Reporting from Cape Canaveral, Fla. — Two U.S. astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station on Thursday on a six-hour spacewalk to install a 31,000-pound girder with solar wings, completing the final piece of the complex’s structural backbone.
It was the first of three spacewalks scheduled during shuttle Discovery’s mission to the station, and the main objective of its 13-day trip.The $300-million girder is the last major American-made piece of the space station. Tucked inside the framework of the truss is the final set of folded-up solar wings that will bring the 10-year-old space station to full power — crucial for boosting science research and doubling the crew on the space lab to to six this year. Astronauts Steve Swanson, a veteran of two previous spacewalks, and Richard Arnold, who completed his first jaunt in the void of space, helped align the truss while John Phillips, who was inside the station, used a robotic arm to lower it into place on the starboard end of the station.
It was the first of three spacewalks scheduled during shuttle Discovery’s mission to the station, and the main objective of its 13-day trip.The $300-million girder is the last major American-made piece of the space station. Tucked inside the framework of the truss is the final set of folded-up solar wings that will bring the 10-year-old space station to full power — crucial for boosting science research and doubling the crew on the space lab to to six this year. Astronauts Steve Swanson, a veteran of two previous spacewalks, and Richard Arnold, who completed his first jaunt in the void of space, helped align the truss while John Phillips, who was inside the station, used a robotic arm to lower it into place on the starboard end of the station.
Wielding a high-tech ratchet wrench, Arnold then linked the new segment with the starboard end of the truss. Space station commander Mike Fincke thanked Arnold and Swanson at the end of their spacewalk for adding a new addition to the station and finishing the job 23 minutes ahead of schedule. “I just wanted to say welcome back aboard the space station. It’s a lot bigger than when you left it,” he told them as they climbed back into the airlock. “Great job out there. You guys were outstanding.” The new solar wings will be unfurled Friday. The last time solar wings were opened on the station in 2007, one snagged on a guide wire and ripped, forcing spacewalking astronauts to carry out emergency repairs.
NASA officials said they had learned their lessons. The latest 115-foot wings will open a small section at a time, and Mission Control in Houston will make sure there is optimal lighting when the procedure takes place. Sun glare contributed to the 2007 mishap; it prevented the astronauts from quickly noticing that the wing had torn. The wings carried up aboard Discovery are actually the oldest; they were used for testing on the ground. Because they have been packed in boxes for as long as eight years, some of the pleated panels might stick together. The astronauts have techniques to work around that, if necessary.
Discovery arrived at the space station Tuesday; it will remain until Wednesday
Source: BBC
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