Mar 20 2009
From The Space Library
The astronauts of STS-119 unfurled the 115-foot (35-meter) blue and gold solar panels from the US$298 million girder they had attached to the ISS on 19 March, encountering none of the problems that had challenged previous missions when unfolding the solar arrays. For example, in 2007, the last time NASA had unfurled solar panels, one wing had caught on a guide wire and had ripped, requiring additional spacewalks to make emergency repairs. To avoid similar problems, NASA had instructed the crew to unfold the wings in stages. The crew opened each wing halfway and then waited nearly an hour before proceeding. They allowed the partially opened wings to soak up sunlight, thereby rendering them less likely to jam. The array, which stretched 240 feet (73 meters), from tip to tip, brought full electrical power to the space station and doubled the amount of power available to perform scientific experiments, from 15 kilowatts to 30 kilowatts.
Robert Block, “Space Station’s New Solar Wings Unfurl,” Orlando Sentinel (FL), 21 March 2009; Marcia Dunn for the Associated Press, “Space Station’s New Solar Wings Open Easily,” 21 March 2009; Mark Carreau, “Panels Unfold Without Incident,” Houston Chronicle, 21 March 2009.
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