In this image from NASA Television, a close up is shown of the problem spot on the solar array panel that buckled while being retraced on the international space station, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Posted on 12/13/2006 1:26:36 PM PST by NormsRevenge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA began retracting via remote control a 115-foot solar panel on the international space station Wednesday, likening the tricky task to folding a road map back up and stuffing it in the glove compartment.
The electricity-generating solar array served as a temporary power source aboard the orbiting outpost. NASA needed to move it out of the way so that a new, permanent pair of solar wings could rotate in the direction of the sun.
The folding-up began shortly before 1:30 p.m. EST and was expected to take about five hours. A crease developed when the array was about a quarter of the way retracted, forcing controllers and astronauts to stop the folding for about an hour. They eventually decided to release the array slightly, which fixed the crease, astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams reported from the space station.
"That's good news. You've got a bunch of guys about to turn blue here," Mission Control radioed back, echoing words said by a flight controller after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969.
Because it had been six years since the array was last folded up, flight controllers and astronauts were not sure how easy it would be.
"It's kind of like folding a map up," space shuttle Discovery commander Mark Polansky radioed Mission Control after the crease appeared. "You start folding it and the folding goes the wrong way. ... There's nothing you can do to it other than pop it back in place or unfold it and try again."
NASA needed the old solar array to be retracted at least 40 percent to provide enough clearance for a pair of giant solar wings that were delivered by space shuttle Atlantis in September. The old array will be moved to another spot during a later shuttle mission.
The space agency hoped to fit the old array into a 21-inch-high box. If it didn't fold up properly, NASA had the option of using spacewalkers to manually retract it at another time.
Flight controllers also watched to see whether the silicone coating on the 32,800 solar cells flaked off as the array was folded up. It would look like a "small, little snowstorm" but would be no reason for concern, said Joel Montalbano, a space station flight director.
During two spacewalks on Thursday and Saturday, astronauts will rewire connectors from the old solar array to the new solar wings. Reconfiguring the power system will enable the station to provide electricity to laboratories that will be added to the structure over the next few years.
NASA had the shuttle astronauts and space station crew members sleep in highly protected areas of the two spacecraft Tuesday night as a precaution against radiation from a solar flare eruption. Such measures are taken from time to time in space.
___
AP Writer Rasha Madkour in Houston contributed to this report.
In this image from NASA Television, a close up is shown of the problem spot on the solar array panel that buckled while being retraced on the international space station, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
On the Net:
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov
.
In this these image(s) from NASA Television shows a wide view of the solar panel on the right that appeared to correct itself after being redeployed on the international space station, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Another update as of 4pm:
Discovery's astronauts have temporarily stopped the effort to retract a solar array at the International Space Station because the outpost is now flying on the dark side of Earth.
A little more than 40 percent of the array has been folded up, clearing the way for a new solar wing delivered in September to rotate like a Ferris wheel, tracking the sun to maximize electrical output.
At least 12 of 31 sections of two accordion-like solar blankets that make up the array had to be folded up to provide clearance for the new wing to be put into operation. Fourteen were folded up before problems with guidewires prompted the astronauts to abort the retraction.
Flight directors now are trying to decide whether to try to extend the array's telescoping mast again so another attempt to fully retract the array can be made.
Shuttle commander Mark Polansky suggested extending the array until the guidewires are taut, and then retracting the blankets one section at a time.
Flight directors are hesitant. Extending the arrays more than two sections and then failing to retract the blankets would leave the panel in a position where the new wing would make contact with it as it rotated.
A decision on a course of action is upcoming.
Thanks! here's hoping a solar wind gust don't blow 'em for a loop.. ;-)
one of the top candidates for the title of Milky Way stellar heavyweight champion
This photo, supplied by NASA and the European Space Agency on Monday, Dec. 11, 2006, shows Pismis 24-1, a bright young star that lies in the core of the small open star cluster Pismis 24, the bright stars in this Hubble Space Telescope image. It was one of the top candidates for the title of Milky Way stellar heavyweight champion until very recently, Pismis 24-1, about 8,000 light-years away from Earth, was thought to have an incredibly large mass of 200 to 300 solar masses. but new NASA/ESA Hubble measurements of the star, have discovered that Pismis 24-1 is actually two separate stars, and, in doing so, have halved its mass to around 100 solar masses.The star cluster Pismis 24 lies in the core of the large emission nebula NGC 6357 that extends on the arm of the Sagittarius constellation. The results of the lastest observations was reported to the Massive Stars Workshop in Argentina this month, December 2006.(AP Photo/NASA/ESA)
All I can say is WOW!
All I can say is WOW!
Does anyone have the most recent Spacestation pics? I use them as my desktop wallpaper.
The full story/larger pics for Pismis 24 is at http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/54
BTB, there's a signup for emails on news releases somewhere on the site.
Or...you can check the APOD website for the "Astronomy Picture of the Day"...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.