RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ó A North Carolina native made his first giant leap for mankind when he stepped out of a hatch in the International Space Station and into outer space on the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk.

Statesville native Dr. Tom Marshburn made the first of three spacewalks Monday as part of the crew of the space shuttle Endeavor.

Marshburn and a fellow astronaut spent most of the day installing a dish antenna and a cooling system pump on the space station.

The 48-year-old Marshburn is a graduate of Davidson College, the University of Virginia and Wake Forest University’s medical school.