, attaching the 200-million-dollar machine’s 11-foot arms.

NASA experts on the ground are beaming up a software patch they hope will fix a problem that cropped up getting power to the machine. Dextre (DEHKS’-tur) needs power to heat its joints, limbs and electronics. If left out in the cold, it could be damaged.

The overnight excursion was the first of five planned for shuttle Endeavour’s mission to the space outpost.

Toward the end of the outing, the spacewalkers were treated to a stunning view of the lights of a Midwestern city, probably Chicago. Exclaimed spacewalker Rick Linnehan (LIN’-uh-han): “Oh, wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. It’s a pretty amazing view.”