tipped extension to its robotic arm. Astronauts Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguichi were to take a personal look at the other two areas _ along the leading edges of the shuttles wings _ during the mission's first spacewalk Saturday. It will be the first of three orbital outings. During the spacewalks, Robinson and Noguichi will replace a gyroscope, which helps steer the space station; try out new repair techniques for the shuttle's tiles and delicate carbon panels; and install a storage platform on the station. In television images Friday, Robinson and Noguichi smiled and waved to the camera as they worked weightlessly about the station, wearing yellow plastic hard hats for comic effect. Robinson, with a manual in his hand, wore a hat so tiny it didn't come close to covering his head. The lighthearted atmosphere contrasted with days of sobering news for the shuttle program. NASA suspended future shuttle flights earlier this week after learning that the big piece of foam insulation, which weighed less than a pound, flew from Discovery's external fuel tank. It was an alarming repeat of the problem that doomed Columbia more than two years ago. --mor 1421 Local Time 1121 GMT
