spacetoday.net: Shuttle docks to station after minor problem

Posted: Sat, Mar 10, 2001, 8:07 AM ET (1307 GMT)
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A problem with solar panels delayed the docking of the space shuttle Discovery with the International Space Station early Saturday by more than a hour. Discovery was set to dock with ISS at 12:34 am EST (0534 GMT) but was forced to hold position 120 meters from the station when two solar arrays on the station failed to lock in an edge-on position to avoid damage from the shuttle's thrusters. The arrays were eventually locked into place but the problem delayed the docking until 1:38 am EST (0638 GMT). Hatches between the shuttle and station were opened for a few hours overnight to permit the first crew exchange to take place, as Expedition Two commander Yuri Usachev boarded the station, taking the place of Expedition One crew member Yuri Gidzenko. The next major event of the mission is scheduled for Saturday night, when astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms perform the first of two EVAs scheduled for the mission. During the six-hour spacewalk, scheduled to begin at 11:47 pm EST (0447 GMT), the astronauts will remove a shuttle docking port from the Unity module, freeing it up for the addition of the Leonardo cargo module later in the mission.