spacetoday.net: ISS spacewalkers inspect solar panel joints again

Posted: Wed, Dec 19, 2007, 7:19 AM ET (1219 GMT)
ISS EVA on 2007 Dec 18 (NASA)

Two ISS crew members spent nearly seven hours outside the ISS on Tuesday, inspecting two joints on the station's starboard truss that allow the solar panels to track the Sun. NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani spent six hours and 56 minutes outside the ISS on an EVA that started at 4:50 am EST (0950 GMT). The two inspected both the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) on the station's starboard truss, as well as one of the two Beta Gimbal Assemblies (BGAs) on the truss that allow the truss to tilt along their long axis. The latest inspection of the SARJ, which has been examined on previous spacewalks, revealed similar damage as in previous checks, with no new insights on what is causing the damage. One of the two BGAs lost power earlier this month when circuits tripped; no damage was found there but subsequent ground tests led engineers to conclude that the flaw is within the motor assembly. During the EVA Whitson set a new cumulative spacewalk record for a woman, finishing the EVA with 32 hours and 36 minutes of spacewalk time. Whitson broke the record set just earlier this year by another NASA astronaut, Sunita Williams.