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.