Running a bit behind schedule, astronauts Rex Walheim and Stan Love were told to defer a few minor tasks to a spacewalk Wednesday and to begin wrapping up a successful spacewalk while crewmate Leland Melvin, operating the space station's robot arm, continued moving the new Columbus module toward its home on the international lab complex.

Commander Steve Frick radioed congratulations to Walheim and Love, saying "man, you guys have done an amazing job. We're looking out our window here at Columbus about halfway there. I can't believe how much work you've gotten done on a tough EVA. This has just gone awesome. Can't wait to see you guys back inside."

Walheim and Love attached a grapple fixture to the Columbus module, hooked up electrical cables and removed protective covers over the lab's docking mechanism, clearing the way for Melvin to pull the bus-sized module out of the shuttle's cargo bay.

After recharging their spacesuit oxygen supplies in the Quest airlock module, the flight plan called for the spacewalkers to make preparations for replacing a nitrogen tank used to pressurize the station's ammonia coolant system. The actual swap out is planned for a second spacewalk Wednesday.

But because they were a bit behind schedule, flight controllers asked them to defer disconnecting electrical cables and two ammonia flex hoses. That work will be carried out later this week. Walheim did, however, press ahead with work to unfasten bolts on the tank assembly.

Love, making his first spacewalk, was asked to loiter at the airlock a few moments after recharging his oxygen supply, giving him a chance to marvel at the view.

"Columbus is on the move!" he exclaimed. "I was not expecting to be watching th e install from this perspective."

A few minutes later, he alerted flight controllers to what appeared to be a debris impact on an astronaut handrail around the Quest airlock module's outer hatch.

"Looks to me like a little impact crater," he said. "It is right where everybody grabs on the way out of the airlock."

In recent months, flight controllers have been concerned about unseen sharp edges on the station believed to be responsible for causing small tears in the protective covering on spacesuit gloves. Love was asked to take pictures of the damage, but it's not yet known whether the presumed crater he reported could be responsible for any such glove damage.

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VIDEO: ATLANTIS PERFORMS THE 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: VIEWS OF THE SHUTTLE APPROACHING FROM BELOW PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS COMPLETES THE "TI" BURN PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF THE DOCKING PLAY
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VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
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VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY
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VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY | XL SIZE
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VIDEO: COLUMBUS AND ATV OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S CARGO SHIP UNDOCKING FROM STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS' PAYLOAD BAY DOORS CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: CREW RETURNS TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: POST-FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: STS-122 ASTRONAUT BIOGRAPHIES PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED OVERVIEW OF ATLANTIS' MISSION PLAY
VIDEO: INSIGHTS INTO COLUMBUS SCIENCE LABORATORY PLAY
VIDEO: STS-122 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON THE SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH STEVE FRICK PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH ALAN POINDEXTER PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH LELAND MELVIN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW WITH REX WALHEIM PLAY
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