spacetoday.net: Shuttle mission extended to study ISS problem

Shuttle mission extended to study ISS problem

Posted: Tue, Oct 30, 2007, 8:10 AM ET (1210 GMT)

NASA has extended the mission of the space shuttle Discovery by a day to allow astronauts to better study a problem with a solar array joint on the ISS. Spacewalkers found what appeared to be metal contamination inside a solar array rotary joint, a device that allows the arrays to track the Sun, during the second spacewalk of the STS-120 mission on Sunday. NASA decided on Monday to extend the mission and reprogram an EVA on Thursday that had been planned to test heat shield repair technologies to instead further examine the joint. The third EVA of the mission will take place today, with astronauts completing the installation of a solar array truss unit at the end of the port side of the truss; the section was moved to its permanent location by the shuttle and station's robot arms on Monday.