They're Celebrating In Houston... AND In Orbit

You might say Friday's successful deployment of the final set of solar array 'wings' onboard the International Space Station recharged NASA's batteries -- sending new energy throughout the combined Expedition 18 and STS-119 crews, as well as mission controllers in Houston. And, of course, the orbital complex.

"Great work, guys," Mission Control told the astronauts, reports the Associated Press. "We've got a whole bunch of happy people down here."

Mission Specialist John Phillips pushed the button to begin deployment of the 1B solar panels Friday morning, after crews positioned the station so the array would face the sun. Five minutes after the wings started unfurling -- with the 115-foot array halfway open -- Phillips stopped the process, so the wings could warm in the sunlight to reduce the chance of snags or tearing.

As ANN reported, the last time a set of solar panels was deployed on the ISS, one of the arrays tore after snagging on part of the extension structure. A risky spacewalk was needed to repair the damage, with astronauts working to mend the panel as it was also generating a large amount of electricity.

Fortunately, there were no such problems this time. After waiting for a hour, Phillips (shown below) resumed the extension process of the 1B array, with the only area of concern -- a crinkled area near the bottom -- smoothing out upon full extension. The deployment of the S6 3B solar array wings followed in similar fashion, wrapping up at 1:17 pm, with the array smoothly extended to its full length.

The length of the 1B and 3B arrays unfurled Friday measures 240 feet, tip to tip, with the S6 truss in between. The S6 solar array pair adds 9,600 square feet to the station solar arrays, bringing the total surface area to nearly an acre.

The new arrays will add enough power-generating capacity to double the electricity available for space station science operations, from 15 to 30 kilowatts; the arrays now will generate as much as 120 kilowatts of usable electricity, enough to power about 42 2800-square-foot homes.

Two more spacewalks are scheduled before Discovery undocks from the ISS on March 25. If things go to plan, the shuttle may actually leave a day early, in order to speed the return of science experiments now being conducted in orbit. Currently, Discovery is slated to land March 28.

FMI: www.nasa.gov