spacetoday.net: Second EVA completed; ISS computers malfunction

Posted: Thu, Jun 14, 2007, 7:45 AM ET (1145 GMT)
STS-117: EVA #2 (NASA)

Shuttle astronauts completed a second spacewalk outside the ISS on Wednesday while engineers tried to troubleshoot computer glitches on the station that could force the shuttle to extend its stay there. STS-117 astronauts Pat Forrester and Steve Swanson spent seven hours and 16 minutes outside the station on Wednesday, primarily to assist in the retraction of a solar array. The astronauts were able to get the array partially retracted, as planned, and performed other work on the newly-installed S3/S4 truss segment. The two were not able, though, to activate a joint that allows for the new solar panel segment to rotate, after controllers found the joint was miswired; engineers asked for more time to study the joint's operation before astronauts can unlock it. Meanwhile, station officials are trying to understand problems with computer systems in the Russian segment of the system. By Wednesday none of the guidance and control computers there were operating; engineers suspect the computer crashes may be related to the installation of the new truss segment, but don't understand yet the root cause of the problem or how to resolve it. Shuttle managers are looking into extending the shuttle's stay at the station to allow more time to correct the problem.