spacetoday.net: NASA adds array work to next EVA

Posted: Sat, Dec 16, 2006, 9:49 AM ET (1449 GMT)

NASA has decided to have a pair of astronauts examine a balky solar panel on the ISS during their next spacewalk late Saturday. Astronauts Bob Curbeam and Sunita Williams plan to conduct the third and final scheduled EVA of the STS-116 mission Saturday evening, finishing the rewiring work on the station's electrical system that they started during a spacewalk Thursday. If time permits, the two will inspect a solar panel that failed to retract fully earlier in the week. Efforts on Friday to jiggle the P6 array, including by having an astronaut exercise vigorously within the station, failed to unstick the panel, which only partially retracted. NASA has ruled out a dedicated EVA to fix the problem because of a lack of training to address this problem; an additional EVA would also prevent them from performing an inspection of the heat shield of the shuttle after undocking, if required. The solar array is currently retracted enough to allow another set of solar panels to rotate, but will need to be retracted fully at some point before the arrays are moved to their final location on the station's truss.