Post by ۞Quaalude™۞ on Jun 11, 2007 16:58:36 GMT -5
Two US astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis have begun a spacewalk to start deploying new solar panels on the International Space Station (ISS).
The operation was delayed for several hours when four gyroscopes that keep the ISS steady became overloaded.
Atlantis docked with the ISS on Sunday, after a back flip so damaged insulation on its underside could be photographed.
Its thermal blanket was torn during take-off and Nasa are now assessing the photos to decide how to proceed.
Damage to the shuttle Columbia in 2003 during its launch led to the vehicle's disintegration as it returned to Earth, killing all seven crew.
Freak storm
A decision on whether to conduct another spacewalk to fix the damaged blanket will be made in the next day or two, the US space agency said.
A 10cm (four inch) section of the thermal blanket became peeled back as the shuttle blasted off on Friday.
Nasa said it does not consider the damage to Atlantis to be significant. A spokesman said: "We do not see any cause for concern right now." The space station's robotic arm has already attached a new 16-tonne (35,000lb) segment to the ISS containing a pair of new solar panels.
Two shuttle astronauts are on a spacewalk outside the station, preparing the new solar array for deployment.
The solar panels will increase the station's power generation capacity, paving the way for Europe's Columbus module to join the station later this year.
Two more spacewalks, on Wednesday and Friday, are planned to finish installing the new solar panels and, if necessary, attempt repairs to the thermal blanket.
This was supposed to be the second shuttle mission this year, but a freak storm over the Florida launch site in late February caused hail damage to the shuttle and delayed the mid-March flight.
Despite the delays, managers are confident they will be able to complete the ISS before the shuttles' 2010 retirement date.
Nasa plans to fly 15 more missions to the station to deliver large components, spare parts and other supplies. In addition, one final servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope is planned for September 2008. QC
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6742613.stm
The operation was delayed for several hours when four gyroscopes that keep the ISS steady became overloaded.
Atlantis docked with the ISS on Sunday, after a back flip so damaged insulation on its underside could be photographed.
Its thermal blanket was torn during take-off and Nasa are now assessing the photos to decide how to proceed.
Damage to the shuttle Columbia in 2003 during its launch led to the vehicle's disintegration as it returned to Earth, killing all seven crew.
Freak storm
A decision on whether to conduct another spacewalk to fix the damaged blanket will be made in the next day or two, the US space agency said.
A 10cm (four inch) section of the thermal blanket became peeled back as the shuttle blasted off on Friday.
Nasa said it does not consider the damage to Atlantis to be significant. A spokesman said: "We do not see any cause for concern right now." The space station's robotic arm has already attached a new 16-tonne (35,000lb) segment to the ISS containing a pair of new solar panels.
Two shuttle astronauts are on a spacewalk outside the station, preparing the new solar array for deployment.
The solar panels will increase the station's power generation capacity, paving the way for Europe's Columbus module to join the station later this year.
Two more spacewalks, on Wednesday and Friday, are planned to finish installing the new solar panels and, if necessary, attempt repairs to the thermal blanket.
This was supposed to be the second shuttle mission this year, but a freak storm over the Florida launch site in late February caused hail damage to the shuttle and delayed the mid-March flight.
Despite the delays, managers are confident they will be able to complete the ISS before the shuttles' 2010 retirement date.
Nasa plans to fly 15 more missions to the station to deliver large components, spare parts and other supplies. In addition, one final servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope is planned for September 2008. QC
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6742613.stm