spacetoday.net: New ISS solar panels unfurled

Posted: Wed, Jun 13, 2007, 8:44 AM ET (1244 GMT)
STS-117: ISS solar panel deployment (NASA)

A set of new solar panels installed on the International Space Station this week were successfully deployed on Tuesday as the crew prepared for another spacewalk. The solar panels on the S3/S4 truss segment, attached to the station on Monday, were extended without problems on Tuesday. The new panels will provide an additional 20 kilowatts of power for the station. The second EVA of the STS-117 shuttle mission is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, as astronauts Steve Swanson and Pat Forrester continue the activation of the new truss segment and assist in the retraction of a solar panel on another truss segment, P6. The other solar panel on that segment had difficulties retracting during a shuttle mission last year, requiring astronauts to assist. The retraction of the panels is required so that the segment can be moved to its permanent location on a later mission. Shuttle managers are also still studying plans to repair a torn thermal blanket on the shuttle, but have not made a final decision on how to proceed with the repair.