NASA: Spacewalk set to fix faulty solar panel (STS-116)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 12/18/06 | Rasha Madkour - ap

[NormsRevenge]

In this image from NASA Television, astronauts, clockwise from top right, Mark Polansky, Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Robert Curbeam, and William Oefelein say goodbye after a televised conference, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006. Discovery's crew on Sunday prepared spacesuits, relocated the station's robotic arm and mobile platform so they can be used during the spacewalk and moved cargo from the station to the shuttle for the trip home. (AP Photo/NASA TV)

[NormsRevenge]

Mission Specialist Sunita Williams rides a portable foot restraint attached to a robotic arm down into the cargo bay of the space shuttle Discovery on December 16. Astronauts are set to undertake another space walk to dislodge a stuck solar array on the International Space Station, following several failed attempts to fold the array automatically.(AFP/NASA/File)

[NormsRevenge]

The kinks in the International Space Station's troublesome P6 solar arrays are shown in NASA TV December 17, 2006 video grab. Shuttle Discovery crew members Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuslesang are preparing for an additional spacewalk to shake the array in order to aid in its complete retraction. REUTERS/NASA TV (UNITED STATES)

[Neidermeyer]

Give me a pair of 12" vise grips , a dead blow hammer, some duct tape and a "wonder-bar"..

[Thrownatbirth]

We need a robotic arm that can make a fist to pound that sucker closed.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

A 2 ton come-along can fix just about anything.

[ASOC]

LOL

MY wife asked about this

I told her the space crew would go aout with a broomstick and bang on the darn thing.

I believe the correct term is vacuum welding for the base issue. If they had only hit with a dose of WD40 before launch......

[Frank_Discussion]

Let me better describe what's going on:

There are a set of tension wire that are designed to keep a certain amount of tension against the array, in order to keep it structurally rigid when extended. However, the tension is not all that great, only about a pound, just enough to achieve the desired stiffness. Now that we're retracting it, the cable is hanging up on the grommets, and the one-pound tension is not enough to get movement past the hang-up.

The EVA crew will be gently prodding the array with insulated tools to keep it moving, and also to advise when it tries to fold up the wrong way.

The media, being typically ignorant of space tech issues, is making up stuff. They keep leaving the impression that it's stuck, or broken, when all it needs is a little nudge here and there. This is where having people on a mission like this is a really good thing. There have been a number of unmanned missions where the solar arrays didn't deploy for one reason or another, but there was no-one there to help. Not only will today's spacewalk help the station now, it is developing a major technique to fix problems such as this in the future.

I love my job. :)

[NormsRevenge]

As long as they have a can of WD-40 and a rubber mallet, they should get it fixed. They could end up jettisoning any arrays that prove unruly as a last resort and replace later.

It was kind of funny how the ground control advised the gal how to shake the panel ,, she's not going to be out there today, the Swede guy will be out and about with Curbeam.

[NormsRevenge]

The spacewalk is slated to begin at 2:12 p.m. EST. A little over 6½ hours has been scheduled if needed.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

click on Launch Video Player for Nasa TV coverage

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com

1730 GMT (12:30 p.m. EST)

Astronauts Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang, Sweden's first man in space, are preparing for a fourth spacewalk today to help coax a recalcitrant solar array to fully retract. The astronauts are running a few minutes ahead of schedule and the spacewalk, the 77th devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, is expected to begin around 2 p.m.

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This spacewalk, organized on the fly, is dangerous. They will be retracting the array while the astronauts are out there. Be very, very careful!

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com
1840 GMT (1:40 p.m. EST)

Depressurization of the airlock is underway.

[Frank_Discussion]

Every EVA is dangerous, Mr. Whale. This one isn't really all that bad, unless they start trying to use their hands instead of their tools. Ack!

(There was talk of using the golf club, it's one of the longest things we've got on-orbit, and it already has a handle.)

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com
1900 GMT (2:00 p.m. EST)

EVA BEGINS. Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang switched their spacesuits to internal battery power at 2:00 p.m. EST, marking the start time for today's spacewalk to assist retraction of the troublesome solar array.

This is Curbeam's seventh EVA and fourth of Discovery's mission. He is the first astronaut to ever conduct four spacewalks during a single shuttle flight. Fuglesang is making his third EVA.

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[Cincinatus]

There have been a number of unmanned missions where the solar arrays didn't deploy for one reason or another, but there was no-one there to help

Not to mention the not-fully-unfolded high-gain antenna on Galileo, reducing the return data rate to hundreds of bps.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks!

In this image taken from NASA video, US space shuttle Discovery astronaut Robert Curbeam exits the Quest airlock on the International Space Station, December 16. Astronauts are set to undertake another space walk to dislodge a stuck solar array on the International Space Station, following several failed attempts to fold the array automatically.(AFP/NASA/File)

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com

2012 GMT (3:12 p.m. EST)

Curbeam is performing his first hands-on work with the solar array. He is using a scrapper tool to adjust grommets and the guide wire.

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I have no idea what a scrapper tool might be.

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com
2018 GMT (3:18 p.m. EST)

All of the grommets have been freed. The robot arm is backing Curbeam away from the array in preparation for a wing retraction attempt.

2015 GMT (3:15 p.m. EST)

A fray in the guide wire is snagging the grommets. Curbeam is using the scraper flick the grommets over the fray.

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I must remark per the language abuse. The tool appears to be a putty scraper or a windshield ice scraper.

[NormsRevenge]

a putty scraper or a windshield ice scraper
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works for me. ;-)