The third of five spacewalks planned during shuttle Endeavour's record stay at the International Space Station is officially under way, and two astronauts have opened the hatch to the U.S. Quest airlock and are making their way into the vacuum.
Endeavour mission specialists Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy switched their spacesuits to internal battery power at 10:32 a.m., marking the official start of the spacewalk. The excursion began as the joined shuttle-station complex flew 221 miles above Europe.
"Have a great time out there. Best of luck," station flight engineer Tim Kopra told the astronauts.
"Thanks for getting us out the hatch," Wolf replied.
Walk and Cassidy are running about a half-hour ahead of schedule. Endeavour mission specialist Tom Marshburn now will be directing the spacewalking work from inside the shuttle-station complex.
The two spacewalkers will spend the next half-hour checking braided-steel safety tethers, gathering tools and making certain all suit systems are working properly now that they are out the door.
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