Dec 14 2006
From The Space Library
Astronauts Robert L. Curbeam Jr. and A. Christer Fuglesang conducted a second spacewalk for Mission STS-116, the 75th in the history of the ISS. During the near 6-hour excursion, the spacewalkers completed the first phase of the reconfiguration of the station’s electrical system, a complex task that required the astronauts to plug in and unplug various cables, while simultaneously coping with the harsh environment of space. The second phase of the power reconfiguration would take place on 16 December. The rewiring was part of an extensive project to switch the ISS from its temporarily configured power system to a permanent arrangement. For the previous six years, the ISS had drawn its electrical power from one array of solar panels, but under the planned permanent configuration, the station would draw power from another set of solar arrays, which would rotate to face the Sun as the ISS orbited Earth.
NASA, “STS-116 Delivers Permanent Power”; John Schwartz, “2 Spacewalkers Are Successful in Tricky Rewiring of the Space Station,” New York Times, 15 December 2006.
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