Marking the beginning of Japan's scientific work aboard the station, ISS Commander Peggy Whitson and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi opened the module at 9:23 pm Friday (0123 GMT Saturday) and began transferring supplies and equipment into the new laboratory from the space shuttle Endeavour.

"I am very proud of this occasion," Japanese program manager Tetsur Yokoama told reporters.

He said the module was in "stable" condition after its attachment to the station early Friday and the temperature inside it was "sound."

The Japanese logistics module (JLP) is the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory that will be operating as part of the ISS.

Almost simultaneously, astronauts reported that their efforts to restore power to the Canadian-made robot Dextre had been successful.

"I am happy to report that Dextre is in keep-alive mode," said Pierre Jean, acting program manager for the Canadian space agency. "The situation looks very good."

Dextre, launched into space this week, is a super-sophisticated tool providing a much-anticipated hand to astronauts on the ISS.

Once the "dextrous manipulator" is attached to the station's robotic arm, it will replace astronauts in the execution of some tasks and reduce the need for risky spacewalks, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Dextre, sent up on the NASA space shuttle Endeavour which is currently docked with the space station, is the third and final component of the Canadarm Remote Manipulator System, the robotic arm that is Canada's vital contribution to the orbiting outpost.

When Dextre was removed from Endeavour's cargo bay, ground teams ran into problems routing power to the pallet on which the robot is being assembled.

The teams tried troubleshooting the problem with a software patch early Friday morning, but were not successful.

That fiasco led to the current successful attempt to power Dextre through Canadarm-2.

Dextre, which cost 200 million dollars to build, will be the arm's crowning achievement, providing a versatile tool for delicate service of the ISS.

The 1.56-tonne robot will conduct operations such as replacing small components on the station's exterior -- tasks which until now required a human touch.

Its presence will boost crew safety by reducing the number of hours that astronauts will have to be outside the station on spacewalks, and thus allowing them to focus on other tasks such as conducting scientific experiments in micro-gravity, according to the Canadian Space Agency.

Dextre's two hands are each about the size of a small microwave oven. They are equipped with built-in socket wrenches, retractable claws used to grip objects, and remote-control high-resolution cameras.

The robot's human-like upper torso swivels at the waist, and its arms were designed with seven joints to provide it with maximum versatility. Umbilical connectors provide power and data connectivity.

With Dextre delivered to ISS in nine separate pieces, the astronauts will use three of the Endeavour mission's five spacewalks to get it up and running.

Astronauts Rick Linnehan and Garrett Reisman conducted the first spacewalk Friday to begin the complicated task of assembling the robot and eventually attaching it to the robotic arm.

Part of the mission involved shifting into place the first of three elements of Kibo.

Specialists Linnehan and Mike Foreman spent the night in the station's airlock in preparation for the second spacewalk of the mission, which begis Saturday and during which the walkers will try to attach two arms to the robot's torso.

Dextre's assembly will be complete with a third spacewalk set to start Monday at 2323 GMT.

earlier related report
Astronauts install Japanese logistics module at ISS
Endeavour astronauts installed a Japanese logistics module of the International Space Station and added "hands" to a Canadian robotic arm during a seven hour space walk, NASA said Friday.

Japan celebrated its space milestone, as the first part of its Kibo laboratory was maneuvered into place by Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.

"It is really the moment we, JAXA, became a visual partner on orbit," Tetsuro Yokoyama, Deputy Project Manager for the Kibo lab, said, referring to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

"Takao Doi's performance of robotics operation today was spectacular, especially for the Japanese public," Yokoyama told reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Kibo laboratory, to be installed in three stages through 2009, is a micro-gravity research facility that aims to open a vital new stage in deeper space exploration.

With its installation, Japan gains a foothold on the ISS alongside the United States, Russia and Europe, whose laboratory Columbus was delivered to the station in February.

NASA declared the seven hour spacewalk complete at 4:19am (0819 GMT) shortly after Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan and Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman returned to the ISS and its hatches were shut.

In the first task of their spacewalk, the pair prepared the Japanese logistics unit for removal from the cargo bay of space shuttle Endeavour, which docked Wednesday at the ISS.

Later, Doi and shuttle Commander Dominic Gorie used the space shuttle's robotic arm to lift the unit -- a 4.2-tonne logistics module -- to its temporary home on the orbital outpost.

Bolts latching the unit atop the Harmony module of the ISS were secured at 4:06am (0806 GMT), NASA officials said.

The module is to be moved later atop the main portion of the Kibo lab where it will serve as a storage space for experiments and supplies.

The spacewalkers also installed two new components on the Canadian robotic arm Dextre, while officials on the ground grappled with a new problem on the instrument.

The "Orbital Replacement Unit tool change out mechanisms" will function like hands on the two arms of the Canadian-built "dextrous manipulator," capable of latching on to payloads or tools, a NASA television commentator said.

But during the night officials discovered a power failure on Dextre, and were scrambling to figure out how to fix it before the freezing temperatures of space damage the robotic arm.

Engineers think the problem may be due to a design error in a data cable on a spacelab pallet -- a cable that will no longer be used once Dextre is put in position on the ISS, Pierre Jean of the Canadian Space Agency said.

NASA and its partners plan to uplink a software patch to restore power to Dextre before its "thermal clock" runs out in roughly four days, and will know in 24 hours if the effort has succeeded, Jean said.

Kibo will be the largest by far of the four research modules on board the station and represents the most important Japanese input to the project, to which Japan has contributed a total of 10 billion dollars.

The larger cylindrical heart of the lab that will allow astronauts to work and conduct experiments in a shirt-sleeves environment, is to arrive on space shuttle Discovery due to launch May 25.

The final Kibo installment, an inter-orbit communications system unit called the Exposed Facility, is due for delivery in March 2009.

The 16-day mission for Endeavour is the longest mission at the space station and crew members will conduct five spacewalks totaling some 30 hours of work.

At mission control in Houston, Endeavour's spacewalk director paused to marvel at Friday's accomplishments.

"It is a triumph when we are able to build a spacesuit that can protect crew members for a seven-hour spacewalk outside in the cold vacuum of space, while they're able to pull off a construction project," Zebulon Scoville remarked.

"Athletically, it is really on par with climbing the highest mountains on the planet," he said of the astronauts' performance.

"When all this comes together ... you have the earth passing by underneath you, you have the crew out on the end of a spacelab pallet on this structure that's been built by the world, and it really is an aesthetic sight of beauty," he said.

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