Spacewalkers complete Japan's laboratory complex

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A pair of spacewalking astronauts put the finishing touches on Japan's International Space Station research lab Monday during a fifth and final outing before the visiting shuttle Endeavour departs.

Floating 225 miles above Earth, Endeavour astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn outfitted Japan's new outdoor experiments platform with television cameras, completing the $2.4-billion Kibo complex.

"We're pretty awed by this whole thing," astronaut David Wolf radioed to his crew mates as they headed back into the airlock after a five-hour spacewalk. "You have just done an outstanding effort."

The spacewalkers also rewired a circuit for the station's steering system and fixed the thermal covering on a Canadian-built construction robot.

The shuttle is scheduled to leave the space station on Tuesday. During an 11-day visit, the Endeavour astronauts outfitted Kibo with a platform for telescopes and other science experiments that operate in the open space environment.

They also replaced batteries in the station's solar power system and delivered spare parts needed to keep the station operational after the shuttle fleet is retired next year.

One of the Endeavour astronauts, Tim Kopra, will remain behind on the station, taking over for Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata who has been in orbit for four-and-1/2 months.

Wakata said Sunday he was looking forward to a hot bath, cold noodles and some fresh sushi after his return to Earth.

He also reported that his specially designed space clothing, dubbed "J-ware," worked as advertised.

The odor-free clothes are designed to kill bacteria, absorb water and dry quickly.

"In two months, I was wearing these underwear and there was no smell and nobody complained," said Wakata, speaking through an interpreter. "I think that new J-ware underwear is very good for myself and my colleagues."

NASA has seven more construction and resupply missions planned to complete the research outpost, a $100 billion project of 16 nations.

NASA's next shuttle launch is targeted for late August, pending the outcome of investigations into why Endeavour's fuel tank shed an unusually large amount of foam during its launch on July 15.

Any impacts on Endeavour from the debris appeared minor, but it raised potentially serious issues for future flights.

NASA has been concerned about debris impacts since the 2003 Columbia disaster in which a piece of foam fell off the tank during launch, damaging the heat shield and triggering a series of events that led to the loss the shuttle and the deaths of seven astronauts as the ship flew through the atmosphere for landing.